Simple Chili with Kidney Beans

This blog has been moved and renamed. The new name is Jasmine Tea.  Please visit this post at http://www.jasmineteablog.com/2010/03/simple-chili-with-kidney-beans.html

When I first learnt how to make chili on Bebob's request, I always thought that I had accomplished a great deal since this was the first real Mexican food that I made.  But I was wrong, according to Wiki and History and Legends of Chili, Chili Corn Carne, chili is not Mexican food at all.  Although the real origin cannot be known for certain, there is no doubt that it evolved and got popular in Southwestern American, in particular Texas where chili is the official state food.

No matters where it came from, a bowl of rich and lush chili is always a soothing meal. This recipe of simple chili is adapted from the The Best Recipe by Cook's Illustrated. It is so simple and easy to make by using stable available in supermarket and yet the flavor it produces is deep and complex.

Recipe: Simple Beef Chili with Kidney Beans

Adapted from The Best Recipe by Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

2    tbsp vegetable or corn oil

2    mediums onions, chopped fine (about 2 cups)

1    red bell pepper, cut into 1/2" cubes

6    medium garlic cloves, minced (about 2 tbsp)

1/4 cup chili powder

1    tbsp ground cumin

2    tsp ground coriander

1    tsp red pepper flakes

1    tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (add more if you like to increase the heat)

1    lb lean ground beef*

1    lb ground chicken breast*

2    cans (16oz. each) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1    can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, with juice*

1    can (28 oz) whole tomatoes, pureed in blender*

      Salt

* See kitchen notes

Directions:

1. Cook veggies with spices - Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 3 to 4 mins.  Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, oregano, and cayenne. Saute until veggies are softened and started to brown, about 10 mins.
2. Cook meat with veggies - Turn heat to medium high and add chicken to the veggies.  Cook until chicken is no longer pink, about 3 to 4 mins.  Add beef and cook until it is no longer pink, another 3 to 4 mins.  Breaking up large clumps of chicken or beef with wooden spoon during cooking.
3. Add beans, tomatoes, tomatoes pureer and 1/2 tsp salt; bring to boil and then reduce heat to low for simmering, covered and stirred occasionally, for 1 hour.
4. Remove cover and let it continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, for another hour or so, until the meat is tender and the chili is slightly thickened. Taste it and adjust seasoning with salt. Serve with lime wedges and other condiments, such as diced avocado, chopped red onion, sour cream and shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese. 

Kitchen notes:

• Original recipe is made with all beef.  To make it a bit leaner, I substituted half of the beef with chicken.  I have tried the recipe with all extra lean ground beef but the result was unsatisfactorily. With half of the chicken, the rich beefy taste is still there.
• Original recipe is made with 1 can diced tomatoes with all the juice and 1 can tomatoes puree. I do not usually keep tomatoes puree in my pantry, so I made my own with whole tomatoes. Sometimes I use crushed tomatoes.  No matter what you use, just watch out for the amount of liquid.  If it seems to be too runny, just reduce the amount of juice from the diced tomatoes added to the pot.

Stir Fried Celery and Carrots with Dried Tofu

This blog has been renamed and moved.  The new name is Jasmine Tea Please visit this post at http://www.jasmineteablog.com/2010/03/stir-fried-celery-and-carrots-with.html

Spring is on its way.  Pretty soon, the grass will be greener, the cherry blossom will be blooming; the dog will be happier since we will take him out more with nicer weather. This is just an anticipation.  The gloomy sky out there says nothing about spring.  To keep my hope alive, I need some spring colors.  Here is a simple stir-fry dish with lovely colors.

Kitchen notes:  

• The dried tofu is an extra firm tofu without much moisture. They usually come with different flavors and five spice is one of the most popular flavors. There are usually 4 pieces in a package. You can get it from most of the Chinese grocers. 
• To remove the strings of the celery, place the inside (the hollow side) of the celery stalk upward.  Cut the bottom white part close to the root slightly, not all the way through. Then bend the cut portion outward and pull towards the top of the stalk with the strings.  

Recipe:  Stir Fried Celery and Carrots with Dried Tofu

Serves 2 (double the recipe to serve more)

Ingredients:
1     Tbsp canola oil 
2     ribs of celery, cut into matchstick, around 1 1/2" long
1     small carrot, cut into match stick, around 1 1/2" long 
1     piece of five spice dried tofu, cut into match stick, around 1 1/2" long
1     Tbsp chicken or vegetable stock or water
1/4  Tsp salt
1     Tsp Chinese cooking wine (optional)
1     Tsp sesame oil

Directions: 

Heat the oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat.  Add the celery, stir fry for 2 mins.  Add the carrots, chicken stock and salt.  The moisture from the stock help the veggies to cook faster.  But too much moisture may steam the veggies instead. So avoid putting too much in. Stir fry until the veges start to soften, about 2 more mins.  Add the dried tofu and the cooking wine (optional). Toss everything together and stir-fry for another 2 to 3 mins or until the vegetables are tender.  You can add a little bit more chicken stock, one Tbsp at a time, if the pan is too dry and the veges start to brown. To finish off, add the sesame oil and stir fry for a few second.  Serve immediately.      

Mini Chicken Pot Pie

mini chicken pot pie

This blog has been renamed and moved. The new name is Jasmine Tea.  Please visit this post at http://www.jasmineteablog.com/2010/03/mini-chicken-pot-pie.html

Going hungry can prolong life?  Just read an article on the recent Time Magazine discussing the research on restricting calories and living longer.  That seems to make sense.  The body of a human beings was originally built to conduct enormous physical activities for hunting and gathering food and to withstand the hardships caused by scarcity of food.  Abundance causes all sorts of problems.  Even my mom, a traditional health conscious Chinese woman who does not care much about western medicine, has always been telling my dad and everybody not to eat to a full stomach, 80% is sufficient. I think that is the Chinese attitude towards everything in life and I follow it as well. Moderation is the key. 

And here is the way to enjoy all the yummy food that you can have: portion control. Specially made for my hubby, N, is this mini chicken pot pie, hoping that he will adopt the principle of moderation. This is a recipe from The Best Recipe by the Cooks Illustrated Magazine. 

Kitchen notes:  I have made this several times with a big baking pan.  This time, I made the individual portion size.  I only used up half of the ingredients for making four mini pies.  The rest of the pie dough and fillings are in the freezer.  I will see how they hold up.  As for the pie dough,  Since unsalted butter is used in the fillings, quite a bit of salt has to be added.  Please taste the fillings and adjust to your personal taste. This is a pretty basic recipe.  You can vary the types of vegetables such as adding mushrooms or herbs to suit you own taste.  The white wine (I don't have dry sherry) really enhances the flavor.  Don't skip it!   

Chicken Pot Pie

Serves 6 to 8

Adapted from The Best Recipe by the Cooks Illustrated Magazine

Pie Dough
1 1/2	Cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2	tsp salt
8	tbsp unsalted butter (1/4 pound), chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4	tbsp vegetable shortening , chilled
Chicken Pot Pie
1 1/2	lb boneless skinless chicken breast or boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1	can low sodium chicken broth, with water added to equal 2 cups (or use 2 cups homemade chicken broth)
1 1/2	tbsp vegetable oil
1	large onion , chopped fine
3	medium carrots , peeled and cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick
2	small ribs celery , cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick
4	tbsp unsalted butter
1/2	cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2	cups milk
1/2	teaspoon dried thyme
4	tbsp white wine or dry sherry
3/4	cup frozen peas, thawed
3	tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

To make the pie dough: 

1. Mix flour and salt, put mixture in food processor.
2. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with a little of the flour. Cut butter into flour with five one-second pulses. 
3. Add shortening; continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, keeping some butter bits the size of small peas, about four more one-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.
4. Sprinkle 3 tbsp ice-cold water over mixture. Using rubber spatula, fold water into flour mixture. Then press down on dough mixture with broad side of spatula until dough begins to stick together. Test the dough with your finger by squeezing a small portion between your finger.  If the dough is moist and comes together, then pour the dough onto a floured work surface. If not, add 1 to 2 more Tbsp of ice cold water.
5. On the work surface, gather the half crumbled dough together and shape it into a ball and then flatten into 4" wide disk.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30mins or longer while preparing pie filling. 

To make the pie filling:

1. Adjust oven rack to low-center position; heat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Cook chicken with broth - Put chicken and broth in medium size pot over medium heat. Cover, bring to simmer; simmer until chicken is just done, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer meat to large bowl, reserving broth in measuring cup.
3. Cook veggies - Increase heat to medium-high; heat oil in now-empty pan. Add onions, carrots, and celery; sauté until just tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
4. Shred meat - While vegetables are sautéing, shred meat into bite-sized pieces. Transfer cooked vegetables to bowl with chicken; set aside.
5. Make sauce - Heat butter over medium heat in again-empty skillet. When foaming subsides, add flour; cook about 1 minute. Whisk in chicken broth, milk, any accumulated chicken juices, and thyme. Bring to simmer, then continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper; stir in wine.
6. Pour sauce over chicken mixture; stir to combine. Stir in peas and parsley. Adjust seasonings.  Fillings can be made ahead and refrigerated.

To assemble:

1. Roll dough on floured surface to approximately 1/8-inch thick.. Put individual ramekins upside down on dough. Using a pair of scissors, cut dough rounds about 1/2" to 3/4" larger than the size of the ramekins. Depending on the size of the ramekins, you should be able to get 6 to 8 rounds.
2. Pour chicken mixture into each ramekin. Lay dough round over pot pie filling. Press overhanging dough against the edge of the ramekins to seal it. Cut four 1/2" vent holes of one1-inch vent hole on the dough topping.
3. Bake until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 25 to 30 minutes for smaller pies. Serve hot.