Weekly Dish

The Aunts’ Recipe Book, a collection of Ellis family recipes I received when I got married, contains dozens of notecards with each of my Mississippi aunts’ handwriting on them. I love to look closely at each card to see what it tells me about its author. Aunt Cindi’s cards are big and bright; they have fun stickers in each corner and the cookbook from which the recipe came. Aunt Prissy’s tend to be very opinionated and a little on the bossy side, but very precise. Aunt Em’s recipes are written on the back of whatever she had handy at the moment; many of the ones in this book are scratched on the back of very old Christmas cards featuring her boys in matching sailor suits (they’re almost all teenagers now!) Aunt Jennifer’s recipes, for the most part, are simple and straightforward, occasionally adorned with a comment about what the recipe means to her and her family.

When I first started cooking, Aunt Jennifer’s recipe for White Chili was approachable, but not so easy that it didn’t feel like “real” cooking. I find her style to be like that: she believes that food doesn’t have to be fussy to be good, and that if more people learned to cook simple, satisfying meals, we’d have many more families sitting down to home-cooked meals, instead of to pizza or McDonald’s.

This chili is a little like a spiced-up chicken soup, heartier because of the beans, and edgier because of the red pepper and cumin. I love to make a pot of this soup on a dreary Saturday or Sunday afternoon and let it sit for a while. As with most chili recipes, the longer the flavors have to mingle, the better it tastes. I always stir in a few extra thoughts of Aunt Jennifer, for whom I was named, who always served my noodles on top of my spaghetti when I was a kid and never told my mom that I asked her to, and with whom I share a love of teaching and good books. As a matter of fact, this soup goes great with a good book for lunch, if you happen to have one on hand.

Aunt Jennifer’s White Chili

1 pound white navy beans (Aunt Jen says canned is ok, so I don’t argue. Just don’t tell Aunt Prissy. I don’t drain them, either)

2 pounds chicken breasts, or 2-3 cups of cooked chicken meat (I used the leftovers from our Thanksgiving roast chicken)

6 cups chicken broth or stock (I used a combination of canned and homemade)

1 T. olive oil

2 med. onions (I like the sweet yellow ones in this dish)

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 t. cumin

1 t. oregano (I used fresh because I have it in my backyard)

1/4 t. ground cloves

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

If using uncooked chicken, cook it in water on the stove until all the meat turns white and comes apart easily with a fork. In a large pot, cook the onions and garlic in olive oil until very, very soft. Chop the chicken into small pieces; add everything else to the pot. Simmer for at least 30-45 minutes, preferably longer. Just be careful not to let it boil, or you’ll lose liquid. Serve with any or all of the following garnishes: salsa, sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese, tortillas, chopped oregano or cilantro.

P.S. I realize that I am not abiding by the days on the menu, but it’s been one of those weeks already. I promise to post the Chicken Pie and Risotto recipes later in the week!

A strange cat has been hanging out at our house lately. He’s pretty cute, brown and gray tabby with really bright green eyes, but Chester and Carmela are having a hard time adjusting to his presence. We often hear the yelps and hisses of kitty violence in our backyard, opening the door just in time to see our cats ganging up on this wandering neighbor.

A few weeks ago, I had the back door open because it was so nice outside, and I came into my kitchen to find a cat on the floor, one that doesn’t belong to me. He quickly sauntered back out when he saw me, but he isn’t afraid to intrude. His favorite spot in the backyard is near our enormous basil plants, so in honor of his persistent presence around our house, I named him after another constant in our kitchen: Pesto.

I’ve never had basil plants (or strange cats, for that matter) hang around this long. I don’t know if it’s because we planted them late in the season or because of the near-tropical climate, but they show no signs of fading any time soon. And so, I’ve had a never ending supply of pesto in my fridge (as I’m sure you’ve noticed!) and am trying to find new ways to use it. This soup is perfect for a fall use of the usually summertime herb; it’s warm and creamy but not too heavy. I adapted it from the recipe for Basil-Eggplant Soup in Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge’s Intercourses; my version differs only slightly from theirs.

Eggplant Basil Bisque

1 medium eggplant

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

4 large tomatoes, or 1 14 1/12 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

1/2 t. Kosher salt plus more to taste

Cracked black pepper

2 ounces goat cheese

2 tablespoons basil pesto

Peel the eggplant, and cut into small chunks. Boil in salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. (The original recipe calls for grilling the eggplant, which I’m sure would impart lots of flavor. I keep meaning to try it that way.) In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic together over medium-low heat until the onion is translucent and very tender but not brown. Dice the tomatoes and add them to the pot; cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft. Add the eggplant and chicken broth; season with cayenne, salt, and pepper. Simmer for about 45 minutes. Remove from heat to cool a bit. Mix the pesto and goat cheese in the blender to form a greenish paste. Remove the pesto paste from the blender, leaving a little sticking to the sides. Puree the soup in batches, but be careful! Hot soup will blow the lid right off your blender. Reheat the pureed soup if necessary; serve with a spoonful of the basil paste on top. I didn’t have goat cheese when I made the soup you see in the photo, so I just used pesto. It was still good, but the goat cheese adds a nice creaminess that I like, so if you have it, use it. Serve with crusty bread and a salad.

Since the Paper Chef competition, I have proclaimed the southern Louisiana Autumn officially here. No matter that it got just a teeny bit warmer that is usual for a crisp, cool season today–the air has that fall edge to it now, and I refuse to go back to wearing flip flops and pretending like the season isn’t changing.

It is with that spirit that I approached the rest of this week’s menu. One of the first meals I love to make when it cools off is a hearty soup with homemade bread. Traditional Wisconsin cheese soup is made any number of ways with varying vegetables and spices, but the key ingredient is good cheddar cheese. I combined that idea with French Onion soup and made some cheesy bread to go with it. I used leftover zucchini in the bread to give it some extra texture, but I’m not going to list that in the recipe because all the zucchini did was make the bread mushy–I won’t do that again. The jalapenos were a good choice, though; they give the bread just the right amount of spice and combine with the basil to lend a hint of freshness.

The soup was delicious fall fare–rich and savory and chock full of onions and cheddar cheese. When I was a kid, I spent weeks of the summer at my Aunt Emily’s house. She fed me terribly decadent food–Butterfingers by the fistful–and I have this vivid memory of sitting at her kitchen counter with a bowlful of melted cheddar cheese for breakfast. Also as a kid, I loved to order French Onion soup at restaurants because they brought it to you with this huge layer of cheese on top. This soup is my attempt to merge those two memories. It’s quick and easy too (back to the daily grind for me, alas!)

Here are the recipes:

Spicy Beer Bread

This recipe is very similar to the Cheese and Beer Bread in Better Homes and Gardens

2 1/2 cups flour

1 T. sugar

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. Kosher salt

1 T. freshly chopped basil leaves

12 ounces beer

6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

1 or 2 jalapenos, chopped (and seeded if you don’t like things too spicy)

Preheat the oven to 375. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl, including the basil. Mix in the beer, cheese, and pepper, and stir until just combined. Pour into a greased bread pan. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the outside is beginning to crisp and brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cheesy French Onion Soup

2 large sweet yellow onions (Vidalia if you can get them), chopped

1 T. butter

1 T. olive oil

Dash cayenne pepper

1/2 t. Kosher salt

14 1/2 ounces chicken broth

12 ounces beer (I used Abita Golden)

Good cheddar cheese, grated

Heat the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, and cook until brown and tender, about 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and add the liquids. Stir in the cheese (this quantity is really up to you, depending on how cheesy you want your soup. I used about 6 ounces) until it melts. Simmer over low until the bread finishes baking. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of paprika (I was a little heavy-handed with mine, as you can see from the photo!) Happy Fall!