oh, beans!

around the end of october when the leaves are blazing vibrantly against a crisp blue autumn sky, there always seems to be a good week's worth of wind and rain that strips the trees bare and makes you wish you were taking a nap in front of a fireplace.

when this happens (and it inevitably does), i know it's time to make chili. it's easy, it's foolproof, it's easy to experiment with, and it makes so much that you don't have to worry about dinner for the rest of the week when it's too nasty outside to go to the store.

my recipe varies each time i make it, but here are the basics that go into mine.

recipe-less chili.

ingredients
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 granny smith apple, cored and diced
1 large onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, diced (although i always end up using about half...use more if you like heat)
1 bag frozen sweet corn
olive oil
1/2 c. red wine
cumin
chili powder
salt and pepper

method
dice the onions and garlic. in a large pot heat olive oil and add onions on a medium heat. sweat onions for 5 minutes until tender. add garlic and saute 5 minutes more.

add peppers and apple and saute while adding spices (to taste). then add red wine, tomatoes, and beans. bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and let cook until ready to serve. (keep adding spices to taste).

five minutes before serving, add corn. (if using frozen, the chili will cool slightly. wait until it is hot all the way through before serving.)

serve with whatever sides you like. shredded cheddar, warm bread, tortilla chips, rice. perect.

breaking the rules

only on very rare occasions do i break my no-pork-products-of-any-kind rule.

one is for north carolina pulled pork sandwiches from em-ing's, my favorite hometown spot.

the other is for the following recipe.

tuscan bean soup

ingredients

1 large yellow onion, diced

2-3 large cloves garlic, minced

4-5 tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. sweet italian sausage

2 quarts chicken broth (i use the low-sodium, msg-free kind)

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

3-4 handfuls spinach

oregano

rosemary

fennel seeds

salt and pepper

thyme

(all seasonings to taste)

method

bring a large pot of water to boil.  add sausage links, cook for 10 minutes.

as water boils, in a large soup pot, heat olive oil.  add onions and sweat for about 5-7 minutes.  

remove sausage links from water, slice into pieces, and add to the onions and oil along with the garlic cloves.

continue to saute, stirring regularly, until sausage is cooked through.  add broth and stir over a medium heat.  add drained tomatoes and seasonings.  bring to a boil.

add beans, then reduce heat to low.  let simmer about 10 minutes.  after 5 minutes of simmering, add spinach.  serve hot once spinach has wilted.

ladle into soup bowls and grate parmesan cheese over the soup.  serve with fresh bread.

leftovers!

it's day three of the pumpkin penne leftovers.  

although i used to be a leftovers snob and waste an extraordinary amount of perfectly fine food each week just because i wanted something new and different each night for dinner, the idea of having a meal already waiting for me when i get home after a long day at work is extremely comforting.

now if you'll excuse me, i have a beeping microwave and major t.v. catching-up via hulu to attend to.

pumpkin season

when i was sixteen i hosted my first dinner party.  it was summer vacation, i had all the time in the world, and had newly discovered my enjoyment of cooking and entertaining.

the menu?  homemade pumpkin pasta with blackberry spinach salad.  a little ambitious for my first serious attempt in the kitchen, i'll admit.  and it wouldn't have been a success without the assistance of my dutiful mother who prepared a good two-thirds of the meal herself while i chatted with my high school pals, sipping sparking apple cider from champagne flutes and chatting about driver's licenses and pre-season soccer practice.

seven (yikes) years later, my circle of friends has changed, i am (thankfully) no longer in high school, and i've honed the art of entertainment multi tasking.  but i still love cooking.  and pumpkins.  and when i can get the both of them together, it is especially delightful.  here's a beautiful, simple, and hearty autumn meal.

pumpkin penne primavera

(coincidentally, i am a sucker for alliteration in all things, including recipe titles.)

ingredients

1 box penne rigate 

1 yellow squash, diced

1/2 large red pepper, cut into 1" squares

handful grape tomatoes, halved

6-8 small white button mushrooms, brushed and sliced

1 small head broccoli, stems cut and diced

2 handfuls spinach, rinsed and drained

2 large cloves garlic, minced

5-6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

sprinkling of pine nuts

2-3 tbsp. pumpkin (libby's...from a can...)

1/4 c. white wine

salt and pepper

nutmeg

method

boil a large pot of salt-seasoned water for the pasta.  as the water boils, heat a large cast iron pan and 2-3 tablespoons of the olive oil.  as oil heats, add pepper, broccoli and squash to the pan and begin to saute, stirring constantly.  add half the garlic and continue to stir.  

as the garlic softens, add the pumpkin and stir thoroughly.  add half of the quantity of wine and incorporate along with the mushrooms and tomatoes.  season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and leave the vegetables to simmer for a while until they reach the desired texture.  add more wine as it cooks off, and more seasoning to taste.

at the last minute, throw in the spinach and pine nuts, stir until the spinach is wilted, then keep on a low heat.  as the vegetables finish cooking, boil the penne about 10-12 minutes.

drain pasta, spoon onto a platter and top with vegetables.  mmmmmmmmmm...

dinner party soundtrack provided by:

the beatles-rubber soul (in its entirety)

traffic-"empty pages"

the velvet underground- "oh sweet nothin"

kings of leon-"the bucket"

bob dylan- "4th time around"

spoon- "i turn my camera on"

the black keys- "psychotic girl"

jenny lewis- "it wasn't me"

the hollies-"long cool woman"

the jesus and mary chain-"drop"

going home.

something about the autumn makes us all introspective and long to retrieve memories upon which to reflect.

thomas wolfe said "you can't go home again", which is painfully true under so many circumstances.  but something about a one-night visit to my hometown over the weekend seemed to dim the bitter reality of this oft-repeated bit of wisdom.  i think that particular something was dinner with my family on saturday night.

my most vivid and cherished memories of the years that i spent growing up in the house i've lived in since birth took place around our dining room table.  my family was small (just mom, dad, and me), and we always sat down every night at our cherry oak dining room table with some music playing softly in the background.  even if we were only serving reheated leftovers, never did we eat in front of the television, in separate rooms, etc.

only recently did i discover that this was a strange and rare practice.  and only recently have i discovered how lucky i have been to have had shared so many meals with my family in an intimate space.  i intend to continue this practice years from now when i sit around a different table with a family that doesn't exist quite yet.

when i went home on saturday, i walked in the door and was greeted by one small barking dog, the voice of garrison keillor on the radio in the background, vases of flowers, and the delightful smell of bouillabaisse floating in the air.

this is a delicious french seafood stew.  it's surprisingly simple to concoct and always delicious... especially re-heated the next day. 

ingredients

1/4 c. olive oil

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 leek, cleaned thoroughly and sliced thinly

1/2 tsp. thyme

1 bay leaf

2 c. crushed tomatoes

1 c. clam juice

1 c. dry white wine

1/4 c. chopped fennel

pinch saffron

salt and pepper to taste

12 mussels, well scrubbed and de-bearded

12 raw shrimp (i am allergic, but if you're lucky enough to not break out in hives, by all means, include them)

12 scallops

1 small lobster (optional... unless they're on sale...)

1 pound red snapper, cod, or other white fish, cut into chunks

method

in a large pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil.  add celery, onion, garlic, leeks, thyme and bay leaf.  sweat for about 5 minutes.

add tomatoes, clam juice, wine, fennel, saffron, parsely, salt and pepper.  simmer 15 minutes, adding more wine/tomato juice until broth reaches desired consistency.

add the seafood and cook fifteen minutes (usually, the mussels go in first and steam for a few minutes until the shells begin to crack open.  then add the scallops and fish).

serve hot, with warm bread.  

so perfect.

talking turkey.

so it is september 18 today, but i am getting SO EXCITED about thanksgiving already, and have been thinking about this most glorious of holidays for at least two weeks now.

...it's still another nine weeks and six days away.

sigh.

roasted veggie pesto flatbread

quick.  easy.  made possible by the help of your friendly neighborhood pizza joint.

ingredients

-one pound of fresh pizza dough (to be procured from your local pie dealer)

-one red pepper

-one red onion

-one head broccoli, chopped

-one quantity fresh pesto

-crumbled feta*

-olive oil

-salt and pepper

*i buy the kind that comes in a solid block in the cheese section of the grocery store; this way i can make custom sized chunks simply by shredding it with a fork.  it is a couple bucks cheaper than already-crumbled feta, too.

method

preheat the oven to 450 with a pizza stone inside.  dice vegetables (onion, pepper, broccoli-stems removed) and place in roasting pan.  toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast for about 15 minutes.

while veggies are roasting, make pesto.  set aside.

remove veggies from oven.  toss the pizza dough a few times to thin it out, then roll it out one a well-floured surface until it is about 1/2 inch thick.  using a serrated knife, gently slice the dough into long rectangles.  

brush the surface of the dough with olive oil, sprinkle generously with roasted veggies and feta, and return to oven to bake on the pizza stone for about 15 minutes, or until the crust turns golden brown.

remove from oven, spoon dollops of pesto over the flatbreads, and serve hot.