Right away I spotted “Vegetarian Chili” and promised I’d feature it on the site this week. After we got off the phone, our web admin politely reminded me that I had already made that recipe and we disliked it. A lot.

Huh. Really? This delicious pot of goodness?

It took me a few minutes to remember why, but I finally did. To turn it into a vegetarian chili, the meat was taken out and replaced with a funny little soy product called “tempeh“.

I had no idea what that even was, and had to look it up. As it turns out, tempeh is made up of soybeans fermented into a hard cake. To cook, it’s crumbled with a little oil in a pan — the same way any ground beef product is cooked. It’s a little lighter than meat, but I thought the texture and weight of it to be very similar to ground turkey. There’s just one problem: The smell.

As I said, it’s fermented, and that makes a weird odor. It was so strong that it influenced my sense of taste. I just couldn’t get past it. So this time around, I swapped it out for ground turkey, and I was really pleased with the results.

Now, there are lots of chilis. And there are certain parts of the United States where chili is a huge deal and people claim definitive chili recipes. I don’t subscribe to that philosophy. I believe it’s nice to have a few different kinds in one’s repertoire. This one is loaded with vegetables, and I don’t think it can be compared on the same level with the strict meat and bean chilis. But that’s just me.

Looking at the ingredient list, right away we know it’s Southwestern: Red bell pepper, tons of garlic, chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, cumin seeds and lime.

Unfortunately, I omitted a very important first step — the diced tomatoes are supposed to be pulsed in a food processor or blender for about ten 1-second pulses. That’s very important because, when your chili is simmering, the liquid reduces down to a lovely tomato sauce that lightly coats the chili the way a chili sauce should. I didn’t pulse my tomatoes, so my sauce couldn’t really reduce enough, and what I ended up with was more like a very hearty Southwestern stew. But the flavors were awesome, so I didn’t mind.

Our web admin might have expressed some displeasure, but I couldn’t understand over the sounds of his rabid scarfing.

After the sauce reduces and the spicy and savory flavors are built up, diced zucchini, frozen corn and a splash of fresh lime are added in at the end, along with the ground turkey. Now, if you’re a spice wimp like me and you feel that there’s too much chipotle in this, add more of the corn. The sweetness of the corn will help balance that out. Don’t use canned! Use frozen.

Top with cilantro (or, if you don’t care for the kick-in-the-face-brightness of cilantro, use Italian Parsley like I did) and dig in. My favorite part of the chili has to be the mouthful of vegetables in every bite. There’s the right amount of crunch and the flavors are simply delicious. This chili was an absolute pleaser and has been added to my regular dinner rotation. Mom: This is a winning potluck dish!

Too much information?

Anyway, ATK’s Light & Tasty has a version of soup that elevates a delicious vegetable soup by combining it with a tortellini soup.

A regular tortellini soup is mostly just a garlic broth with cheese tortellini and wilted spinach leaves tossed into it. That’s a very tasty combination, but the texture always leaves me wanting. It’s light, it’s mushy, and I suppose it will do on a cold night when you want pasta and a hot soup and can’t decide which you prefer.

A vegetable soup is usually a barbaric concoction of kitchen sink vegetables and beans with a broth, and I end up with more vegetables that I don’t care for than ones that I do.

Now we have the perfect hybrid — the cheese tortellini goodness and the favored vegetables together, at last, they way they were always meant to be.

Or maybe I’m just a sucker for anything with zucchini and pasta.

Whatever the case is, this soup is incredible and I definitely recommend it. It’s also a quick and easy recipe with very little mess, which is why I added the “Weeknight Cooking” label above. When I described the dish to Citizen Chef, he commented that it sounded too light. If this is your concern, fear not — there’s a lot going on in this soup. The vegetables are very hearty and, to top it off, there’s a cheese pasta in the mix. I served this with garlic bread and, when my household had finished off our meals, we were stuffed and happy.

Tortellini & Vegetable Soup
Adapted from ATK’s Light and Healthy 2010
Serves 8

6 garlic cloves, minced
1 zucchini, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt
1 onion minced (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 bay leaves
1 (9-ounce) package fresh cheese tortellini
2 1/2 cups baby spinach
1 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
pepper
1/8 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Measure out and reserve 1 teaspoon of the minced garlic. Combine the zucchini, 1 teaspoon of the oil, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a large Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini releases its juice, 3 – 5 minutes.

As a reminder, when the recipe calls for a small, specific amount of oil or salt, I know a lot of people don’t measure that. They just “eyeball” the amount. I typically do that as well however, because this book shows the “light and healthy” versions of food, I measure. There’s no point in calling it light and healthy if we’re not being careful to cut back where we can.

Uncover, increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is golden brown and just tender, 2 – 3 minutes longer. Transfer the zucchini to a plate.

Combine the onion, garlic (minus the reserved teaspoon), the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and 1/8 teaspoon salt in the pot. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8 – 10 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is lightly browned, 4 – 6 minutes longer.

Stir in the thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth and bay leaves, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a simmer, add the tortellini, and cook, stirring often, until just tender, 3 – 6 minutes.

I got lucky – my grocery store carries fresh whole wheat tortellini, so I scored some of that for the soup. I thought the whole wheat version was delicious, so if you can get that, do it.

Off the heat, stir in the zucchini, spinach and peas, cover and let sit until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the reserved 1 teaspoon garlic and basil. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, ladle into bowls and sprinkle each portion with some of the cheese before serving.

Eat up. Yum.

What brought this dish to the home plate was the addition of shredded Fontina. Even though I couldn’t get a decent Fontina (I could only find a local brand – no Italian), the taste was still there. And to be honest, I’m not a big fan of pungent cheeses so maybe that’s why I liked it so much.

The other reason I liked it was because of something ATK is very conscientious of: texture.

You probably already guessed that making a lasagna light and healthy involves cottage cheese and, I don’t know about you, but I really don’t like a mouthful of curd in my lasagna. Even if it’s small curd, it doesn’t matter. I feel like I’m eating diet food and the thrill of indulgence is gone. You may as well take that away and stick a bowl of dry lettuce in front of me.

ATK curbs this nicely by blending the cottage cheese with the eggs in a food processor, producing a creamy sauce:

Everything else about the recipe was actually pretty predictable in terms of how to lower the fat content: using lowfat cottage cheese, lowfat milk, etc. But all of those little things together brought the nutrition numbers down to something I was actually pretty happy about. I also did my own part in a few different ways, such as not adding as much Parmesan as the recipe called for. I cut it in half and was still happy about the result.

Putting the whole dish together was also a fairly standard process. Here’s your food montage, a la Eye of the Tiger:

And what that all boils down to (rather, bakes up to) is a delicious and creamy spinach and cheese lasagna. It’s pretty rich, so I suggest small pieces to be served with a little salad and bread.

Next week, join me for Vegetable and Tortellini Soup!

After a long hiatus, we’re back and badder than ever. Our knives are sharpened and kitchens ready to go. Really. I reorganized it this weekend.

Long time AwK readers will know of our undying love for America’s Test Kitchen and its Cook’s Illustrated brand. So, it should come as no surprise to you that we’re bringing the site back with an ATK cookbook challenge:

ATK’s Light & Healthy 2010: We’re cooking our way through, one recipe per week.

I’ve cooked a few recipes out of this book and so far I’ve been happy with every single one — enough to make them staples in my kitchen. The only thing that should be pointed out is that this book is not a diet book. It’s a collection of ATK’s recipes lightened. For example, I’ve eaten a lot of different takes on pasta carbonara. The dish is simple, but thick: spaghetti smothered in cream and bacon and cheese and eggs. And don’t get me wrong, it’s a plate of awesomeness. Unfortunately, most of us can only eat so much of it because it’s just so rich. Light & Healthy 2010 stuck pasta carbonara right on the cover, having successfully turned it into a light and delicious dish. I made it this weekend and didn’t miss the original recipe at all. It was indulgent without making me feel as if I had clogged my arteries.

I’m very excited about this new challenge, as it will break me away from my current list of recipes and introduce me to something new. If anyone would like to join me in this endeavor, let me know. Each week I’ll include a link or photo to your blog. I don’t plan on going through the recipes in order; we’ll be skipping around and I’ll let you know in advance what we’ll be doing the following week.

Now here’s the caveat. (There’s always one, isn’t there?) America’s Test Kitchen does not rely on advertising for their revenue. They rely on paid subscriptions and book sales to keep their 30-year business afloat, and very few of their recipes are free. Posting every single recipe on this site would not be fair to them and, since I am a big fan, I want to support their business model. That said, I will not be posting all of the recipes. I will be posting a few here and there, but not all of them. Hopefully the pictures will sway you to buy a book so you can cook the recipes along with us!

Tomorrow: Light & Healthy Spaghetti Carbonara!

So it drives me only a little bit insane when the idiots on the ESPN pre-show talk about how Favre is motivated by revenge because “the Packers told him he wasn’t good enough to play for them.”  The man QUIT.  He was not kicked out because Aaron Rodgers was better, he was kicked out because by the time he made his goddamn mind up they were halfway through training camp!!

Also:  the Packers did not try to pay Brett Favre $200 million dollars to stay retired, as Chris Berman stated.  The $200 million was an endorsement deal with the Packers, negotiated long before he decided to retire, for him to continue on as an ambassador of the Packers after he quit playing.  He couldn’t do that if he didn’t actually stop playing.

Do I hold Ted Thompson blameless in all of this?  No.  Maybe he should have put up with a little more of his bullsh*t in order to keep Favre around for a few more years.  Was it worth the possibility of losing Rodgers?  Absolutely not.  Are the Vikings a better team with Favre?  Of course.  Are the Packers a worse team without him?  Jury is still out on that one.  Rodgers is not the reason for the Packers troubles.  Getting used to a new defensive scheme and an offensive line with more holes than Spongebob Squarepants both rank alot higher on that list.

I am a Packers fan first, and a Favre fan second, so that’s where my loyalties lie.  Brett Favre was the reason behind, for me, one of the greatest moments in sports history.   But the thing that bothers me about Favre playing for the Vikings, is that at some level, I believe he is doing it to stick it to Ted Thompson.  And you can’t stick it to Ted Thompson without sticking it to the Packers.  And you can’t stick it to the Packers, without sticking it to the Packers fans.  And that my friends, is weak f*cking sauce.

  So I decided to make chili for the game and here is the recipe!!

Woody DeSilva’s Championship Chili

 

Texas chili doesn’t get any better than this fiery-hot version.

Source: Saveur

Photo: Andre Baranowski

4 lbs. beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1⁄2″ cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 tbsp. canola oil
5 medium onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2  6-oz. cans tomato paste
4 tbsp. dried oregano
3 tbsp. chili powder
4 tsp. ground chile pequín    or cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. sweet paprika
1 tbsp. Tabasco
1 tsp. ground cumin
4 tbsp. masa harina

1. Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 6-qt. pot over high heat. Working in 4 batches, brown beef, about 3 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a plate.

2. Add onions and garlic; cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Return beef to pot; stir in tomato paste. Cook, stirring frequently and scraping bottom of pot with a wooden spoon, until tomato paste is caramelized, about 12 minutes. Add oregano, chili powder, chile pequín, paprika, Tabasco, and cumin; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.

3. Add 5 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender, about 2 hours. Stir in masa harina; season with salt. Simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 5 minutes.

SERVES 6

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #121

I am really tempted to end the article there, because it would be pretty damn funny.  But I’ve got some pretty good pictures of the process, so I will continue.  First thing to do is get yourself a Brontosaurus steak:

…and an onion or two…

..and using your mad knife skillz, turn them into this:

and this

What really intrigued me about this recipe was the use of pequin peppers, which I did find at a spice shop.  They have a really nice smoky-sweet almost citrusy aroma.

They are also scary-ass hot, which is why I wore gloves.  Actually it turns out they are not quite as hot as habaneros, but still nothing to take lightly.  I ground this up in my mortar and pestle, but ended up only using about 2t instead of the called-for 4t, because Mrs Citizen Chef isn’t a huge fan of hot stuff, except of course, for me.  Here is the spice combo money shot:

Now the reason why you spent all that time turning your hunk-o-cow into little 1/2 inch cubes, is so you can brown it and have all that surface area to caramelize.  Like so:

When all was said and done, this was a damn fine chili.  But I might go with 3t of the pequins next time.

~Citizen Chef

So the recipe I chose was from Chili Pepper magazine.  I originally was going to try to do this post while I was cooking and see if I could really wow the judges (of which there are none) by getting the whole thing done in 30 mins.  But you will soon notice that there is no recipe listed here.  That brings us to the first obstacle:  the recipe isn’t online so I couldn’t cut and paste the stupid thing.  That’s ok, I decided to post after the cooking was over, as long as I got that done in 30 mins I’ll be fine.  Second obstacle, and I quote here:  “Combine orange juice (2 cups), lime juice (1/3 cup) and brown sugar (1/3 cup) in heavy sauce pan over medium heat.  Bring to a low boil, stirring often, about 20 mins or until syrupy and reduced to about 1/2 cup.”  2 cups plus of liquid to 1/2 cup in 20 mins?  I’m thinking …. no.  Not going to happen.  Never does for me anyway.  Ok, so lets make it a “weekday meal” kind of challenge but not a hard and fast 30 min kinda deal.  Third obstacle:  the recipe kinda sucks.

We were doing well in the beginning.  While the orange juice mixture was boiling I made the salsa, the quick and dirty version of which is this: 

• 1 (11oz) can mandarin oranges, drained and sliced in half
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup diced radishes
• 2 T finely chopped cilantro

It called for the oranges to be sliced once, but I did it a few times because the texture of mandarin oranges can get kind of slug-like when the pieces are too big.  I looked ahead and noticed that I was going to put half of the orange juice brown sugar reduction in this as well, and I didn’t think the red onion and radishes would be enough to counteract that sweetness, so I diced up half a jalapeno and threw it in there too.  This tasted nice and bright and lovely and looked like this..

For the pork chops, they were simply broiled 3 mins on a side, and brushed with the glaze after flipping.  The rest of the glaze went in to the salsa, which turned it into a saccarine-sweet mess.  But the saving grace is this, before the wheels came off the cart, we had a pretty decent dish.  AND without all the reduction crap you can EASILY make this in less than 30 mins.  SO I DECLARE THEORETICAL VICTORY!!!!!

~Citizen Chef

But if you did want to start developing your own recipes, a good place to start is something that is about combining flavors without messing around with the internal chemistry of a dish.  Messing around with a hollandaise recipe requires knowing how the chemistry of that dish works, and that’s a 200 level course at least.  But things like stews and chilis are easier because you just concentrate on flavor.  Or burgers. 

As long as you aren’t messing around with the internal structure of the patty, burger recipes are all about putting flavors together.  Anybody can do that!  Even, say.. a ridiculously bright and adorable 10 year old!  Like say, oh I dunno, my daughter!

The Wisconsin Guys radio show and Quaker Steak and Lube had a Burger Cook Off, that my daughter entered.  And she got in the Finals!  And then she and her mom left for Montana to visit her relatives and I got stuck making the darn thing.  It was a close battle, and her entry ended up getting Second Place, only 6 points behind the winner!  I have to think that if she was there charming the judges instead of me pandering with her picture, we would have taken it hands-down.  So now, in her own words (but my spelling), Citizen Chef Jr’s recipe:

Jade’s Awesome Blue Cheese Burger Put 3 strips of bacon in microwave for 1 1/2 min, crumble when cool.  Mix bacon and hamburger meat.  Make into patties then grill.  Mush up one avocado in a bowl.  Slice the other one.  Spread mushed up one on bun (top only!).  Apply blue cheese.  Slice tomato.  Put patty on bun with tomato and avocado.

The finished product, with and without pandering cute child photo:

~Citzen Chef

Recently, I remade a dessert that we had featured in a previous Magazine of the Month, the Warm Double-Chocolate Brownie Cakes. Actually, this is a dessert that I still bake up a lot because it only takes 20 minutes of prep time, the ingredients are something I always have on hand, and they’re amazingly delicious. I thought I’d try out a little photographing redux, to see if I couldn’t provide better photos.

I think I picked a difficult one to start with. These brownie cakes are dark and moist inside with melted chocolate chunks, and the top is a glossy, cracked brownie top. After popping these open to try and take a nice shot, I just end up with this brown mass that really doesn’t do the dessert justice. I did try, so hopefully it’s at least not a turn off.

This is a top down version, so you can see the crispy, cracked surface. I baked these a couple of days prior to the photos and kept them inside a sealed plastic bag. They keep quite nicely. To reserve, just pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds and serve with a little ice cream.

Here’s a side view – you can see the ice cream starting to melt from the warm cake. It’s not the most elegant looking dessert, but the taste is fantastic. Chocolate lovers will be big fans!

This one came out a little blurry, but I was trying to show the inside texture — very moist, with melted chocolate bits inside.

So there you have it, a photo redux! We don’t really get a lot of comments on this site but if you have any thoughts or tips, drop me an email (check the “Contact Us” button in the top left corner) or post a comment below.

~MM

For this reason, I have a short list of “standby” meals that I fall back on when I need to cook on the weeknight. These meals are generally healthier fare, quick to prepare and easy to clean up. A standby list is a must have for anyone who cooks regularly, or anyone who endeavors to. Maintaining a regular list will help you keep a certain ingredients on hand, so if you need to whip something up on the fly with no time to run to the store, something can always be put together with what you already have in your pantry.

My list evolves as my household’s tastes evolve. This doesn’t happen often; it’s a gradual process. Periodically recipes will get put into the back of my card file and replaced with newer ones. If you’re someone who is endeavoring to cook home more or change eating habits for a healthier fare, I would highly recommend creating a standby list of weeknight meals.

Here’s a peek at a few things currently on my standby list; everything I make regularly is on the site.

Peanut Chicken with Jasmine Rice
My spouse loves anything with peanut sauce. When we eat out at a Thai restaurant, he orders something with peanut sauce plus extra sauce on the side. Then he pours the sauce on something bizarre and asks me if I want a bite. (In case you’re wondering, the answer is no.) This lovely little weeknight meal has become a staple that I serve about once a week.

Indian Chicken Curry with Golden Raisins
A fast and healthy one-dish meal. Adding golden raisins and plain, nonfat yogurt help balance out the spice.

Sweet & Sour Tangerine Chicken Stir Fry
Another healthy one-dish meal. (Are you starting to see the pattern yet?) Vegetables and chicken with a tangy tangerine sauce… Love it.

Angel Hair Pasta with Peas, Prosciutto and Lemon
By far, the fastest meal in my repertoire. Peas and prosciutto mingling together in a cream and white wine sauce. There’s never a complaint in my house when I put this on the table.

Arroz con Pollo
Sometimes I just want something really packed with flavor that sticks to my ribs. This gets cooked up in a single pan, then simmers until the rice is done. Spice is determined by how much red pepper flakes you add, if any. My threshold for spice isn’t that high, so I add very little. Served with warm flour tortillas, cheese and a little sour cream, it’s a great weeknight meal. It’s also great heated up in the microwave as leftovers.

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Cherry Sauce
Sometimes I want something other than chicken. Cherries and balsamic vinegar with tender pork medallions… meow.

Wolfgang Puck’s Chicken Bolognese with Penne
It’s got a zippy sauce, meat and vegetables. Recently I recommended this to my mom for a potluck, and she had a lot of raves about it.

Updated Chicken Chow Mein
This is one of the newest additions to my list. If you recall, this came from our January 2009 Magazine of the Month, Food & Wine. I switched it up a little bit to accommodate my own tastes. Rather than using rounded breakfast sausages, I upped the overall flavor and texture ante by using sweet Italian sausage patties. Tearing them into small, bite-sized pieces eliminates the mess of cutting them up, and I toss them right into the skillet to cook. The snow peas are cut into thirds, and I still use regular egg noodles. The hoisin and orange juice are fantastic together as a sauce. This dish is fast and delicious. Highly recommend.

Chicken Breasts with Potatoes and Mashed Peas
Another Magazine of the Month find. Despite the debacle I had by trying to use drumsticks, I recreated this using boneless, skinless chicken breasts which are cooked in the frying pan for a few minutes, then transferred to the oven with chicken broth to bake. Right before everything is done and ready to come out of the oven, I finish the pan gravy, substituting the chicken fat with a bit of cornstarch for thickening and low-sodium chicken broth. I’m still working on the final formula and once I get it down, I’ll bring this back as a redux!

The trick is, once you find something you like, hang on to it and keep ingredients on hand so you can refer to it often. Other things that help are finding other recipes that utilize the same ingredients. For example, the Creamy Penne I reviewed the other day uses a little bit of prosciutto and tomato paste. Instead of letting the rest of those ingredients spoil, it’s important to find other things that will use the rest of the ingredients — for the tomato paste, I can use it to make Chicken Curry with Golden Raisins and for the rest of the prosciutto I can make Angel Hair Pasta with Peas, Prosciutto and Lemon. If you have any suggestions for weeknight meals, let us know — if you haven’t noticed, they’re pretty much my staple!

So Leah left, which was the right choice I feel.  And now Hosea has “one more person to win for”.  Well now you have one less person to win for, because if your girlfriend back home stuck with you through the kissing and the cuddling, she sure as hell just left you for that comment. 

and now, the belabored Beatles comparison of the final four!!!!

Fabio = John

Fabio is as cool as John Lennon, before he met Yoko and went crazy.  A welcoming, inviting, ego-less cool that brooks no detractors.  His soul is pure, his intentions noble.  He loses his way sometimes, when his imagination strays too far from center.  But at his best, he is the best in us and the best of us.  I really hope he wins.

Stefan = Paul

Undeniably talented, but in a calculated, measured, meticulous fashion.  Stefan, like Paul, is the one you don’t want to like, even though you begrudgingly do.  He has gotten this far in the competition by not making mistakes.  Obviously the odds-on favorite, and if he did win no one would be surprised.  But no one would be too happy about it either. 

Hosea = Ringo

Hosea is the guy who shows great promise but just never quite gets the job done.  Sure they let him sing on a few songs, but they are always the dumb ones that sound like nursery rhymes.  I like Hosea, and not just because he dislikes Stefan, all though that is a point in his favor for sure.  He just never seems to bring it when it needs to be brung.  I hope he proves me wrong.

Carla = George

Mystical, mercurial, maybe just batsh*t crazy.  You never know what you are going to get with Carla.  It could be something as great as “If I Needed Someone”, or as not so much as “Octopus’s Garden”.  She is peaking at the right time though, and if she stays on course she might just win this thing.  But how long can she keep a straight trajectory before something goes in to retrograde and throws her off??

So who is going to win?  I really hope Fabio does, but Stefan probably will.  But it wouldn’t be any fun if I didn’t pick an underdog, so the official Citizen Chef prediction for the winner of Top Chef Season 5 is……

Never bet against batsh*t crazy.

~Citizen Chef