White Chicken Chili with Roasted Butternut Squash

White Chicken Chili with Roasted Butternut Squash

From the Kitchen of Terri N. Bergman

SERVES: 10-12
LEVEL: Intermediate (you got this!)

INGREDIENTS:
1 Lg Onion
1 Cup Chopped Celery
1 Cup Chopped Carrots
1-2 Red Peppers Coarse Chop
1 Lg Butternut Squash – peeled, seeded and medium Chop (1” cubes)
1 Cup White Wine
2 Cups Chicken Stock
1 Cup Cream
Handful Chopped fresh Parsley (reserve some for garnish)
Handful Chopped fresh Cilantro (reserve some for garnish)
2 Tbsp Amazing Heat
2 Tbsp Amazing Rub (for roasting veggies in oven)
1 Broasted Whole Chicken, remove drumsticks, then skinned, deboned and medium chop of all meat
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
Fresh Rosemary spears (or use 1 tbsp chopped dried rosemary)
Roasted whole Garlic Head (top cut off, drizzle Olive oil, rub or salt n pepper/baked one hour)
1 Large Jar White Northern Beans
1 Large Green Salsa Verde Mild-Medium (your call!)
Lime cut into wedges

INSTRUCTIONS:
Sauté coarsely chopped onion, carrot and celery in olive oil on medium high to soften and wilt. Add 1 cup white wine, let wine reduce and bring up any bits left on pan bottom. Set aside.

Take chopped red pepper and butternut squash and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Amazing Rub and roast in hot over (400 degrees) until browned and roasted/ approx 40 minutes. At the same time/same oven place whole garlic clove, topped and drizzle with Oil, wrapped in foil to cook thoroughly. If you have Rosemary Spears, place on veggies roasting for 10 minutes, they brown quickly – so watch, remove when browned and set aside.

To pan with carrots, celery, etc. now add Chicken stock, Amazing Heat, parsley, cilantro, northern beans and the jar of Salsa verde. Let simmer 30+ minutes, you can then turn heat very low and continue to simmer. Add roasted veggies, chicken chunks, rosemary, garlic (removed from head and smashed), simmer 10 minutes. To finish add cream (with cornstarch incorporated) and stir to thicken.

Add any additional seasonings, salt n pepper….Lime squeeze.

Serve in bowls, with Lime wedge, Sour Cream (if desired), garnish of any remaining herbs.

Very fun and cool to serve in little pumpkin or squash boats….

ENJOY!!!

Peach Salad with Fruited and Spicy Sausage Balls & Lively Maple Vinaigrette

Peach Salad with Fruited and Spicy Sausage Balls & Lively Maple Vinaigrette

From the Kitchen of Terri N. Bergman

Melt in your mouth Peaches, super ripe Strawberries, poppin Blackberries sit atop a bed of fresh greens and chopped Mint! Now let’s have fun and add Stilton Cheese in a wedge, toasted Pecans and the finale KB’s own Fruited and Spicy Sausage balls skewered in a row! Dress this salad with a light Vinaigrette with a touch of sweetness from Maple Syrup…yes we have arrived.  Enjoy this beautiful and delicious Salad as a lunch or as a deck eating and wine drinking dinner! Not into the Sausage Balls, well add a second cheese (Brie)  more fruit (Blueberries) and a little garnish of compote! Equally delish!

SERVES: 2
LEVEL: Easy – assembly

INGREDIENTS:
2 large handfuls of fresh salad greens
1 large handful of chopped mint leaves

1 ripe Peach, sliced but not peeled
8 large strawberries hulled and halved 
Small wedge of Stilton Cheese halved
½ Cup Toasted Pecans
6 KB’s Fruited and Spicy Sausage Balls

In two large salad bowls/platters place a handful of salad greens, and divide chopped mint leaves if available. Place half of the sliced fruits on each plate, sm. wedge of Stilton, add Pecans and Sausage Balls. I like to put the sausage balls on a skewer for presentation, either fresh Rosemary or wooden spear. 

The dressing is not tossed but drizzled over the salad once it is composed.

MAPLE VINAIGRETTE:
½ C Olive Oil
¼ C Rice Wine Vinegar

1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp of Maple Syrup
Squeeze fresh lemon if available
½ Tsp of Amazing Heat 
Salt n Pepper 

Shake or whisk together and drizzle over salad.  Add salt n pepper to individual salads per taste.

Check out our recipe for:
Fruited and Spicy Sausage Balls

French Safari Paella

French Safari Paella

From the Kitchen of Terri Bergman

Paella is friendship experience… various people of different backgrounds intermingle in the kitchen and at the table to meld friendships that go beyond our walls. With Paella, we toss seafood, chicken, sausage (… veggies from the gardens) to make a dish with depth of flavor and warmth of heart that is distinctive to each preparation. Just like our friends, no two paellas are alike… bring your taste buds and show us how YOU paella!

The meaning of Safari is a “Journey or Expedition “and that is what we are on as we prepare “French Safari Paella”. Two famous French preparations are similar in nature to Paella, they are  Cassoulet , hearty and delicious, made well it ‘warms the soul’ and Bouillabaisse, this ‘fish soup’ is probably the most famous traditional recipe from Provence from Marseille, the more people these dishes are made for, the more different types of ingredients are in it…like Paella!

Paella is Spanish in its origin…but it is really a delicious blending of foods that are fresh, available and local…a bit of a play on *“stone soup”.  Don’t know what I like more, the process, the gathering of foods, the cooks, the dinersor the amazing warmth this dish brings to the soulHere is our version: Makes 6-8 servings.
Ingredients:

INGREDIENTS:
5 cups strong chicken broth
1/2 tsp saffron
1/2 tsp Spanish paprika
1 TBSP KB’s Amazing Heat
1 small onion, peeled
2 small chickens, about 2# each
1/2 cup olive oil
1 # artisanal sausage or (KB’s Paella Sausage Recipe)
1/4 lb smoked bacon diced
1 medium onion, chopped
6 scallions, 4 chopped,
 *2 finely minced reserved for finish
1 head of  chopped garlic
2 roasted red peppers/**pimento (jarred is good)
1 lb medium shrimp, shelled
2 (Opt.) Live lobsters( boiled, divided)
1 small red pepper thinly sliced
1 small yellow pepper thinly sliced
3 cups Spanish rice (Bomba)
6 tbsp chopped parsley
2 bay leaves, whole
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
(Opt.) 18 clams / mussels, scrubbed
Lemon wedges for garnish
Parsley for garnish
*Rem. green onion for garnish

NOTE ON INGREDIENTS:  The only ingredient you must have is the broth, the rice and the saffron!!!  So add all, extend this list…or deduct according to your taste and budget!

PREPARATION:
Heat the broth with the saffron, pimentón and the whole onion. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove the onion and measure the broth — you need 5-6 cups.
Cut the chickens into small serving pieces — the whole breast in 3 parts, each thigh and wings with tips removed.  Dry the pieces well and sprinkle with salt/pepper.

In a metal Paella pan, with about a 15 inch base, heat the oil. Add the chicken pieces and fry over high heat until golden. Remove to a warm platter. Add the sausage and bacon to the pan and stir fry about 10 minutes. Add the chopped onion, scallions, garlic, pimentos, red peppers and sauté until the onion is wilted. Add the shrimp and the lobster and sauté about 3 minutes more, or until the shrimp and lobster barely turn pink (the lobster will cook more in the oven.) Remove the shrimp and lobster to the platter with the chicken. Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat it well with the oil. Sprinkle in the chopped parsley and the whole bay leaves. Stir in the chicken broth, boiling hot, the wine, and rice. Salt to taste. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, over medium high heat about 10 minutes. Bury the shrimp and the chicken in the rice. Add the clams and the mussels, pushing them into the rice, with the edge that will open facing up. Decorate the paella with the lobster pieces, and then bake at 325 F, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, add reserved peas and let sit on top of the stove, lightly covered with foil, for about 10 minutes. Heat burner to medium and toast bottom for one minute, remove.

To serve
:  Decorate with lemon wedges, chopped parsley and minced green onion. 
Bring Paella Pan to the Table to serve…..this is a beautiful looking dish, so let your guest first eat with their eyes!



JUST FOR FUN…The Fable of Stone SoupSome travelers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travelers. Then the travelers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travelers answer that they are making “stone soup“, which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavor, which they are missing. The villager does not mind parting with a few carrots to help them out, so that gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travelers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all.


Paella Notes

Pay attention to your broth, as in all cooking this is the “soul”,  make it rich and flavorful with fish or chicken stock and seasonings add a good concentrate (such as “Superior Touches” Better Than Bouillon Product, now gratefully found in most markets!)  If you need the flavors enhanced.
This is where all the magic starts…

When the paella is cooked and the rice looks fluffy and moist, turn the heat up for 40 seconds until you can smell the rice toast at the bottom, then it’s perfect. The ideal paella has a toasted rice bottom called socarrat.

Garnish just before serving with the cooked peas, parsley, finely diced green onion and lemon wedges this last add makes for a fresher taste!

Firm and absorbent rice is the key; we use Bomba available at specialty markets or online.

Use Real Saffron…it is key in taste and color, there is no substitute, a little goes a long way.

Asian Meatballs

Asian Meatballs

From the Kitchen of Terri Bergman

Asian Meatballs

CATEGORY: Main Event
SERVES: 36 2″ meatballs
LEVEL: Presto, easy!

MEATBALL INGREDIENTS:
1 # ground chicken, 1# ground pork, optional add ¼ # lean ground beef 
1 cup oat flour (finely ground oats) or 1 C Panko
2 eggs
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced ginger or 1 tsp ground ginger powder
1 C chopped Green Onion (finely sliced)
Optional ¼ C  finely chopped cilantro and or parsley (I like both)
1 tsp Amazing Heat

GLAZE INGREDIENTS:
1 Tbsp Amazing Rub (or brown sugar/spices)
1 Tbsp minced Garlic
½ C Soy Sauce
1 C Water
½ C Honey
½ C White Wine
1 Tbsp but Optional Hoisin Sauce, Oyster Sauce, Chili Sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:

MEATBALLS:
PREHEAT OVEN 400 DEGREES
Combine ground meats, 1 Cup oat flour or panko, eggs and all other ingredients. Stir with large fork to mix, try not use your hands. This will result in a much more tender meatball!
Roll balls in a approx 2” meatball (use scooper or spoon) and set on baking dish lined with parchment.
In warmed oven, approx bake time 12-15 minutes. Remove, set aside and sauce the meatballs you will be serving with the great glaze below.

GLAZE:
Stir Ingredients together and gently simmer uncovered, about 10-15 minutes until thickened.
Add Glaze to meatballs to cover, and additional glaze for table side and great in stir-fry veggies and pasta.

If freezing meatballs, very lightly glaze, set on baking dish, freeze and then bag in zip lock.

Great recipe to just have in the freezer for appetizers or quick week night dinner.