White Chili

I don't really remember when I first had white chili, but I seem to recall having a fantastic bowl of it in a restaurant at some point when I was a teenager and thinking that I needed to learn how to make it.  No recipe that I tried could replicate the depth of spice and flavor that I wanted, so I ended up embellishing a number of recipes and concluding with this one recipe.  I can never decide if the taste or the smell is more fantastic, since the smell seems to seep into every room of the house and even outside.  The taste, however, is really something extraordinary.

Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 onion, minced
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small can chopped green chilies, drained
1 can navy beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
Shredded Jack cheese and tortilla chips, for serving

1. In dutch oven or stock pot, saute garlic in olive oil until fragrant.  Add onion and saute until translucent.  Add chicken and saute until chicken is evenly browned, about 5 minutes.  Stir in chilies and beans, then broth. Measure spices into mixture and stir well.  Bring mixture to a simmer, cover, and let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is tender.
2. In small bowl or measuring cup, whisk flour and milk together.  Stir milk mixture into simmering soup and stir well.  Return mixture to a simmer to thicken.
3. Remove chili from heat and stir in sour cream.  Serve with desired stir-ins.

Porter Beef Stew

I wanted a beef stew with a deeper flavor than just broth.  Since I had a busy day planned, I also wanted a stew for the slow cooker.  Even with those ideas in mind, I wasn't completely sure about how this would turn out.  I made a casserole earlier this year that had beer and tomato paste as the base, so I thought this would work.  I was pretty impressed with the end results.  It is especially delicious with a crusty bread or multigrain roll.

Serves 4

1 scallion, minced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 lb beef, cut into bite-sized cubes
1 bottle porter beer
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb gold potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces

1. Cut up scallion.  Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl and stir with scallion.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until scallion is soft.  Stir in cornstarch until paste forms.  Pour mixture into slow cooker.  Add beef cubes and mix well.  Pour porter over mixture, then stir in tomato paste and broth.  Season with thyme and salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.  Stir as needed to prevent mixture from sticking to the slow cooker crock.
2. About an hour before you plan to eat, add potato and carrot pieces.  Stir well.  Cook until potatoes are cooked through.  Serve hot.

Slow Cooker Minestrone

Because my birthday cake was delicious, but also sort of rich, this was the soup that accompanied it.  It was hearty but also not terribly heavy, which was good because it has been unseasonably warm here and heavy food hasn't really been and option of late.  Putting this in the slow cooker also meant no added heat to the house, which is a definite bonus.  In the interest of full disclosure and giving credit where credit is due, I should also point out that I didn't make this soup.  It was made for me for my birthday.

Serves 6

2 links hot turkey sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
12 oz can canellini beans, drained and rinsed
14 oz can diced tomatoes, Italian seasoned style
2 bay leaves
9 cups chicken broth
2 cups small pasta
Parmesan cheese

1. In small skillet, brown hot turkey sausage with onion and garlic.  Season with salt, thyme, and basil.  Stir in flour and continue to cook over medium heat until liquids are reduced.  Pour mixture into pot of a slow cooker.
2. Add chicken, carrots, beans, and diced tomatoes to sausage mixture.  Stir well.  Add bay leaves and chicken broth and stir well.  Cook soup on high heat for 4-6 hours or low heat for 8 hours.
3. About 30-45 minutes before you are ready to eat, add pasta.  Serve once pasta is cooked through.  Remove bay leaves for serving. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese for serving.

Beef Stew

I love the convenience of the slow cooker.  Even though it is still in the 80s here, I decided it was close enough to fall to justify beef stew.

Serves 4

2 lbs round steak, cubed
6 cups beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste
4 red potatoes, diced into bite-sized pieces
1 cup baby carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces

1. In slow cooker, mix together beef and broth.  Stir in Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion, red wine, thyme, and bay leaf.  Season to taste.  Cook beef and liquids on low heat for 8 hours.
2. Stir potatoes and carrots into slow cooker.  Remove bay leaf.  Raise heat to high and cook for 45-60 minutes or until potatoes are done.  Serve hot.

Cream of Potato Soup

It might not be very exciting, but I find that when fall starts appearing I always want potato soup.  I have a lot of variations that I make, but this is the most basic.  It is just simply good.

Serves 3-4

1 tablespoon butter
1 large or 2 medium leeks, chopped small
5 potatoes, cubed
2 cups water
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
Dash ground mustard
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add leeks and saute until tender.  Add potatoes and stir until leeks coat potato cubes.  Pour water over potatoes and bring to a simmer.  Simmer potatoes and leeks until potatoes are tender.
2. Meanwhile, mix flour and milk together in a measuring cup.  When potatoes are tender, add milk mixture to potato mixture in saucepan and stir well.  Return soup to just a simmer until soup thickens.  Add ground mustard, salt, and pepper.  Serve immediately.

Potato Leek Soup with Homemade Crostini

I have a real fondness for potato leek soup.  I lived in England for a time and was first introduced there.  The organic grocery near my college also sold it in cartons, where I was introduced to using it in recipes (it makes a fantastic box macaroni and cheese, if you are so inclined).  But it was the bistro here in town with me now that really deepened my addiction to this simple dish.  There they serve a superb soup with homemade croutons, but they also only serve it in February.  I decided to figure out how to make it myself so I could have it whenever I want.  This recipe tastes even better than some I have had, though I kept some of the potatoes as chunks to prevent that baby-food texture that can sometimes happen.

Serves 5-6

4 leeks, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
3 lbs russet potatoes (about 8 potatoes)
3 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
3 cups milk (I used 2%)

1 small loaf French bread
2 tablespoons butter

1. In 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat.  Add leeks and garlic.  Stir well and leave to sweat on medium low heat until soft and caramelized.
2. While leeks and garlic are softening, peel and cube potatoes.  Once all potatoes are cubed and leeks are soft and golden, stir potatoes into leeks and garlic in saucepan.  Pour chicken broth over potatoes in saucepan and increase heat to medium high.  Stir in garlic salt and salt.  Simmer potatoes, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes begin to break down.
3. While potatoes are cooking, slice loaf of bread thinly and melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the microwave.  Place bread slices on cookie sheet and brush with melted butter.  Bake bread slices in a 325 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until edges are brown and center is crispy.  Remove from oven and allow crostini to cool on cookie sheet.
4. Once potatoes in saucepan are falling apart, ladle about half of potatoes and any accompanying pan liquid into a blender.  Add 1 1/2 cup milk to blender.  Put cap on blender and blend until mixture is smooth.  Pour pureed soup into large serving bowl or soup tureen. 
5. Repeat step 4 with remaining potatoes in saucepan, reserving about 1 cup cooked potatoes.  Stir reserved cooked potatoes into soup in serving bowl.  Season soup with ground black pepper. Serve soup with crostini, which can be dunked in soup or torn up and stirred into soup.

Slow Cooker Gumbo

I have made this gumbo a number of times, regardless of the season.  I started making it when fresh okra showed up in our CSA box, but continued once I realized that frozen okra works too.  This gumbo lacks the usual rue base, but it has that classic gumbo bite and flavor.  And putting it in the slow cooker makes it much less time-consuming.

Serves 4

3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups okra, chopped
1 chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
8-10 oz Andouille sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups chicken broth
14 oz can diced tomatoes
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste
Rice, to serve

1. Combine celery, onion, green pepper, and garlic in a microwaveable bowl.  Add butter and olive oil.  Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes or until vegetables are softened.  Mix 3 tablespoons flour into vegetables until a paste forms.  Pour vegetables into pot of a slow cooker.  Stir okra, chicken, and sausage into vegetables.  Add bay leaves and cayenne pepper.  Pour chicken broth and tomatoes over meat and vegetables and stir well.
2. Cook gumbo on low for 8-12 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.  Remove bay leaves and season to taste.  Serve over rice.