I took the classic home chili recipe of 1 lb. hamburg + 1 can of tomatoes +1 can of kidney beans and kicked it up several notches to take this simple dish to a whole new level.

1 1/2 lbs sirloin steaks
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 (28 ounce) can Rotel tomatoes, drained
2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans, undrained
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup chili powder (I use Ancho chili powder)
1 tablespoon cumin powder
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

• Cut steak into roughly 1/2″ dice. (This is easier to do if you put your thawed steak into the freezer for about 30 minutes first.).
• In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat; add steak, stirring until lightly brown all over. Add onion and garlic, stirring to prevent garlic from browning. Heat until onion is translucent.
• Stir in chili powder and cumin. Add drained tomatoes and undrained pintos, bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until heated through and flavors develop. Stir in sherry and cilantro.
• Serve over hot rice, and garnish as desired with sour cream, shredded cheese and thinly sliced scallions.

I’m trying to eat more greens especially while they’re at their peak during the summer, but I wanted more than just greens.  I decided soup was the answer, put together some of my favorite foods and flavors, and the results were exactly what I was craving. I like spicy food - if you prefer milder dishes, substitute regular diced tomatoes, mild sausage and omit the chili pepper.

• 1 lb spicy/hot bulk sausage
• 1 lb kale, cleaned and ready to use
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Thai red chili pepper, minced
• 8 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 baking potato, diced
• 2 (15 ounce) cans canellini or navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can Rotel tomatoes & chilies
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron (adds great flavor) (optional)
• Crumble sausage in a large soup pot or dutch oven, cast iron if you have it, and cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Stir in onion, garlic and chili pepper and cook until translucent taking care not to let them brown. Depending on your sausage, you may need to add a bit of extra virgin olive oil.
• Add the kale and chicken stock - it will cook down rapidly so don’t panic if it overwhelms your pot at first. Just give it a few minutes.
• When the kale has cooked down a bit, add the tomatoes, potato, beans, bay leaves, thyme and saffron. Let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes or until the potato is tender and the kale is cooked to the consistency you like.
• Ladle into soup bowls and enjoy with crusty bread.

I saw some beautifully fresh, ready to cook collard greens at the Salt Air Farmers Market on Saturday and they are perfect for this soup, my version of another classic recipe from one of my favorite restaurants, the Columbia Restaurant. I hope the farmers market survives as Port St. Joe has desperately needed some place to buy fresh, locally grown produce.  This was only the second time they’ve had it, and while it’s getting launched it’s scheduled for every other Saturday from 10 til 2. It’s on the corner of Reid Avenue by City Hall so if you get a chance please, by all means, support it.

3 15-oz. cans northern beans, drained & rinsed
½ lb. smoked ham, cut in small pieces 
1 smoked ham hock (or 1 packet Goya ham seasoning if you prefer)
2 potatoes, peeled & cut into eighths
1 bunch collard greens, washed, tough stems removed, cut into ½ inch strips
½ lb. pancetta, cut into medium dice
1 onion, chopped
4 minced garlic cloves
2 chorizos, thinly sliced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 quart water or chicken stock
Salt to taste

• In a large pot, simmer ham and ham hock in 1 quart water or chicken stock for one hour.  Add drained & rinsed beans and simmer for 10 minutes.
• When beans are partially cooked, add greens.  Cook until beans and greens are tender, adding water if necessary.
• In frying pan, heat olive oil. Add salt pork. When fat is rendered, add onion and garlic. Saute until limp. Add to cooked beans along with potatoes and chorizo.  Season with salt if needed. This soup is better after it sits for 2 or 3 hours. Reheat and serve hot.
  Serves 6
   

I’ve had this recipe copied in my home recipe file for so long I have no idea now where I even got it from, but it’s one of my favorite gumbos.  When fresh okra is in season, definitely give this a try.

1 qt. okra, cut into 1/2 in. pieces    
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbs oil
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 qts. water          
1 16 oz. can stewed tomatoes
2-3 lbs shrimp    
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup oil           
2 tbs Worcestershire
1/2 cup flour       
2 small boiled crabs
2 medium onions, chopped             
Salt to taste
1 bell pepper, chopped      
1 1/2 tsp. Black pepper
2 ribs celery, chopped      
1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper

• Peel and devein shrimp. Set aside in refrigerator. Boil shrimp shells in 2 quarts of water several hours to make a stock. Set aside.
• In a heavy skillet, heat 2 tbs oil and saute the okra about 1/2 hour. Set aside.
• In a large (6-8 qt.) heavy Dutch Oven make a dark brown roux with the oil and flour. Add onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic and parsley and saute until tender. Add tomatoes and cook 15 minutes. Add sauteed okra, shrimp stock, crabs (broken into quarters), Worcestershire sauce, black pepper and cayenne. Bring to a slow boil and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add salt to taste. Add the peeled shrimp and continue cooking until the shrimp are done.
• Serve over steamed rice. This dish is best if cooked a day in advance and left overnight.

My friends Les and Andrea are both wonderful cooks and an invitation to dinner at their gulf-front home is a guaranteed gourmet treat.  Les has spent a lot of time in Budapest recently and he brought this soup recipe back which he served to us the other night as a first course.  I was amazed.  This has such a deep, rich flavor you’d swear you were eating something slow simmered in beef but no - it’s just mushrooms.  This could be a full winter meal with just some crusty artisan bread on the side and a salad.

Many thanks to Les for sharing this terrific soup which I know I’ll be making quite often.

4 T unsalted butter
2 C chopped onions
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 t dried dill weed
1 T paprika
1 T soy sauce
2 C chicken broth
1 C milk
3 T all-purpose flour
1 t salt
ground black pepper to taste
2 t fresh lemon juice
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
1/2 C sour cream

• Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Saute the onions in the butter for 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 more miutes.  Stir in the dill, paprika, soy sauce and broth.  Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• In a separate small bowl, whisk the milk and flour together.  Pour this into the soup and stir well to blend. Cover and simmer for 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Finally, stir in the salt, pepper, lemon juice, parsley and sour cream.  Mix together and allow to heat through over low heat, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Do not boil. Serve immediately.

Homemade stock is so much better than canned and wonderful to have on hand to throw together a quick bowl of soup. Your frugal side will enjoy using every last little bit of the bird. I keep a plastic bag in my freezer where I collect onion, celery and carrot trimmings (cleaned) to add to the stock pot next time I have a carcass on hand.
   
16  C water 
1  turkey carcass, bones, skin 
 leftover prepared stuffing 
1  large onion, in chunks 
2  stalks celery, in chunks 
2  carrots, in chunks 
2  bay leaves 
10  peppercorns 
4  T salt, to taste 
1/2  tsp dried thyme 
1  garlic clove, sliced 

• Break the carcass into pieces in a large stock pot. Add water, dressing, vegetables and peppercorns. Heat to boiling, skim off any foam on the surface, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 4 hours. Stir from time to time to make sure there aren’t any ‘hot spots’ scorching on the bottom.
• Add salt to taste as you go along, not all at once. After four hours, remove large chunks to a bowl and discard.
• Carefully drain stock through a colander lined with cheesecloth into a large mixing bowl.
• Ladle into freezer containers, cover and set in the fridge overnight.
• On the following day, skim off the fat that has congealed on top.   Cover the containers, label and date and freeze until needed.

My friend Pat and I enjoyed a girls afternoon out of day-after-Thanksgiving shopping in Apalach yesterday and we had lunch at my favorite restaurant over there, The Owl Cafe.  I’ve never ordered anything that wasn’t perfectly done, and the clam chowder they served was no exception.  I tracked down the recipe, picked up a sack of fresh clams at Seafood-2-Go and made a batch this morning. Every bit as good as the original.  

If you can find clams still in the shell by all means use them as they really add so much to the flavor of the broth, and since they pop wide open while simmering it’s no trouble at all separating the clam meat.   

3 1/2 C water
5 dozen cherrystone clams, scrubbed and rinsed
4 T unsalted butter
1/4 C all-purpose flour
2 to 3 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 carrots coarsely chopped
1/2 C coarsely chopped onion
2 small celery ribs, coarsely chopped
2 medium red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 1/2 C heavy cream or half and half
1 1/2 C milk
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t dried thyme

• Bring 2 cups of the water to a boil in a large soup pot.  Add half of the clams, cover and cook just until they open, 5 to 8 minutes; remove the clams to a platter as they open.  Return the water to a boil and repeat with the remaining clams.  Strain the clam broth through 4 layers of dampened cheesecloth to remove any sand or grit (or a strainer lined with a coffee filter; slow, but it works in a pinch if you’re out of cheesecloth); reserve 4 cups of the broth.  Remove the clams from the shells and coarsely chop them.
• In a skillet, melt the butter until foamy.  Add the flour and cook over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until the roux is lightly golden, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, wipe out the soup pot.  Add the bacon and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly brown and crisp, about 6 minutes.  Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat.  Add the carrots, onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 12 minutes.  Add the potatoes, raise the heat to moderate and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water to the pot along with the reserved clam broth, the cream, milk, pepper and thyme. Simmer over low heat until the potatoes are just tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the roux and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Add the clams and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.  Laddle the clam chowder into soup bowls and serve piping hot.

Serve 8

This soup is reason enough to head for New Orleans.  I can never get enough of it or gumbo when I’m there.

1/2 C butter
2 bunches scallions, sliced thin
3 ribs celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 9-oz. pkgs. frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted and quartered
  OR 2 14-oz. cans artichoke hearts, washed, drained and quartered
3 T flour
1 1/2 qts. chicken stock or broth (4 cans Swanson workd fine)
cayenne to taste
1 t salt
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t dried thyme
1 qt. oysters, drained and chopped (liquor reserved)
1/3 C dry sherry
1 C half and half
1 C milk

• In a heavy 4 or 5 quart pot melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the scallions, celery and garlic and saute until soft taking care not to let them brown.  Add the artichokes.  Sprinkle the mixture with the flour and stir to coat the vegetables well, but do not let it brown.
• Gradually add the stock, stirring occasionally.  Add the cayenne, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme.  Simmer the mixture, covered, for 1 hour.
• Add the oysters, oyster liquor, and sherry and simmer for 10 minutes.  Do NOT allow the soup to boil.
• Stir in the cream and milk. Cool and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
• Before serving, reheat the soup slowly over low heat.

Serves 8

The Apalachicola Seafood Festival is the largest and longest-running seafood festival in Florida, and it’s always the first weekend of November. So in honor of the awesome Apalachicola oyster, here’s my favorite way to cook some up when I’ve had my fill of raw ones.  I wanted an over-the-top comfort food oyster stew and this is what I came up with.  Don’t let the list of ingredients intimidate you - it actually goes together quite quickly.

2 slices bacon, diced
1/2 C butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
3 T Wondra flour
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 healthy pinch of cayenne
1/2 t dried thyme
1 8-oz. bottle clam juice
1/4 C dry sherry
1 1/2 C heavy cream
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
16 oz. shucked oysters with their liquor
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/2 C parsley, finely chopped

• Saute diced bacon in a non-stick soup pot over low heat until rendered.  Add butter and heat until melted.
• Add onions, celery and garlic and continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasinally, until translucent, taking care not to let them brown.
• Add salt and pepper to taste, pinch of cayenne, thyme and Wondra flour or other fine white flour, whisking steadily to make a light roux.  Cook, whisking steadily, for several minutes.
• Slowly whisk in clam juice, whisking until smooth, then sherry, again whisking until smooth.
• Whisk in cream, whisking until smooth, then whisk in evaporated milk, whisking until smooth.  Raise heat slightly, stir while bringing just to where it starts to boil, then quickly lower the heat and whisk until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in oysters with their liquor, several dashes of Worcestershire sauce and the chopped parsley.
• Continue to heat, stirring occasionally, until oysters curl at the edges indicating they are heated through.

What could be more traditional on Halloween than pumpkin?   Ghoulishly good . . .

In a large stock pot over medium heat, sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender
(about 10 minutes):

3 T butter
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced

Stir in and bring to a simmer:

1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 C dry white wine
1 T dried sage
1 bay leaf
1 C cream OR half & half
4 C chicken broth
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t fresh-ground black pepper
Reduce heat and continue cooking, partially covered for 15 minutes. Puree until smooth with a stick blender or transfer in small batches to a regular blender, let cool for a few minutes (for safety’s sake!) then carefully puree til smooth. Then add:

1 1/2 cups diced HoneyBaked Ham

Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf and ladle into bowls.