One of the best things I did while I was home was to take advantage of my slow-cooker. Do you have one? Or even a Crock-Pot? If so, you're one lucky devil. Believe it or not they've come a long way in the last few years and are now often used to make real food instead of just mushroom casserole. That's right, real food goes in and real food comes out, unlike what some folks may remember from the 70's. The odd can of tomatoes aside, these days the slow-cooker can be filled with wonderful thick cuts of meat for braising, beans and lentils for stewing, and notoriously long cooking vegetables like collards and beets for growing boys and girls that need their veggies.
Although I've used it for everything from split-pea soup to osso buco and short ribs, my all time favorite slow-cooker dish is chili. While it's not a difficult dish to make on the stove top, it does require some attention to ensure it's not burning or sticking. The slow-cooker on the other hand requires no such babysitting. Once you've browned your meat and onions it's everyone in the tub: Meat, onions, beans, tomatoes, chipotles and spices. An even better argument for making chili in the slow-cooker is that (like with every stew) the longer it lingers the better it tastes. While a four hour stove-top chili is tasty, an eight hour slow-cooker chili is to die for. And during those eight hours, you're absolutely free to do whatever you want. Those with newfangled slow-cookers are even luckier because most shut themselves off once the designated cook time has passed, unchaining the home cook and releasing them from their kitchen.
This version of chili is made up of the standard fare, with the addition of a few chipotles in adobo throw in. The great thing about the recipe (and chili in general) is that you can adjust it to fit whatever type of chili you'd like--just use it as your base recipe and take it from there. Hate chipotles? Leave them out and add finely diced jalapeños or extra cayenne pepper for heat instead. Want more veggies? Add two cups of frozen corn and two diced bell peppers. The possibilities are truly endless and probably delicious no matter how you choose to change it up. I personally rarely make chili outside of fall and winter, so if you're anything like me, grab that slow-cooker, a bag of tortillas and make yourself a big batch before the weather turns from frigid to merely cool. And if you're in a hurry, this recipe carries over just fine to the stove top. Just make sure to keep the heat on low and you'll have chili in no time :)
Chipotle Chili
2 lbs ground beef
1 onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes (or diced if you like them chunky)
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
3 chipotles in adobo, minced, plus 2 tsp adobo sauce
olive oil
salt
pepper
1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a non-stick skillet until soft and add to your slow-cooker crock.
2. Add ground beef to the hot skillet, season with salt and cook until still just slightly pink in the center, making sure to break it up to your desired thickness.
3. Add meat (with any accumulated pan juices) chili powder, cayenne, cumin, paprika, pepper (to taste) chipotles, adobo and tomatoes to the slow-cooker crock. Stir to combine, cover and set on low to cook for 6-8 hours.
4. Once cooked, skim any extra fat that's risen to the top with a serving spoon or ladle. Check for salt and season to taste. Serve with sour cream, grated cheese and tortillas for dipping, or top with chives. Enjoy!
-Laura
This weekend I officially made the best turkey burger ever. Ever. What's that? You make the best turkey burger ever? Sorry to break the news, but not anymore. Once you try this recipe for yourself (and you really should), you'll come over to my side. I'm generally not one to boast this heartily about a recipe, but after all of the effort I put into coming up with the juiciest, most flavorful turkey burger possible, you'll understand my intense pride.
I initially planned on making a turkey burger for dinner a few weeks ago and documenting it here on the blog. I'd long ago mastered the perfect beef burger and figured a heavenly turkey burger wasn't too much of a stretch. Needless to say, I greatly underestimated the differences between a traditional burger and a turkey burger. I started out anticipating the obvious differences--turkey is much leaner, has less natural flavor, and must be cooked all the way through. With all of this in mind I looked into a few recipes and took bits and pieces from each. The result was okay, but not really worth the effort. After all, the way I look at it, if I'm spending the extra dough on ground turkey instead of on cheaper (and naturally tastier) ground beef, I need the burger to pack a flavor wallop.
Fast forward to Sunday morning when I awoke at 9 am sharp with a purpose: to watch my fellow countryman Rafael Nadal win Wimbledon for Spain. Seven hours of excellent tennis later I was emotionally exhausted but fired up by his win (!). In order to keep from pacing and driving myself crazy during the actual match, I decided to flip through some seasonal cookbooks and jot down a few ingredients to experiment with. While doing so, I came across one of the recipes I'd used to make that first bland turkey burger. I decided then and there to celebrate Nadal's win by conquering the turkey burger. So, I spent a little too much money at the grocery store, carried all of the groceries home, and after I slept off the pain in my forearms from walking 4 blocks with 8 grocery bags, I tackled the turkey.
This time I went for intense flavor. The last time I was still in Beef Land, where the meet is juicy and medium rare. I needed to realize that I was in Turkey Town, where the meat is lean, lacking in flavor, and dry. So, to bring this burger to a happy medium, I tackled it on all fronts. Whereas in a beef burger I leave well enough alone where random ingredients are concerned, under cook it, and leave it beefy tasting, for the turkey burger I added moisture and flavor with the help of a few ingredients. Doing double duty was some lovely Laughing Cow cheese, which I generally reserve for dips and crackers, but it has just enough sharpness to add flavor, and the perfect texture to add moisture. Chipotle peppers really went well with the burger and brought a whole bunch of smoky flavor to the party without overwhelming. Spring onions, Dijon mustard and a splash of soy sauce lended some depth of flavor and pizazz to the whole thing. I served it the way every turkey burger should be, with crispy iceberg lettuce, a big dollop of mayonnaise and a squirt of ketchup. Here's what I came up with:
Chipotle Spiced Turkey Burgers
1-1.5 lbs ground turkey (not too lean)
2 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 spring onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 chipotle peppers (in adobo), minced, seeds removed
2 Laughing Cow cheese wedges, chopped
salt
black pepper
vegetable oil
1. Combine all ingredients except for the oil in a bowl and stir to combine.
2. Heat a grill or grill pan on medium-high heat. Form mixture into 4 equal burgers, about 1 inch thick and brush each with vegetable oil. Cook on grill or grill pan until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Lower heat to medium and continue grilling until cooked through, about 5-8 minutes per side. Enjoy!
-Laura
