CHILI DOMINATION

CHILI DOMINATION

I couldn’t be more excited about making the cut to compete in the Third Annual Philly Chili Bowl next weekend! As the reigning co-champion of the Fulford Family Reunion Grits Cook-Off (2008), I’m feeling pretty good about handling the heat. As for my recipe… it’s top-secret, but still undecided. Here are my thoughts about a winning chili.

One of the first pitfalls of many chilis is undercooking. A chili should all but melt in your mouth, and the flavors should have enough time to mix and mingle: no single component should be shouting. You want a chili that purrs, with just a hint of danger. Two, acidity: if your chili is tomato-based, try roasting the tomatoes first to bring out their natural sugars, or counter the acid with something sweet. Three, spice. Chili doesn’t have to cause your mouth to combust, but the heat should have a warming effect, and drive you to the bottom of the bowl. Here’s how my Rules of Chili are playing out.

I went first to game: venison, and perhaps a blend of other lean meats. I’d steer clear of beans to keep the focus on the meaty flavors, and slow-cook the tomatoes down into a sludge before putting the chili together. My test batch included cubed venison roast and a “hunter’s blend” from D’Angelo Bros. in the Italian Market, a magical place. (Don’t miss the venison prosciutto!) The mix included no fewer than 7 mammals—rabbit, bison, venison, elk, and more—and was ultra-lean and spicy. The venison was top-notch, and my meat-and-tomato chili simmered for a few hours. It was decent, but was it blue-ribbon worthy? I went back to the drawing board, swinging wide in the other direction.

Next attempt: a veggie-lover’s chili, redolent with a toasty-hot homemade chili paste. I’ve got a few other ideas (eggplant? lentils? poblanos? a cheesy addition?), but they’ll have to go through the test kitchen first. I’ll be there on Saturday with 6 quarts of the best batch: my wooden spoons, fingers, and toes are crossed for victory.

--Kristen

THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE THAT COULD

THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE THAT COULD

My brother and his girlfriend hooked me up with one of the best Christmas presents ever: Babycakes Covers the Classics, a new cookbook from the fabulous gluten-free vegan East Village bakery in NYC. I’ve been so excited to bake with it.

But before I dive into that, I’d like to share three important lessons I’ve learned so far on my gluten-free vegan baking escapades:

1. Plan ahead. Never wait until the night before to buy all of your supplies, because the store will be out of a necessary ingredient, which is exactly what happened to me last night.
2. Don’t substitute ingredients or try to adjust recipes. Follow them exactly as they appear. My brownie baking fiasco. Need I say more.
3. Get an oven thermometer because most ovens are surprisingly off in temperature. This noteworthy tip I learned from reading the introduction of the Babycakes cookbook. Last night, I preheated my over to 325 degrees per the recipe, but the thermometer said my oven was actually 400 degrees. Big difference. No wonder I’ve been burning stuff.

Now that that’s out of the way, on to the recipe. To start, I chose the Chips Ahoy! recipe because it was a.) very easy, and b.) I’ve been craving chocolate chip cookies for a really long time now. Can’t tell you the last time I had one.

Things started off a bit rocky. I broke rule number one and waited until last night to buy ingredients and my local food co-op, Weavers Way in Chestnut Hill (a great store, I might add), was out of arrowroot. What the heck is arrowroot, you ask? Well, I had never heard of it either, so I looked it up. Basically, arrowroot is a pure starch that is used as a wheat flour replacement for gluten-free baking.

But since I was on deadline, I decided to break rule number two and substituted the arrowroot with teff flour. After all, the recipe only called for a ¼ cup arrowroot and I figured it wouldn’t make a big difference. Teff flour is also a wheat flour substitute, and I still had a lot left over after using it to make those bad brownies, so I gave it a whirl.

And I got lucky. While I don’t know what the cookies are supposed to taste like, I think these turned out really good. The texture is somewhat grainy, and they seemed a bit dryer, but the flavor was great. They aren’t nearly as rich or sweet as regular chocolate chip cookies, but I really like that. If you ask my mom, she’ll tell you that as a child I used to always ask for my chocolate chip cookies to be made without the chocolate chips, but in this case I think you need the chips to help balance out the cookie.

I was so proud of my cookies that I decided to bring them into the office this morning and share them with my colleagues. Overall, everyone seemed to like the cookies, or at least they said they did:

“Um, these are good! Just a slightly different taste, though they still feel indulgent. I probably wouldn’t know they were gluten free if you didn’t say so.” –Jennifer Leczkowski, Managing Editor

“The second and third bites were better. I think I just needed to have my palate awakened. The texture reminded me of the more rich butter-laden cookies from gourmet stores, but not as overpoweringly sweet. It was surprisingly delicious.” –Geoff Stone, Editor

“I love it. This might be my new go-to cookie!” –Jennifer Kasius, Executive Editor

Here’s the recipe:

CHIPS AHOY!

1 ½ cups oat flour

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour

1 cup vegan sugar

¼ cup ground flax meal

¼ cup arrowroot

1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons melted refined coconut oil or canola oil

6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 cup vegan gluten-free chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, flax meal, arrowroot, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt. Add the coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla and stir with rubber spatula until a thick dough forms. Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

Drop the dough by the teaspoonful onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 ½ inches apart. Bake for 7 minutes, rotate the baking sheets, and bake for 7 minutes more, or until the cookies are golden brown and firm. Let stand on the baking sheets for 15 minutes before eating.

Makes 36

Recipe excerpted from Babycakes Covers the Classics © 2011 by Erin McKenna, Clarkson Potter Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.

Enjoy!

- Caroline

YOU CAN TAKE YOUR HOLIDAY TREATS AND…

YOU CAN TAKE YOUR HOLIDAY TREATS AND…

The worst part of the holiday season is the treats. I say this not because I’m watching calories or really concerned about putting on a few—that’s half of the fun of the holiday season, right? I say it because, thanks to my food allergies, I can’t enjoy them.

They are a constant tease, especially around the office. Over the past week or so, every time I walk into the kitchen at Running Press my senses are overwhelmed by caramel popcorn, chocolates, nuts, and cookies of every size, shape, and flavor. This morning there was even a cheesecake sent to the office from one of our vendors. They all make my mouth water and I contemplate, well, what if I eat just a little bit? Bad idea. Consequences are much worse than a couple minutes of pure bliss while indulging on some sugary, gooey, wonderfulness.

So what’s a girl with a sweet tooth to do? Vegan gluten-free baking attempt, round number two.

This time I picked a much easier recipe from Terry Walter’s cookbook, Clean Food. And I’m so glad I tried baking from her cookbook again after my Brownie Baking Fiasco. These Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies turned out perfect, and only took 30 minutes to make. I might just be able to get the knack of this vegan baking thing after all.

Oh, and guess what? I fully intend to be selfish and eat these cookies all by myself. Bah humbug.

- Caroline

Here’s the recipe, should you wish to make your own:

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip (or Raisin) Cookies

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup unbleached white flour or brown rice flour (I used teff flour)

¾ cup shredded unsweetened coconut (I couldn’t find this and used sweetened instead)

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon sea salt

¾ cup maple syrup

½ cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped toasted walnuts (skipped these, not really a walnut fan)

½ cup semisweet dark chocolate chips (or raisins)

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, coconut, cinnamon, and salt. In separate bowl, whisk together syrup, oil, and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until evenly combined. Fold in walnuts and chocolate chips or raisins. Press dough into equal-size balls, place onto parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven—and do your best not to eat them all in one sitting!

Makes 2 dozen.

Recipe courtesy of Clean Food © 2009 by Terry Walters, Sterling Epicure.

WHEN A PUBLICIST LOVES AN AUTHOR, AND HIS FOOD

Chef Bradley Ogden's Winter Vegetable Salad (recipe below).

WHEN A PUBLICIST LOVES AN AUTHOR, AND HIS FOOD

Being a book publicist can be a tough gig, but what makes my job rewarding is when I’m paired up with a delightful, motivated author whose book is timely and appealing to TV producers and editors at magazines, newspapers, and websites. Chef Bradley Ogden is one such author. Gracious and unpretentious, he has been a joy to work with. And he has a sense of humor.

Here’s a recent phone conversation:

Me: “This is Caroline.” (This is how I always answer the phone. I rarely say “hello.”)

Bradley: “Hi, it’s Bradley.”

Me: “Oh, hi. Umm, Bradley who?”

Bradley: “You have another boyfriend named Bradley?”

Me: (embarrassed) “Oh, sorry, no…I didn’t realize it was you!”

Incase you’re wondering, my boyfriend’s name is Kenny.

Anyhow, his book, Holiday Dinners with Bradley Ogden, is, as you can imagine, perfectly seasonal and the media just can’t get enough of it. They all want a piece of Bradley: a vast improvement over the working hours spent chasing down and digging up leads and spinning, spinning, spinning…

So with this in mind, I’d like to share one of my favorite recipes from his book. While the book isn’t vegan, this recipe is, and just reading over the ingredients makes my mouth water. Try it out. You’ll thank me.

-Caroline
@carolinebrown

WINTER VEGETABLE SALAD

Colorful and sweet root vegetables, earthy mushrooms, and fragrant herbs will make everyone want to eat their vegetables.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

8 pearl onions, peeled

1⁄4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

8 baby carrots

4 baby parsnips, peeled

12 baby asparagus spears

4 baby red beets

8 baby golden beets

10 ounces shiitake, chanterelle, morel, or cremini mushrooms, stems discarded, wiped clean, and sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (about 1 teaspoon)

1 small yellow onion, chopped (about 1⁄2 cup)

2 cups vegetable stock (page 193)

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1⁄4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

1⁄2 cup baby arugala, for garnish

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400°F. Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a small roasting pan or baking dish, toss the onions with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and add 4 tablespoons of water. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10minutes; set aside.

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and the carrots, return to a boil, and cook until the carrots are bright orange and crisp-tender, 1 to 2minutes. Remove the carrots with a slotted spoon and immediately transfer them to the ice bath. When the carrots have cooled to room temperature, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel–lined plate.

Repeat with this process with the parsnips, asparagus, and beets. Use a paper towel to rub off the skin from the beets; then cut into quarters and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet until thin wisps of smoke appear; add the mushrooms, cook for 1 minute; add the garlic and onion; cook for 1 minute longer. Add the stock and sherry vinegar; simmer until the mixture has thickened and lightly coats the back of a spoon. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the pearl onions, cooked vegetables, parsley, tarragon, and arugala; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Recipe courtesy of Holiday Dinners with Bradley Ogden © 2011 by Bradley Ogden, Running Press, a member of the Perseus Book Group.

Photo © 2011 by Jeremy Ball