White Chili...because every "chilly" queen needs a white chili "night" to the rescue!

Once upon a time, in a place far far away, there was a swishy caterer/food shop to the elite. Said caterer treasured their recipe for the new and cutting edge "white" chili more than any sapphire, emerald or ruby (or even pesto torte). Alas, they fell foul of a disgruntled employee...who, to extract vengeance upon the evil overlord employer, disclosed the secret of the "blanco"...the heroin of the tale. Through an accomplice, who shall remain unnamed, I share this white gem with you...a glistening diamond of a soup.

The deal with this chili...well, besides the intrigue surrounding the acquisition of the recipe...is that it's perfect for either chicken or turkey or pork. It is even perfect without meat, should you so desire.

White Chili:

1 pound white beans (or 5 cans, drained and rinsed)
6 cups chicken stock

Either simmer the beans in the stock until soft, adding stock as needed, or if using canned beans, proceed as follows.

1 Tbs vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 medium onion, chopped
4 4 ounce cans green chilis

Saute the garlic, onion and chilis in the oil until tender. Add the following:

4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp oregano leaves
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

4 cups cooked chicken, turkey or pork

Add to beans and spices and simmer one hour.

I used a pork roast for this version.

Covering the roast with water in a large stock pot, I added a whole onion, pepper corns, jalapenos, a head of garlic, bay leaves and some cayenne pepper:


The roast cooked until the meat fell from the bone. Remove the meat from the liquid, and "pull" into pieces (I take this opportunity to remove all fat):


Okay...so the cheats. Buy a couple of rotisserie chickens and pull the meat. Or, use your left over holiday turkey. Both are perfect.

Saute the onion, garlic and chilis and add spices:


Toss that mixture in with the beans and stock, add the meat and simmer one hour:



I fried up some corn tortilla strips and garnished the soup with some cheddar cheese, the chips, a dollop of salsa and some chopped green onions.

That's all there is to it! On a night when you'd like a white knight on a stead to rescue you from the gloom...inSTEAD, pull out this white chili; it'll warm your heart.

Paula

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No Longer Top Secret! My Great-Great-Grandmother's Coffee Cake

This recipe is perfect for Easter morning, or any morning for that matter. The posting of this recipe will send shock waves through my family if they find out about it. I have no idea why, but the recipe was such a closely guarded secret that my grandmother didn't know my mother had it, and I had to steal it from my own mother. ;)

Of course, I am breaking that ridiculous tradition. My great-great-grandmother's coffee cake:

This recipe makes a very dense cake that is not overly sweet. The topping provides a wonderful, sweet bite with the cinnamon and sugar topping that melts and caramelizes with the butter as it bakes. It's a tradition that needs to be shared and enjoyed. The fact that it takes minutes to make is a plus.

The ingredients are basic.
For the cake:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 Tbs sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbs melted butter
• 1 cup milk

For the topping:

• 2 Tbs flour
• 2 Tbs cinnamon
• 3 Tbs sugar
• 3 Tbs butter

Sift the dry ingredients:


Add the melted butter and milk and stir with a wooden spoon:


The dough will be quite stiff and will pull away from the bowl and form a ball:


Press the dough into a greased cake pan:


Put the topping ingredients in a separate bowl:


With a fork, cut the topping ingredients until there are small pieces of crumble:



Sprinkle that on top of the cake dough and press indentions with your fingers so the topping will go down through the cake:


Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Then, ditch the coffee. Pop open a bottle of champagne and make a mimosa!


Here's a toast! To my great-great-grandmother! May everyone now enjoy her simply wonderful, easy, delicious coffee cake!

Join me as I dine...

Paula

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