Full of Beans

Vegetarian bean chili. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Funny how your identity can get so wrapped up in a name. I was born Lucy, named for my grandmother Lucille, and have endured every Lucy joke imaginable. “Aw, Ricky” is a standard remark when I’m introduced to new people, which is much better than lame jokes revolving around Charlie Brown. It’s taken me awhile to feel comfortable in my name; although it is a perfectly lovely name (it means “light”), it just seems to come from a different era. And I guess it did – the grandmother for whom I was named was born in the 19^th century.

All this doesn’t really explain why for Halloween last year I dressed up as Lucille Ball for my daughter’s school’s Pumpkin Festival. I’m not so much into costumes, but a few years ago, gave into my daughter’s pleadings and purchased a "Lucy" costume, complete with red wig and navy and white polka dot dress. It remained in the closet for five years, until the Fabulous 50’s themed Fall Festival and the parents’ costume contest. I pulled the costume out the closet and tried it on – one baby later, and it still fit fine, miracle of miracles.

Lucy as Lucy. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The event was a Trunk or Treat, where we decorated our minivan with garish and ghoulish decorations and gave away candy to trick or treating students. They all called me “Lucy” – people I didn’t even know calling me by my name. Imagine my surprise when I won the award for Best Parent Costume.

That was last year, and this year, I decided to give the costume a break and enter the chili cook-off instead. Trying to carve out a crowd-pleasing niche, I settled on a vegetarian chili, full of beans and spice to remind you of what chili is all about. Chili is a meat-centric dish, and it takes a lot of tricks to compensate for the missing beef. This chili has an Emeril-worthy kick in the kisser, and it’s loaded with texture and flavor from the beans.

I like my chili with a side of cornbread and a sprinkle of rat-trap cheddar. If the markets have particularly luscious-looking avocadoes, I’ll use the chili as an excuse to make my minimalist guac and spoon a dollop in the bowl of beans.

Lucy Ricardo's Full of Beans Chili

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 onions, chopped

1 red or orange or yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped

¼ cup chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

Salt

6 garlic cloves, minced

3 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1 cup water

½ vegetable bouillon cube

1 or 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced

5 (15.5 ounce) cans kidney beans (2 dark red, 2 light red, 1 white – cannellini)

1.     1.   In a large Dutch oven, heat oil. Add onions, bell pepper, chile powder and cumin. Cook until the vegetables are soft. Stir in garlic, tomatoes, water, chile (s), salt and bouillon cube. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes.

2.    2.    Drain and rinse the canned beans and add to the chili. Let cook for another 30 minutes. Serve with your favorite chili accompaniments – sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, chopped green onion, a spoonful of my rockin’ guacamole.

Ths story is party of #LetsLunch a monthly Twitter party on a given food topic. Check out the other fabulous stories submitted this month from writers around the world:


Cathy‘s Chunky-Style Cowboy Chili at Showfood Chef
Charissa‘s Clean Out Refrigerator Night Cassoulet, A “Frenchified” Chili at Zest Bakery
Ellise‘s Chicken Tinga Chili at Cowgirl Chef
Emma‘s Dave’s Chili at Dreaming of Pots and Pans
Felicia‘s Low-Concept Vegetarian Chili at Burnt-Out Baker
Grace‘s Chinese New Year Chili at HapaMama
Karen‘s Hawaiian Chili at GeoFooding
Linda‘s Smokin’ Hot Vegan Vaquero Chili at Spicebox Travels

Pat‘s Miso Chili Con Carne y Wasabi Sour Cream at The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook

TText and images copyright 2011, Lucy Mercer.

Warm, hot, icy and spicy: An ice cream sandwich for Valentine's Day

I wrote this story in February 2010 for the Salon Kitchen Challenge. My assignment was to create a recipe using chocolate and chile together. It's a flavor combination that I love - both in savory and sweet dishes. When I thought about chocolate chile ganache, as in a truffle, I thought how nice it would be to have something cold and creamy to counteract the heat. That's how I ended up with cinnamon ice cream, chocolate cookies and chocolate-chile ganache. It's still one of my favorite creations, and worth making again very soon, to eat, and to take another picture - this one doesn't do them justice. 

Some days, I feel just like a minivan mom, which in fact, I am. But underneath this practical exterior beats the heart of Bizet's Carmen, a Gypsy vixen in Spain who sings in French and drives the men crazy. In my fantasies, I wear a red dress, sing like Jessye Norman and vamp like Jessica Rabbit.

I may be in my car, in an endless carpool line, but my mind is in sunny Seville, and after I dance and sing, I’m left to wonder: “What will I serve my lover Don Jose for Valentine’s Day?” To the strains of “Habanera,” I compose a dessert of fire and ice, cinnamon ice cream and chile-laced ganache sandwiched between chocolate cookies. Rich chocolate, spicy cinnamon and sweet cream tease your taste buds then the chile hits the back of your mouth and lingers near your throat. This cool dessert sizzles, and it’s meant to be eaten with your hands. Now, that’s sexy.

Chocolate-Cinnamon Ice Cream Sandwiches with Chile Chocolate Ganache
There are three components to the sandwiches: ice cream, cookies and chile ganache. All three elements can be made in advance. Assembly should take place a few hours before serving so they can set up.

Yield: 8 sandwiches.


Cinnamon Ice Cream

1 ½ cups whole milk

1 ½ cups heavy cream

¾ cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

7 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, cream, sugar, pinch of salt and cinnamon stick and heat until scalding, which means that little bubbles will appear inside the perimeter of the pan. Remove pan from heat and let the cinnamon steep for 15 minutes.

2. Whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together. Slowly add some of the cooled cream mixture to the eggs, tempering them. Now, reverse and add the egg mixture slowly to the cream, whisking constantly to completely incorporate the eggs.

3. Cook the mixture over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. The doneness test is when the custard is thick enough to coat a spoon. Remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard the cinnamon stick and any flotsam.

4. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. I use a Krups with the canister that you keep in the freezer. Once ice cream is complete, store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Chocolate Cookies

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

¼ teaspoon salt


1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and nearly white-colored. Beat in the egg, cooled and melted chocolate, and vanilla extract.

2. In another bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, and salt. Pour into the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined.

3. Shape dough into a ball and wrap in plastic. Chill for one hour in the fridge.

4. Preheat oven to 400. On a floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ inch thick and use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out cookies. Roll scraps with scraps and cut until all the dough is used. Carefully transfer (an offset spatula is handy for this task) the cookies to a Silpat-lined cookie sheet.

5. Bake the cookies for about 8 minutes or until the edges are just crisp. Set on wire rack to cool. After five minutes, use a spatula to remove cookies and place them on the wire rack to cool completely. If not using right away, place in an airtight container and store at room temperature.

Chile Ganache

Kid friendly note: the cinnamon ice cream and the cookie are kid pleasers, the chile ganache for serious chile heads only. Make some ganache without the chile for the kids, or make the sandwiches plain without the ganache. Leftover chile ganache can be chilled and rolled into truffles; dust with cocoa powder and additional chile powder.

8 oz. cream

8 oz. dark chocolate such as Lindt Excellence 70% cocoa or Green & Black’s Organic Dark 70%

1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (this is gringo heat, two teaspoons is fiery Gypsy heat)

1. Bring cream to scald, just below boiling, with bubbles on the perimeter. Break chocolate into pieces in a bowl. Pour warm cream over chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted. Cool to room temperature. Store in refrigerator.

Assembly

You’ll need a roll of plastic wrap in addition to the cookies, ganache and ice cream. If the ice cream is too hard to scoop, zap in microwave for 15 seconds at a time.


1. On a sheet of plastic wrap, place one cookie. Scoop the ice cream onto the cookie. Spoon a generous portion of ganache on a second cookie, place the two together and gently squeeze until the filling just meets the edge. Wrap in plastic and place in freezer. Continue with remaining cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container in freezer.

L'amour! L'amour! L'amour! L'amour!
L'amour est enfant de Bohème,
il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi;
si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime:
si je t'aime, prends garde à toi!

Pork Chile Chowder for Gringos

Reminiscent of a winter vacation in New Mexico, and a warming meal for a cold night: Pork Chile Chowder. Of course, we're not chile heads and I'm responsible for feeding little ones, so we go with "gringo heat," enough spice to tingle the palate, not enough to require tissues, or gallons of cold water.

This recipe took shape after a foraging mission in the freezer which yielded both boneless chicken thighs and pork chops. I couldn't think of a recipe that would serve four out of each protein alone, so I used both meats in the chowder. You can use either pig or chicken or both in this recipe.

Pork (or Chicken) Chile Chowder

2 boneless pork chops, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 slices bacon (I use thick-cut bacon)

1 (32 oz.) container low-salt chicken broth (or homemade)

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon adobo seasoning, or more to taste (I use Penzey's)

cumin to taste

salt and pepper to taste

3 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 cup frozen corn kernels

1 (7 oz.) can diced green chilies, or more to taste

1. Find a heavy soup pot for the stove and place over medium heat. Cut bacon into 1-inch pieces and fry until crisp. Remove the bacon pieces and drain on paper towels. In remaining fat, brown the meat. When meat is seared, remove pieces to paper towels to drain.

2. You should have about 3 tablespoons of fat. If you have more, pour excess out of pot. If you don't have enough, add vegetable oil for a sufficient quantity. With a whisk, stir in 1/4 cup flour and seasonings. Slowly pour in chicken broth and whisk until smooth and thickened.

3. Return meat and potatoes to pot and heat through, up to a half hour. Add bacon, chilies and corn and warm up for at least five minutes. This step can be done in a slow cooker or as an oven braise: put the chowder base, meat, potatoes, bacon, chilies and corn in an oven-proof casserole or stockpot, cover and place in a low oven for a couple of hours. In my convection oven, I would put it on 300 for two hours and check every half hour to make sure the liquid level was adequate. If using a slow cooker, put it on the low setting for a couple of hours.

4. Taste for seasoning and serve.