White Chili

Even though I wasn't around for Thanksgiving this year, I still longed for a big Thanksgiving meal.  So, I invited a whole lug of friends over for a big potluck dinner.  I made sure all the necessary Thanksgiving staples were taken care of by various people.  And we made the turkey.  And of course, the gravy and cranberry sauce to go with it.  I used Alton Brown's highly rated and used recipe.  The highlights of the recipe include brining the turkey, starting it off at a very high heat to get a nice golden, crispy skin and then finally cooking it until the internal temperature of the breast reaches 161 degrees F.  

This is after 30 minutes of crisping up the skin initially.

The scariest part for me (this was my first turkey, btw) was the fact that I was cooking a 25 lb turkey.  Woahhhh...that is huge.  We had over twenty people over for dinner so we needed a big guy.  The second scariest part is that I bought a new digital instant read thermometer.  It was supposed to read both the internal temp and the oven temp.  However, it was not reading the oven temp correctly so I was having a hard time trusting it period.  It all turned out just fine.  The turkey was totally delicious.  Lots of people said it was the moistest turkey they had ever had.  I loved the flavor.  It was a seriously good turkey.  Alton Brown is good at stuff like this, trust him.  

So, we have been using up the leftovers over this week.  I made this white chili and replaced the roasted chicken with the leftover turkey.  It is a great soup/chili/white chili.  And it is pretty healthy.  I didn't add the cream because I liked how it tasted without it.  I am sure most of you do not have leftover turkey anymore, but this would be just as good with the chicken.

White Chili

adapted from Melissa d'Arabian via Food Network

For the Roasted Garlic:

1 head of garlic

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

For the Chili:

12 shallots, chopped

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 Anaheim chile peppers

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup dry white wine

7 cups low-sodium chicken broth

4 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 15-ounce can navy beans, undrained

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup grated monterey jack cheese, for garnish

Roast peppers: Preheat the broiler. Place the chiles on a foil-lined broiler pan and broil until charred on all sides, turning, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool. Peel the peppers with your fingers or a paring knife. Stem, seed and chop.

Make the roasted garlic: After chiles are roasted, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel outer skin off the garlic. Slice the upper 1/2 inch off the garlic bulb. Place in a piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil. Wrap edges of foil around garlic and roast in oven for 30-40 minutes or until the garlic is soft and squishes out.

Prepare the chili: Cook the shallots in the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat until caramelized, about 20 minutes.

Add the minced garlic to the shallots and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add the flour and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 3 minutes. Increase the heat to high and add the wine; simmer 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Add the roasted chiles, 6 cups broth, the chicken, chili powder, cayenne, beans, and salt and black pepper to taste. Return to a simmer.

Meanwhile, squeeze the soft pulp from the roasted garlic into a blender or food processor. Add the remaining 1 cup broth and process until smooth. Add to the chili and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes, adding the spinach during the last 5 minutes. Add the paprika and cream and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the cheese.

(Servings: 4-6, Prep time: 45 min., Cook time: 45 min., Difficulty: Easy)

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foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  7/10

Scot (taste):  8/10

Effort:  3/5

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