Chili

 

From Nancy Kim

[Somehow I neglected to get a photo of last week’s chili. Hence the taco seasoning above. Because who doesn’t love a recipe that calls for both taco AND ranch dressing mix?

Anyway. Says Nancy, of her chili: “I got this recipe from a friend, who got it off of a friend of hers who I think may have gotten it off of someone else.  So sharing seems to be in the spirit of the soup!  I didn’t quite stick to this recipe.  I believe I added some chilis, some chocolate, I took out beans, and I cooked it in a crock pot for 10 hours.]

2 lbs. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 pkg. ranch dressing mix (the powder kind)

2 pkg. taco seasoning mix (powdered)

1 (16. oz.) can black beans, undrained

1 (16. oz.) can pinto beans, undrained

1 (16 oz.) can kidney beans, undrained

1 can diced tomato and chiles, undrained

1 can tomato wedges or whole tomatoes, undrained

2 cans white corn, drained

1 (8 oz.) container sour cream

shredded cheddar cheese

sliced green onion/chives (optional)

2 cups water (optional on how thick you like your chili, I usually put maybe

1 cup and let the water cook off)

Cook onion until clear.  Add meat until brown.  Stir in ranch and taco mixes.  Add beans, tomatoes, corn and tomatoes with chiles.  Mix all together.  Add sour cream and cheese.  Add water, mix again, and simmer for 2 hours.

Advertisement

Turning up the heat

We’re pulling into the Soup and Bread home stretch — only four nights left! — and the cooks are getting competitive. This week saw our first DESSERT SOUP, a decadent cream of walnut puree infused with Sauvignon Blanc-poached pears courtesy of Jen Moniz (above, right).

Meanwhile, Megan Larmer (center) turned out a complicated ham hock-habanero stew full of plump, chewy cornmeal-plantain dumplings. This woman cooks for a living — and she’s looking for a job.

Also on the market, our favorite chef on the dole, Hugh Amano, brought three loaves of crusty “free-range bread” made by harvesting wild yeasts from the air in his apartment and slooooowly cultivating a sourdough starter. Detailed instructions coming soon.

Back on the soup rack, Nancy Kim — the third member of the Megan-Jen-Nancy cooking club — brought a hefty pot of firey beef chili; Vanessa Mendicino dished up a light pasta e fagiole (and brought with her a friend who said he used to hang out at the Hideout 40 years ago, when the old owners set out their own Italian lunch spread for the Goose Island factory workers who were the bar’s original regulars); and Jill Barron came through with a vegan yellow split pea complete with cilantro relish on the side. “Vegan, but still delicious!” the vegetarian-chef-who’s-not-really-a-vegetarian made sure to write on the tag.

Also this week, we made $164 dollars in donations, bringing the total thus far to $1,343. The new goal? To clear $2K by April first. That doesn’t seem that unreasonable, does it?

Lastly, for your pleasure, here are a few more miscellaneous photos, from this week and weeks gone by — because it’s about the people, not the insides of a bunch of soupy crock pots, right?

Recipes coming soon!

Guest soup chefs, March 4 edition

Dang — next week’s cooks are ORGANIZED. They’ve already coordinated their soups to avoid overlap. I think this is a first.

And they are:

Vanessa Mendicino, with pasta e fagioli

Mana Food Bar chef Jill Barron, with (probably) a veggie Indian yellow pea soup

Jen Moniz, who is promising our first dessert soup, in the form of cream of walnut with poached pear puree (!!!).

Megan Larmer, with “something with cornmeal dumplings.” (Megan’s also a cofounder of this nifty project to establish heirloom community orchards in Chicago.)

And, lastly, Nancy Kim, whose soup remains shrouded in mystery.

Add to that bread from Whole Foods and from Hugh (assuming he’s over the flu) and we are good to go!

See you there: 5-8 PM at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia. Yay.