Black Bean Chili with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach

Every year around the Super Bowl I have this craving for chili. It doesn't make sense to me because I don't watch the Super Bowl, actually I usually don't even know who is playing. All I can think is I'm somehow being subjected to subliminal chili propaganda. Or the fact that I read ridiculous amounts of food related content and they must usually feature chili as Superbowl fare. It makes sense because it's easy. You can make it ahead of time and it can almost effortlessly feed a crowd.
(I know that this year the Saints are playing because the majority of food sites are featuring gumbo. If I develop a good gumbo recipe in time I'll post it for all you Saints fans and Gumbo fans)

It's pretty cold where I live which makes it perfect chili weather. This chili is fantastic if a little nontraditional. The fact that it's healthy is just a bonus. I love the classic combination of black beans with orange things, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin... The addition of spinach came about after I had come across some baby spinach in my refrigerator that had to be used and I'm so glad it did! While it only adds a very subtle flavor, it adds lots nutritionally. By the way, my 2 and 4 year old love this.



Black Bean Chili with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach

olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 medium Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons ground cumin (you could use chili powder)
3 15-ounce cans black beans, drained
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
8 ounces baby spinach (you can use regular spinach, just remove the stems and coarsely chop)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic, saute until tender and golden. Add squash and cumin. Cook until fragrant about 2 minutes. Stir in beans and tomatoes with juices and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, until squash is tender, about 15 minutes (if it is too thick for you, add up to 2 cups of water at this point) . Stir in spinach and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle chili into bowls and serve with cilantro, chopped red onion, sour cream and cheddar to garish.

Click here to print this recipe

Chickpea Cakes with Goat Cheese and Scallions

A while back I went to a fantastic little tapas place in L.A. -sorry I can't remember the name for the life of me, I'm looking into it! One of the dishes ordered was socca -which I found rather surprising since I was expecting (naively) Spanish food and this is French. For those of you who don't know, socca is a wonderful thin griddle cake made of chickpea flour and cooked over a fire which gives it a delicious hint of smokiness. I love it.

What came to our table was not socca. It was thick for starters, topped with, chives and drizzled with honey. After some research I discovered something called panisse. I think this is more similar to what I had. It is a thicker batter made of chickpea flour, fried and covered with a generous amount of sea salt and cracked black pepper. I love it, dare I say even more than socca? Actually I can't decide. Perhaps I'll have to host a taste off once the weather warms up enough that I can comfortably have a fire outside to properly make the socca and my guests can hold a glass of wine without their fingers freezing off.


I've made many riffs on this dish - I can't get enough. One of my favorite ways to have it is lightly flavored with cumin, and topped with goat cheese and green onions. It is pan sauteed until it is crispy outside and deliciously smooth and creamy inside. The cumin gives it just a touch of smokiness and the goat cheese offers the perfect amount of tang, getting deliciously soft and creamy sitting on top of the warm round pillow of savory chickpea goodness.



Chickpea Cakes with Fresh Goat Cheese and Scallions
makes 8 cakes

1 cup chickpea flour
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
canola oil or olive oil
goat cheese
scallions
salt and pepper

Bring water to a simmer and whisk in chickpea flour. With a wooden spoon stir for about 7 minutes. The mixture should thicken and bubble. Stir in salt and cumin and take it off the heat.

Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add enough oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil until it starts to shimmer. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, add chickpea mixture to the pan (you want the cake to sizzle when it hits the pan). Cook for a couple minutes until the cake starts to brown, flip it over and cook on the other side. Remove cakes to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with sea salt. Put the cakes on a platter and top with goat cheese, scallions and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.

(Chickpea flour can be found at many grocery stores, health food stores and Whole Foods. It goes rancid relatively quickly. Keep it in the refrigerator and use within a couple of months.)

This is a great appetizer, or you can serve this with a salad for a nice lunch or light dinner. Just don't tell the French what I've done, I'm pretty sure they don't like people messing with their classics!
Warning: Once you start eating these, it is almost impossible to stop. I almost got into a wrestling match with my 4 year old over the last one. Luckily my maternal instincts kicked in and I let the adorable little bugger have it.

Beet Dealer

After the almost unavoidably indulgent holiday season, I am reminded of the negative physical effects of unhealthy eating. Fatigue, bloating, crankiness, weight gain, did I mention fatigue? YAWN I'm pretty sure the amount of excess we partake in this time of year makes us all more conscious of the relationship between what we eat and how we feel. It's no wonder one of the most popular New Year's resolution is to eat healthier.

There is a quote I love by Shunryu Suzuki "Each of you is perfect the way you are, and you can use a little improvement" I'm not trying to completely change my eating habits. I'm simply trying to become more aware of what makes me feel good and do more of that, and eating healthy makes me feel good.

With that in mind I made a really tasty, pretty beet and lentil salad with a cumin vinaigrette.


I absolutely LOVE beets. Unfortunately so many people are only familiar with the canned variety, I do NOT like canned beets. It's a shame that so many people say they don't like beets when all they ever tried came from a can or jar (or boiled, which is not much better). If this has been your only exposure to beets then I wouldn't blame you for thinking you don't like them. But I think you owe it to yourself to give fresh beets a try. Just one bite, what could it hurt? Go ahead, roast one up, maybe start with a golden beet which has a more mild, subtle flavor, sprinkle it with a little salt and take just one. little. bite.

Beets are delicious little balls of earth candy. I think my favorite way to have them is roasted. Because they are so earthy, I like to pair them with something sharp, feta, vinaigrette, feta and vinaigrette... and I love them with cumin, it adds a delicious toasty flavor to their earthiness.
I've always wanted to use the beet greens because 1. they are delicious, similar in flavor to spinach and 2. it seems so wasteful throwing them away. Unfortunately my local grocery store usually has bunches of beets that have very, very wilted greens. I finally went to the nearest Whole Foods and found beautiful organic beets with equally beautiful greens. Finally!



Beet and Lentil Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette

3 red beets with their greens
3 golden beets with their greens
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup lentils (I used red, but you could use regular lentils)
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Cut the greens from the beets. Place the beets in a pan, add about 3 tablespoons water, a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle with coarse kosher salt. Cover the pan with foil and put in the oven until they give a bit to the touch, about 1 hour. Let the beets cool until you can handle them. Peel them and slice into bite sized wedges.

Remove the stems from the beet greens and thoroughly wash them. Stack the greens and thinly slice them. In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat and add the greens and salt to taste. Saute until they start to wilt, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile cook the lentils. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add 1 cup lentils and boil until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the lentils.

For the vinaigrette
In a pan heat 1 tablespoon olive oil, add finely chopped garlic and cumin and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Salt to taste.

In a bowl combine the lentils, greens and beets. Add the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Adjust the seasonings if needed.

Bloody Mary Bar

Sorry for the absence. I haven't been feeling well. Actually, I've been so sick that I watched a movie with a talking dog who told a poop joke because I couldn't find the remote and the television was oh so far away. However, I am feeling much better today and I wanted to share a fantastic Bloody Mary recipe that might come in handy on New Years Day.

You have probably noticed that peoples taste in Bloody Mary's varies widely. Some people like a thin drink that is little more than tomato juice watered down with some vodka, others like it so thick it's practically a meal in a glass and spicy enough to make you sweat. This is my personal favorite recipe. I like a Bloody Mary that is thick and spicy, loaded with garlic, horseradish, black pepper, citrus and such a wide array of accompaniments that it is virtually impossible to fit them all into your glass.

I want the option of turning a Bloody Mary into a meal. When I make these for a New Years Day brunch, I set out long skewers next to pretty glasses filled with whatever accompaniments I'm serving. You know the adage, the more the merrier. Olives (plain and blue cheese stuffed), pickled okra, cubes of cheese, celery, chunks of meat such as salami and shrimp for those of you who eat meat and/or fish, large cubes of toasted bread, pickled asparagus, scallions, cucumber sticks, lime wedges. Whatever you can dream up really.

I like approximately 3 parts Bloody Mary mix to 1 part vodka. Ice is essential. Bloody Mary's like lots and lots of ice. Definitely take that into consideration when you make these.



Thick and Spicy Bloody Mary's
makes about 10 servings

5 cups plain tomato juice or hot and spicy V-8 *
Juice of 3 large lemons
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
3/4 - 1 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
about 1 3/4 cups unflavored vodka

Thoroughly combine all of the ingredients, I whisk mine. Pour over ice, squeeze a lime wedge on top and sprinkle with celery salt and fresh ground black pepper.
If you wanted to do a little something extra, you could run a lime wedge around the rim of your glass and dip the rim in a bit of celery salt prior to filling your glasses of course.

*I always made this with plain tomato juice, until one day, at the request of my spice loving father, I made it with hot and spicy V-8. I loved it and now I usually make it that way. It's much thicker and spicier.

May you have a wonderful new year filled with peace, love, happiness, good health and great food. I look forward to spending 2010 with you.

Eggnog

Eggnog is one of the flavors that signal the holidays. Every time I have a cup I'm reminded of decorating our tree, making an endless amount of cookies, wrapping presents, waiting for snow... Eggnog practically screams Christmas.

There are 2 main styles of eggnog, uncooked and cooked. I prefer the cooked, not for any health reasons (although that is a plus) but because I find the uncooked version with beaten egg whites too frothy, too much like a Tom and Jerry and too high maintenance. Don't get me wrong, I love my Tom and Jerry's - a lot- but I like my Tom and Jerry's to be frothy and my eggnog to be creamy. (Tom and Jerry recipe coming soon)

When I make Eggnog it is usually for a crowd so I want a drink that I can simply set out. No last minute preparations, no beating and folding, just take out of the refrigerator and serve. That said, I will occasionally fold in softly whipped cream to thicken the eggnog up a bit, but it isn't necessary. Also, I like to serve my eggnog and liquor separately. I like a very stiff eggnog, I've been told some people do not. This way, everyone can make their drinks to their liking and any kids can enjoy it alcohol free.
However, I read somewhere that if you combine the eggnog and alcohol and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight, the alcohol taste will mellow. I'm going to have to give that a try, it might be worth making a "grown-up" batch and a kid batch.



Eggnog
10 servings

2 cups cream
3 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean -or- 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
10 egg yolks
fresh grated nutmeg

Combine the cream, 2 cups of the milk and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in 1/2 lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add the vanilla bean seeds to the sauce pan. (If you are using vanilla extract you'll add it later) Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Turn off the heat.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar until the mixture thickens and lightens in color a bit. Whisking constantly, slowly add about 1/3 of the cream mixture to the yolks to temper them (this will prevent curdling).

Add the egg yolk mixture to the sauce pan. Over a low heat, stirring constantly, cook until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon (when you drag your finger across the back of the spoon, the line remains) about 10 minutes.

Strain the eggnog into a bowl or pitcher. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of milk, if you are using vanilla extract add that now. If you want to add the alcohol to let it mellow, add it now. Put in the refrigerator to cool, at least 3 hours.

If you would like, you can softly whip 1 cup of heavy cream and fold that in to the eggnog right before you serve it.
Serve with Brandy* to taste and a generous amount of fresh grated nutmeg.


*Some people like a combination of rum and brandy, some people like bourbon or a combination of the three. I like pure Brandy. Play around and see what you like.

Orange, Beet and Pomegranate Salad with Feta

Last night I was going through my overflowing "recipes to try" file and I came across an orange, beet and pomegranate dish. They sounded like the perfect ingredients to add to a winter salad and coincidentally, I had just roasted some beets. I love when that happens!
This is a very pretty salad loaded with big, bright flavors. If you don't like feta, I imagine goat cheese would also be good or you could just leave the cheese out.




Orange, Beet and Pomegranate Salad with Feta

4 medium beets
2 medium oranges
1/2 of the seeds from a large pomegranate
1/2 small red onion coarsely chopped
1/2 head of Romain lettuce
5 ounces of feta crumbled or cut into desired size
chopped toasted walnuts (optional)

Juice from 1/2 orange
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup walnut oil (or olive oil)
salt and pepper to taste


Place beets in a pan with about 3 tablespoons of water and a sprinkling of salt. Cover the pan with foil and roast beets in a 400 oven until they are just tender, about 50 minutes. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off with you fingers. Cut into bite sized pieces.

For the oranges you have 2 options, you can cut the skins off removing all of the white pith, then slice the oranges 1/2 inch thick and cut the slices into quarters or you can peel the orange, separate the segments and cut the segments into thirds. (this is what I did since I already had roasted beets and was in a hurry)

After you coarsely chop the onions you can place them in a bowl of cold water for a minute or two. This takes away some of the harsh raw onion flavor. If you do this, drain the onions before using and give them a squeeze in a towel.

For the vinaigrette, combine orange juice, rice vinegar, walnut (or olive) oil, and generously season with salt and pepper.

Tear the lettuce into bite size pieces, top with beets, oranges, pomegranate seeds, onions, and feta. Pour vinaigrette on top and toss together. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts if you're using them.

Family Reunion Menu and Peanut - Red Chile BBQ Sauce

This past weekend I decided to get some family together for a reunion. It had been a decade or longer since I had the pleasure of their company. It was wonderful seeing all of them again but it felt a bit like a tornado of people. We hardly had a chance to say "Hello, how have things been? How did we let over 10 YEARS pass?!" before they were off.

I was pretty nervous about this party so I decide to keep the menu simple. Almost everything I made was from Bobby Flay's Messa Grill Cookbook (NOT my own recipes GASP!). I have made quite of few recipes from this book and so far they have all been very good to excellent.
For those of you who have been asking for cookbook recommendations put this one on the list.

I made roasted garlic and poblano pretzel sticks, deviled eggs, guacamole, wild mushroom quesadillas with red chile jack cheese, Yucatan chicken skewers with red cabbage slaw and peanut red chile BBQ sauce, and Sophie's salad which is a chopped salad with beans and cheese. (For those of you who read my last post - I debated on not making anything with meat but I knew they were almost all meat eaters...I told you, I'm not good at following implied rules)

Here is an adapted version of Bobby Flay's peanut red chile BBQ sauce. He uses chicken broth and Messa Grill BBQ sauce which is also in the Messa Grill Cookbook. I only had this off of a spoon but it was so good I contemplated eating the spoon itself. I imagine this would be good not only on chicken but on tofu, veggies, it's so good it would probably make anything delicious!


Peanut-Red Chile BBQ Sauce (adapted from Bobby Flay's Messa Grill Cookbook)

1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger*
1 1/3 cup Chipotle Honey BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add ginger and cook until soft, about 1-2 minutes. Raise the heat to high and add the BBQ sauce and the veggie broth. Cook stirring occasionally until reduced by half.
Reduce heat to medium. Whisk in the peanut butter and the soy sauce. Cook stirring occasionally until thickened about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
You can make this a couple of days ahead of time and reheat it before serving.

*An easy way to peel ginger is to simply scrape the skin off with a spoon.