This White Chicken Chili Recipe Will Spice Up Your Tailgate

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BY    –   PEOPLE FOOD

TASTE OF THE NFL

This football season, we’ve partnered with Taste of the NFL and their favorite tailgating experts to share great game-day recipes for an even greater cause.  Join these chefs in raising awareness and funds for hunger relief across the country by taking the Kick Hunger Challenge with your favorite football team and making a donation to their local food bank. And be sure to check PEOPLE.com every Thursday for a new game day recipe from your favorite celebrity chefs. Here, John Seymour, CEO/Co-Founder/Creative Director of Sweet Chick New York City shares a recipe for his white chicken chili.

To me, nothing says game day like a great bowl of chili. I love making this white chicken chili for the big game because it’s great for sharing with friends and will definitely keep you warm if you are tailgating outside.  

This chili is so versatile: You can pour it on top of nachos, grilled hot dogs or just eat it with a spoon. The best part of this recipe, though, is it’s actually easy to make—and you can prep most of it the day before the game.

White Chicken Chili
Serves 6

¼ cup canola oil

3 cups chopped poblano peppers
4 cups chopped onions
¼ cup minced jalapeños
¼ cup minced garlic cloves
1 cup chopped tomatillos
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. coriander
1 tbsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. ancho chili powder
½ tsp. cayenne
½ cup cornmeal
1 cup chicken stock blended with 1 cup cooked white beans
1 ½ cup heavy cream
1 cup chili base
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 cooked chicken thighs, shredded
2 cups cooked white beans
3 cups roasted pumpkin

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat the canola oil over medium high heat. Add the poblano peppers, onions, jalapeños, garlic and tomatillos; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the salt, cumin, coriander, oregano, chili powder and cayenne; and cook an additional 2 minutes.

3. Add cornmeal to mixture and stir until combined. Add blended chicken stock, heavy cream, chili base and Worcestershire, and stir until combined. Add shredded chicken and roasted pumpkin, and  simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt.

4. Serve chili with sour cream, hot sauce and jalapeños. Serve with tortilla chips.

SPICE ROUTE TO THE PAST

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By  Ankita Jain   –   the pioneer

Pickles made and preserved using age-old methods are gradually finding space for themselves in a book by Chef Kunal Kapur. Ankita jain reports

Think pickles and you’re immediately transported to childhood. When summers meant mothers, aunts and grandmothers working their way through mounds of cut mangoes, measuring out spices, salt and freshly-pressed gingelly oil. Finally, the spicy mix would go into huge, waist-high jars, be covered with a cloth, and tied with a piece of string. The pickle jars were off bounds for most; only the chosen lady of the house would do the honours every day – air out the mix, give it a quick stir with a dry ladle, and re-seal the jars till the contents inside were ready for consumption.

In times when ‘Make In India’ is gaining currency, chef Kunal Kapur is celebrating indigenous product like pickles that we have been making for centuries. Kunal has started a pickle campaign titled – ‘Pickle Tickle’ which will enable home cooks, pickle makers and pickle connoisseurs from across India to submit their most innovative and unique pickle recipes. The aim is to put together the largest collection of pickles from different parts of India in his forthcoming book.

Whenever we think pickles and we are immediately transported to childhood. So what are chef Kunal’s fond memories around pickles? “Being brought up in a Punjabi family in Delhi, every summer holidays meant watching our favourite mango being pickled. It is very nostalgic moment as we would climb up the top floor using the wooden ladder to place the white sheet on the floor of the terrace and spread mangoes for drying. The sight from that terrace saw almost every house drying mangoes in the season for pickling. Some times when suddenly the weather would change, mom would shout out loud to bring down the pickle from the terrace. We would rush and grab before anything could happen to it. Both of us (Kunal and his sister) would help, wash and wipe the mangoes and as our granny would cut them with a large knife we would sneak a piece or two of the raw mango and quietly eat it with a pinch of black salt.” When asked about the Pickle Tickle campaign and what went into the germ of this idea, he explained, “This campaign requires help from anyone to either contribute a unique pickle recipe or recommend a unique pickle or a pickle maker and I will travel and learn the pickle myself and document that recipe and the pickle maker in the book. At the same time, India has the largest collection of pickles in the world and yet we have never documented it and pickling is a dying art. More and more people are happy buying a bottle of pickle from the market not knowing the real taste and benefits of homemade pickle.” The book will also feature pickles from the least discovered places right from north east to Jammu and Kashmir, to Andaman and Nicobar. “My first research on pickles started from Nagaland and the next is Assam,” he said. The uniqueness about his campaign is the crowd sourced model. “My knowledge on pickles is limited to what I know and what I have learnt with my travels. And if I have to put the largest collection of the most unique pickles of India then I need help from people across India and hence the campaign urges all people to contribute to the book by sharing their unique pickle recipe.” For chef Kunal travel is an experience and he treats it as an investment. “Travelling to me brings up unique ingredients coupled with interesting methods that becomes the catalyst for innovation when I come back to my kitchen.”

With most young families keen to eat out these days, will these family secrets like pickles die a slow death? “The overall aim is to revive the dying flavours of pickle and to keep our cuisine and heritage alive in a form that can be replicated by generations to come. Also, to make people aware that there are several healthy pickles as well which can be easily made part of their daily diet.”

A Restaurant That Only Serves Pickles Is On The Way

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Will you relish it or hate it?

BY    –   delish

Pickles are polarizing: While some people pick them as their favorite snack—and they’re one of the most storied of pregnancy cravings—others totally hate them. And then there are the next-level pickle obsessives who swear by boozy pickleback shots. Riding the cult following of the vinegar-soaked cucumber, one man decided to open a restaurant dedicated to the garlicky things.

In New York (of course) the team behind a kosher shop called The Pickle Guys is now working on a full blown, brick-and-mortar sit-down restaurant concept. So far, the menu is still in the works, Eater reports. But the shop’s manager said it’s leaning toward focusing on various types of fried pickles. Because obviously.

FACEBOOK / THE PICKLE GUYS

But there will also be variations on the pickle in fried form, including fried okra, fried mushroom, and fried tomato. “We pickle many, many things throughout the year,” manager William Soo told Eater. “We’ll try to bring that stuff to the eatery.”

Once it opens—the date is currently slated for sometime in March or April—the restaurant will be set-up for to-go orders, however there will also be limited seating at bar stools and tables.

Veggie Chili

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By MICHAEL SYMON   –   ABC

servings: 6|easy|30 to 45 min
VEGGIE CHILI
  • 2 ounces avocado oil or canola oil
  • 2 medium eggplants (peeled, cut into 3/4-inch cubes)
  • 5 teaspoons chili powder
  • 3 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 small yellow onion (peeled, medium dice)
  • 1/4 cup fresh oregano (leaves removed, chopped)
  • 1 red bell pepper (seeded, medium dice)
  • 2 cloves garlic (peeled, minced)
  • 1 jalapeno (stem removed, minced)
  • 6 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup green lentils (thoroughly rinsed in cold water, drained)
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 can diced tomatoes (15 ounces)
  • cilantro (to garnish)
  • jalapeno (shaved, to garnish)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Directions
  • Place a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the avocado oil. Add the eggplant and cook until it starts to soften and brown, about 6-7 minutes. Season with salt.
  • Add the chili powder, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and oregano, stirring to coat the vegetables. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeno and cook until the vegetables soften and become aromatic, about 4 minutes.
  • Add the lentils, vegetable stock, and diced tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Top with cilantro and jalapeno to serve.
  • Tip: Add your favorite vegetables to this chili. If you prefer no cocoa powder, simply remove for a flavorful soup.

Austin, Texas’ Top 10 Pickled, Cured, or Brined Bites (and Sips)

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Nothing a little time and some spices can’t fix

BY ADRIENNE WHITEHORSE, FRI., DEC. 30, 2016   –   AUSTIN CHRONICLE

1) Pickled Peanuts, Royal Jelly

Recently, Royal Jelly owner and chef Matt Walker thought to pickle groundnuts to give his Thai shrimp lettuce wraps a little more acidity and a slightly softer texture. On any given day, the Royal Jelly crew is concocting a new brine to play with. But that day had extra magic.

2) Fermented Green Tomatoes, Soursop

We love anything these guys throw in a salt solution, be it shoestring carrots and daikon on the roti tacos or Thai chiles for their top-secret hot sauce. But these tangy green tomatoes are stacked atop green-curry fried chicken for a sandwich that hits all the right notes. The food truck at the St. Elmo Brewing Co. combines savory, sweet, spicy, and acidic, resulting in flavor bombs that beg to be accompanied by a sip of crisp beer.

3) Probiotic Sauerkraut, Hat Creek Provisions

We sampled this crunchy kraut at last year’s Fermentation Festival and have had a healthy addiction since. Available at retail outlets like Wheatsville and Whole Foods, the lacto-fermented cabbage (never heated and without vinegar) is naturally full of probiotics for a healthy gut. So you understand why we sometimes – okay, often – eat it straight outta the jar.

4) Tuna Crudo, Lenoir

We recently celebrated a special occasion at Lenoir, and this olive oil-cured tuna, resting in ponzu with a delicate melon relish, was our favorite bite of the night. With the menu changing as often as Texas’ winter weather, we regret that this dish has likely already been retired; but we’re pretty confident something else equally stellar will have taken its place.

5) Fermented Tomato Bloody Mary, Emmer & Rye

Koji, a fungus used to ferment soy sauce and miso, is employed in several desserts at Emmer & Rye, including an apple syrup on the French toast at brunch. Not much surprises us from a restaurant that has a dedicated fermentation pantry. It is said that fermented foods will help hangovers; that’s just one of the reasons we love this umami-laden Bloody.

6) The Jolene, the Boiler Room

Pickled peach shares the stage with ginger beer, sun tea bitters, and mint in this vodka-based cocktail from mixologist Jason Stevens. The subterranean bar below the Seaholm Power Plant pays homage to famous musicians with its craft cocktail menu, and this Dolly Parton nod sings.

7) Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs, Central Standard

This steakhouse’s beautiful presentation of cured, smoked salmon deviled eggs, topped with bright pink pickled red onion and “everything spice” is quite possibly one of the most Instagrammable brunch items of the year. Eaten together with one of the best steak tartares in town, our taste buds were pretty pleased as well.

8) The Hawaiian Rose, Cu29 Cocktail Bar

When the price of a cocktail veers into the double digits, it seems worth it to get a show from the bartenders performing their craft. With this coconut rum-based drink, a slice of bacon is torched in front of you, the fat dripping into a mixing bowl, which is then whisked into a whipped cream dream. This one is worth the wait.

9) Kimchi and Banchan, Mom’s Taste

Not quite a grocery store, this family-owned Korean mini-mart sells marinated beef and pork for cooking bulgogi at home, as well as a fantastic variety of banchan (side dishes) like soybean sprouts, seaweed salad, fish cake, and kimchi galore: radish, cucumber, napa cabbage, etc. If you’re feeling adventurous, try the peppered organ meats or the fried anchovy with gochujang. We love it all.

10) Charcuterie Board, Aviary Lounge

Aviary is everything we want in a wine bar. Intimate space (a home furnishings store by day), great selection of wine and beer, and a rotating list of meats and cheeses that is always thoughtfully curated. Even if they didn’t add Easy Tiger bread and house pickles, it would still be one of our favorites.

A JALAPEÑO FRIED CHICKEN BLT, BECAUSE YOU DESERVE THE BEST IN LIFE

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By

Fried chicken is inarguably one of mankind’s greatest culinary achievements. With the exception of KFC’s fried chicken-scented sunscreen, we’d argue that there’s no wrong way to consume the ol’ battered bird — which is why we’re drooling over Food Steez’s jalapeño fried chicken BLT. Spice? Check. Moist, crispy chicken? Check. Bacon? Obviously. Here’s how to make it.

JALAPEÑO FRIED CHICKEN BLT

Yield: 1 sandwich

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 jalapeño, sliced, to garnish
  • 2 tablespoons honey mustard
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons Sriracha
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 2 tablespoons finely fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken tenders
  • 2 cups self-rising flour
  • Canola oil, for frying
  • 2-3 slices of French bread
  • 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked
  • Butter lettuce, to garnish
  • 1 large heirloom or beefsteak tomato, sliced
  • 1 avocado, pitted and sliced
  • Honey mustard, to garnish
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

  • Heat the canola oil to 350°F in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot. Do not fill the pot more than halfway full with oil.
  • Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the flour to a shallow bowl. In another bowl, beat 3 of the eggs and 1 tablespoon of Sriracha sauce together. Dip the seasoned chicken in the egg mixture, and then coat well in the flour. Set floured pieces aside.
  • Place the chicken in the pot and fry until brown, crispy, and cooked through (approximately 6-8 minutes). Remove and set it on a baking rack. Let cool for 3-4 minutes.
  • Toast 2 slices of bread lightly in the toaster.
  • In a medium saucepan over medium heat, fry the egg(s). Remove and set aside.
  • In the same pot, cook off the bacon until crispy.
  • To make the Sriracha mayo, mix together the mayo, Sriracha, smoked paprika, and basil. Stir well.
  • Spread the Sriracha mayo over one slice of bread. Follow with lettuce, tomato, avocado, fried chicken, honey mustard, bacon, sliced jalapeños, the fried egg, and the remaining slice of bread. Serve.

Homemade pretzels are just one of the ways you can recycle pickle brine

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You can also drink it, use it to brine a chicken or add it to a marinade.

BY CHRISTINE BURNS RUDALEVIGE   –   PORTLAND PRESS HERALD

What to do with leftover brine in the pickle jar? Make pretzels. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Pickle brine is not an insignificant substance.

According to Pickle Packers International, Inc., a trade association for the pickled vegetable industry, Americans consume more than 2.5 billion pounds of commercial pickles each year. Even before you start counting the ones we pickle at home, we’re still talking about 20 billion pickles annually, folks.

All of which have been sitting in a brine comprising some combination of water, salt, sugar and spices, a mixture most of us don’t think twice about dumping down the drain. Being resolute about using up used pickle brine across your culinary repertoire is a small, but significant, step to take for a greener new year.

Based on the eight jars of pickles in my cupboard, I estimate a quart jar can hold 10 large, 16 medium or 24 small pickles. Once the pickles, regardless of their size, are gone, each of the jars is left with 1¼ to 1½ cups of what you can now think of as liquid flavor.

You can drink it, especially before and after a tough workout, when it can help relieve muscle cramps (thanks to the sodium and vinegar) and help replenish electrolytes, which renders expensive, plastic-bottled, sugary sports drinks unnecessary. Given that it is the day after New Year’s Eve, I can also offer up pickle brine as a hangover cure.

If you are taking it straight up, sipping is the right approach. A big chug might not sit well in your tummy. You could always strain the brine into Popsicle molds and freeze it if you need to further monitor the speed at which you take it in.

Pickling expert Marissa McClellan, who wrote “Food in Jars,” “Preserving by the Pint” and “Naturally Sweet Food in Jars,” says you can use spent pickle brine to make more pickles – but only if you are making a batch of refrigerator pickles. And we’re not just talking about cucumbers; you can quick-pickle sliced red onions, grated carrots, hard-boiled eggs, garlic, artichoke hearts or any other soft vegetables. McClellan warns that once a brine has been processed in either a water bath or a pressure canner and has sat in a jar on the shelf with a batch of pickles submerged in it, the acidity of the brine will not likely be high enough to make a new batch safe to store unrefrigerated.

Cathy Barrow, whose book “Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry” guides cooks through sundry ways of using every bit of the canned goods in your larder deliciously, suggests using pickle juice to brine chicken. A basic brine – essentially a salt-and-water solution with optional flavorings – tenderizes meat and allows it to absorb the flavored liquid. If you want to cut the sourness, add a little brown sugar. If you want only a hint of pickle, cut the brine with an equal amount of water.

You can use pickle brine anywhere you’d use vinegar, such as salad dressings, marinades and barbecue sauces. You can use it – albeit in shorter measure – in a dirty martini instead of olive juice or to tart up a Bloody Mary, swapping out the celery garnish for a pickle spear, of course. And you can use a dash of pickle juice anywhere a heavy or flat-tasting dish need a bit of zip – like when you’re boiling a pot of potatoes, mixing up meatloaf, baking macaroni and cheese, steaming vegetables or making hummus.

The one Internet-fueled idea I found hard to swallow was using pickle juice to make bread. The recipes I read recommended a 1:1 swap with warm water used in standard bread recipes. I wasn’t thrown off by the potential taste – I thought that would be great – but I worried the acid would diminish the bread’s rise. In fact, it doesn’t. My homemade pretzel dough rose to twice its size in the expected 90 minutes. And the finished product was soft, chewy perfection with a pleasing tang that allowed me to forgo my usual mustard on the side.

Christine Burns Rudalevige is a food writer, a recipe developer and tester and a cooking teacher in Brunswick. Contact her at: cburns1227@gmail.com.