Corn and Kielbasa Chili

Are you tired of using that same old chili recipe? As much as I love my classic chili recipes, typically made with ground beef, it is nice to change it up with something out of the ordinary. In fact, something extraordinary happened in my kitchen this Monday when I whipped up a stew now referred to as Corn and Kielbasa Chili. My initial concept for this dinner was not meant to become chili-like but this is how great recipes are born-by accident.

The concept originated with the giant bag of frozen corn ears leftover from our CSA summer farm share. If you are like me with summer corn in the freezer that needs to be used, then this is a great way to go. The other ingredients I had on hand were the basic items like beef and chicken broth, spices, Rotel (canned tomatoes and chiles), onion and red pepper. I picked up a fresh link of uncooked pork kielbasa from Whole Foods.

This dish came together quickly-simmering away on the stove while my husband and I enjoyed a mild fall evening in Philadelphia after a long weekend away. Along with fresh bread and butter, we indulged in this hearty stew, which is sure to please anyone who enjoys chili and a bit of spice.

Corn and Kielbasa Chili

Ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Dash crushed red pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, grated
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika
Pinch of cayenne
2 large ears of corn, corn removed from cob
*Hold corn on its end and gently use a knife to scrape off all corn kernels.
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups beef stock or broth
2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 can RO*TEL (canned tomatoes and green chiles)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp liquid smoke
4 shakes of Cholula hot sauce or Tabasco
1/2 lb Kielbasa or Chorizo
*If sausage is not cooked, then simply place in stew once all other ingredients are in the pot and allow to cook all the way through. Remove from stew and let is rest for a 3 minutes. Peel away casing and dice up the sausage. Return the chopped sausage to the stew to continue cooking. If you use cooked or smoked sausage, then simply chop sausage and add to the soup at the same time as the corn.


Directions:

1. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil at the bottom of a large pot over medium heat. Add a dash of crushed red pepper and allow to heat through for 30 seconds.

2. Add onions, red pepper, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix ingredients and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika and cayenne. Mix well and cook for another two minutes.

4. Place corn and tomato paste into the pot. Stir well and cook for 3 minutes.

5. Next, add all liquids to the pot (beef and chicken broth, RO*TEL, red wine vinegar, liquid smoke and hot sauce). Mix the stew together well. Cover with lid and simmer on low for 5 minutes.

6. Add uncooked sausage link and continue to simmer with the lid on until sausage is firm and cooked through, approximately 12 minutes.

7. Remove sausage from pot and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Remove the casing and chop the Kielbasa. Place the chopped Kielbasa back in the stew. Continue simmering on low for 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy this Corn and Kielbasa Chili on a cool, crisp fall evening. Serve with crusty bread or cornbread and butter. Go vegetarian by omitting the sausage and using a vegetable based stock or broth and extra veggies. Chorizo, shredded chicken or smoked sausage would be excellent substitutes for Kielbasa. For seafood lovers, replace the sausage with jumbo shrimp and mussels toward the end of the cooking time. No matter how you do it, you will love the warmth and spice that this dish will bring you and your family.

Po Po Restaurant

During a recent visit to Boerne, TX, the home of my parents who relocated from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina as well as the home of my sister and her family, I was introduced to a Texas classic family restaurant, Po Po Restaurant. Every time my husband and I visit, my family says we should to Po Po's, as they call it. Often on the phone with one of my Texas-residing family members, I hear, "we just got back from another great dinner at Po Po's". Then they will say, "you've been there, right?" Again and again I had to remind them that they had not ever taken us to Po Po's, so finally on this trip we had our special evening at this historic place.


In 1929, this structure was originally built as a dance hall, called the Nelson Dance Hall after the owner Edwin Nelson, a rancher and dairyman. During those days this establishment provided cheap burgers, moonshine during the Prohibition and a place for folks to dance and be entertained even during the Great Depression. During such hard economic times, people hardly had enough money for gasoline to get anywhere let alone to cut loose at the Nelson Dance Hall. Eventually Nelson sold the property in 1932 to Ned Houston, a rancher and exporter to locations such as Mexico, Cuba and Dominican Republic. Houston decided to make Nelson Dance Hall into a restaurant. Wanting a memorable and simple name, he named his restaurant Po Po after the Mexican volcano called Popocatepetl. Houston's name choice has certainly withstood the test of time.

In 1934, Houston sold Po Po's and the restaurant had various owners until 1950 when Luther and Marie Burgon bought the place. This is when Po Po's truly became a family establishment where prominent families would come to dine. The Burgon's, a well-traveled family, decorated their restaurant with plates collected from every new place they visited. Po Po Restaurant currently has over 2,000 plates displayed on its walls. Current owners, Sam Bounias and Mark Admire, plan to continue the traditions of Po Po Restaurant in the Texas Hill Country.


Located in Boerne, Texas, approximately 30 miles from the San Antonio area, Po Po Restaurant stands proud serving customers authentic Southern cuisine from chicken fried steak to a dynamite seafood platter. Po Po's is not a place for dieting, cares or worries; this is a place to sit back and enjoy the laid back atmosphere while enjoying comfort food with family and friends. That is just what my husband and I did during our Po Po's visit with my parents and sister.


On a hot, bone-dry summer evening followed by a day spent at the pool, we relaxed with cocktails while reading over this traditional Southern menu. Being from New Orleans, we were all very comfortable and delighted with all of our meal options. While getting into the basket of Captain's Wafers crackers, a staple at Southern spots and seafood restaurants alike, I spotted okra on the menu immediately and ordered Fried Okra for the table. My mom ordered her favorite-Chicken Livers or Gizzards w' Gravy. With these two items on the table along with a few house salads to make us feel better about the fried food, we indulged and enjoyed good conversation. Getting slightly stuffed already, we prepared ourselves for what was to come. On its way to our table was a Seafood Platter-Jumbo Shrimp, Boiled Shrimp, Fried Oysters and a Catfish Fillet, a Chopped Steak with Grilled Mushrooms, French Fries and Gravy, Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy and, finally, a plate of Homemade Biscuits.


We had our work cut out for us but truly had a memorable meal. Po Po's frying techniques come from 1950's owner, "Ma" Burgon's original, award-winning recipes. Menu options at this spot are endless starting with Po Po's Famous Fried Chicken menu with a side note that says, "1987 winner, San Antonio Restaurant Assocation's Taste's of the Town-Best America Taste. Ma Burgon's Original Recipe! Fried the way Ma Burgon taught us". Po Po's continues to please with items like hamburgers, ribs, turkey, and a full steak and seafood menu. Dessert at Po Po's does not disappoint with Homemade Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce, Popocatepetl Special Dessert-homemade chocolate brownie with pecans topped with Blue Bell Ice Cream, Chocolate Topping, Whipped Cream and a Cherry, and Home Baked Cobbler-Blackberry or Peach.


Spend a day in the Texas Hill Country and end it with a satisfying, comforting meal at Po Po's. Do not miss Po Po's welcome sign out front, which reads:

"WE ARE NOT FAST! We try hard to be good, cheerful and courteous, but, we are not fast! For fast go to New York. Here we are South of the 'Tension Line' --- So relax. Take time to smell the flowers and give us the time to prepare your order with tender loving care."


Po Po Restaurant
829 FM 289
Boerne, TX 78006
830-537-4194

Cheesy Chicken Chorizo and Potato Stuffed Peppers

As summer sadly comes to an end, we are also facing the end of our vegetable farm-share. After a full summer of delicious recipes inspired by the fresh vegetables from the local farm, there are many that I must share. My favorite creation this summer was by far the Cheesy Chicken Chorizo and Potato Stuffed Peppers. This recipe developed from an overabundance of both peppers and potatoes. Beautiful, dark green bell peppers were just sitting in the fridge drawer with no purpose until I hit a chicken sausage sale at Whole Foods. I like to stock up on a variety of chicken sausages. I find that one large link is the perfect portion for my husband and I to have for a dinner with veggies and rice or pasta. Examining the contents of my fridge and freezer, I eyed up the chicken chorizo I had bought along with the peppers and thought this combination could be a match made in heaven. With the surplus of Yukon gold potatoes and red potatoes, I added those in the mix.

The recipe was very organic, meaning completely unplanned (as well as the other kind of organic). Not knowing exactly how to incorporate the potatoes, I began with dicing one large Yukon gold into small chunks and then boiling the diced potato pieces for just a couple of minutes. After caramelizing Vidalia onion slices, I added the chicken chorizo to the saute pan. I decided to throw the diced potatoes in the pan as well. As the onions, chorizo and potatoes cooked together, a hash formed, which turned out to be the perfect consistency for a stuffing. With a punch from some chili powder, cumin and cilantro and the satisfying creaminess of cheddar cheese, this hash was stuffed into each bell pepper.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
Dash crushed red pepper
1/2 Vidalia onion, diced
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, grated
1 link Chorizo sausage-chicken or pork, removed from casing (Half link per person)
1 large Yukon gold potato, diced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
Juice of half of a lime
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 large green bell pepper, cut in half and seeded (Half large bell pepper per person)

Directions:

1. On a preheated grill, place the bell pepper halves face up in a glass or metal baking dish. Place dish in center of grill not directly over an open flame. Cook in closed grill for 10-15 minutes or until slightly tender.

2. While the pepper cooks, bring a pot of water to boil on the stove top. Once water boils, add a dash of salt and the diced potatoes. Boil potatoes for about 3-5 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

3. While the potatoes are boiling. On a stove top, heat 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil over medium to low heat. Add a dash of crushed red pepper, diced onions, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix ingredients together well, cover pan and allow onions to caramelize for about 10 minutes.

4. In the saute pan, grate the garlic clove with a microplane and mix in well. Also, crumble the chicken Chorizo into the pan. Break up well and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until about done.

5. Add the diced boiled potatoes, chili powder, cumin and another pinch of salt and pepper into the Chorizo mixture. Cook on medium heat and stir frequently. Once potatoes start to break down and mixture turns into a hash, add the the lime, cilantro and half of the shredded cheese. Mix well.

6. Stuff the Chorizo and potato hash into each bell pepper. Return peppers to grill and cook for about 10 minutes. Top each pepper with the remaining shredded cheese. Cook for another 7-10 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Serve this beautiful dish with a vibrant green salad and corn on the cob or freshly baked corn bread. You will love the smokey flavor brought to this dish by utilizing the grill. Use this method of creating a potato hash with any ingredients you have on hand to create an amazing stuffed bell pepper. Try potato, ham and cheddar stuffed peppers or a "baked potato" stuffed pepper by using potato, bacon, chives and cheddar. I think I will try that one next. Enjoy!

Grilled Zucchini Boats

Of all the recipes I have tried during our summer membership with a local CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) or farm-share, my favorite is a fresh, tasty recipe for Grilled Zucchini Boats. I got the idea by flipping through one of my cooking magazines. With beautiful green zucchini, deep purple-red onion and red and yellow cherry tomatoes-all fresh from the farm, I was looking for something interesting to do with all of these items. The recipes I have seen for stuffed zucchini or zucchini boats are generally cooked in an oven. Temperatures were holding strong in the 90s in Philadelphia, which meant that it was not much cooler in our kitchen. Turning on the oven in our home is not an option in 90 plus degree heat, so I decided that the zucchini boats would have to be cooked outside on the grill.

For the filling, I simply sauteed the ingredients on low heat indoors and then filled the boats to be grilled outdoors. The result was undeniably delicious. What would normally be a tasty dish anyway turned into an even more flavor-packed creation by using the grill. The smokiness from the grill penetrated the entire dish creating a rich, intense flavor.
Grilled Zucchini Boats

2 medium green zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
Extra virgin olive oil Dash of crushed red pepper 1/4 cup red onion, diced 1 garlic clove, grated
Pulp or inside of zucchini 1/2 cup red and yellow grape tomatoes, quartered
2 tbsp tomato sauce, prepared or homemade
4 basil leaves, slice in long, thin ribbons
Cooking spray 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella 1 oz. feta cheese crumbles

Directions:

1. Remove the inside flesh of each zucchini half with a melon baller, scooping out little balls to create a cavity within the zucchini. Make sure the outer edge is at least a half inch thick, so it stands up to the heat of grill without falling apart. Dice the balls of zucchini.

2. Heat a drizzle (or 2 tbsp) of extra virgin olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Once heated through, add a dash of crushed red pepper and the diced onion. Saute the onion on low heat until slightly caramelized-about 7 minutes. Then add the zucchini and garlic. Mix well and continue to saute on low heat for another 7 minutes.

3. Add in the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Allow to cook for about 3 minutes. Turn heat off and add the basil and 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese (reserve the remaining for the topping).

4. With a spoon fill each zucchini boat with the filling. On a heated grill, place a large strip of aluminum foil coated with cooking spray on the grill. Place the zucchini boats on the foil, close the grill and cook on medium to low heat for 25 minutes or until tender. Adjust heat if the zucchini browns to quickly on the bottom.

5. Add 1/4 cup of the mozzarella and feta cheese crumbles on top of the zucchini boats. Continue cooking on low until the cheese is melted.

6. Serve with grilled chicken, a pesto pasta or a green summer salad with crusty Italian bread.

With the zucchini season at its height, pick up plenty of these as they will likely be priced low. Add this recipe to your summer repertoire!

Farm Share Organic Vegetables

Mid-May my husband and I joined our first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) with Wimer's Organics, a farm in Lancaster County just a couple of hours from our Philadelphia residence. We were so pleased with our first box of vegetables but it just keeps getting better and better.


Our second pick up included a bag of mixed greens, a huge bunch of kale, red leaf lettuce, radishes, broccoli, spring onions and a cucumber. During that week, it was so warm out that I would simply make a plate of crudite (raw vegetables) with a home made light ranch dip using sour cream. The radishes were so crisp, peppery and bright. I found a way to actually grill kale. I placed a large handful of already washed and roughly chopped kale in a tent of aluminum foil. After drizzling a little olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper, I closed up the foil tent and put on the grill. The kale cooked down in the foil leaving a nice smoky flavor from the grill.


Our third pick-up of farm fresh veggies included collard greens, red butter lettuce, tons of long green onions, garlic scapes, a bunch of oregano and basil, sugar snap peas and green cabbage. Salads with the red butter lettuce were incredible. Not knowing what a garlic scape is or ever eating one, we were pleasantly surprised when we put these long thin green asparagus-like veggies on the grill with some extra virgin olive oil. The garlic scapes, which are what garlic bulbs grow from, have a mild garlic flavor enhanced by sauteing or grilling. Garlic scapes found their way in a few of our pesto pasta dishes in the last few weeks. Pestos have been blending up a storm in my kitchen with not only the huge bundle of basil from Wimer's Organics but also from my basil plant that is successfully growing outside my front door. The collard greens turned out perfectly after I referred to my own recipe, http://off-my-plate.blogspot.com/2009/09/collard-greens-from-garden-to-plate.html. This recipe brings together garlic, onion, mustard, extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar to make a quick and tasty version of collard greens. This time I simplified even more and skipped the pancetta.


Along with all of those vegetables, we received a dozen jumbo eggs-all of which were twins (two yolks in one egg). Our green cabbage is still going strong. I have mastered an easy slaw salad recipe. I shred the green cabbage with thinly sliced red and green onion tossed in a home made mustard vinaigrette. The vinaigrette is made with a teaspoon of dijon mustard, a teaspoon of light sour cream mixed with a splash of red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. With a pinch of salt and pepper, I toss the slaw with the vinaigrette and refrigerate for an hour or two. This crisp and satisfying salad is a refreshing compliment to any meal.


Our latest delivery came from Wimer's last Wednesday. The vegetables continue to get more abundant and vibrant. Napa cabbage, green leaf lettuce, Swiss chard, two crowns of broccoli, a bundle of sage, a hefty green and yellow squash, and three large red tomatoes came with this week's delivery. We have already enjoyed the Swiss chard sauteed simply and topped with freshly grated Romano cheese. I am so excited to cook a variety of Asian-inspired meals with the Napa cabbage. Eating salads everyday for lunch truly has been a pleasure. I thought I may get tired of eating so many greens, but it is the opposite. When I ran out of greens for salad and ate a sandwich for lunch instead, I felt so full and tired. Eating a salad for lunch fills you with out weighing you down. I am ready for a beautiful salad today and all next week.


Stay tuned for more details on the CSA!