Bare Cupboard Chili for a Snow Day

The weather outside is frightful ... and the cupboards inside are not full! Nothing says snow day more than warm chili and fresh bread and sugary apple pie.

We are only in Norwood three nights a week these days (in Marion the other four) and we are either working late or making our Blue Apron or Marley Spoon dinners. We keep some staples in the cabinets and frig but are usually not very well stocked. So, what do to when there's a snow day in Norwood, a hungry teen home from college, and all of us looking for some warm comfort food? I had to improvise.( Luckily, I thought ahead and bought apples and ricotta and had the makings for fresh bread and an apple pie.)

In the freezer I found a pound of delicious Walden Meats ground beef and five links of Italian sausage. I had no tomatoes - either fresh or canned so I got out my stool and braved the depths of the cupboards.

In them I found a chili seasoning pack, several cans or packs of beans (including one Bush's Grillin' Beans with chipotle seasoning and vegetables), some tomato paste and a jar or salsa. There were several cans of Corona that I substituted for water or stock. I threw it all in the crockpot with some sugar (to counteract the beer bitterness) and some dried chopped onion. A few hours on high and a few on low and we had a luscious warm and spicy chili.

Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti

CRANBERRY-PISTACHIO BISCOTTI from The Old Farmer's Almanac

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup toasted pistachios

1 cup dried cranberries

2 ounces white chocolate, melted

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 325º. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Lower speed and beat in dry ingredients. Stir in pistachios and cranberries by hand.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form dough into a log, 14 inches long by 4 inches wide by 1-½ inches high.

Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a rack; let cool about 5 minutes. Using a serrated knife, slice log on the diagonal into ½-inch-thick pieces.

Arrange slices on a lined baking sheet and bake about 8 minutes per side. Transfer biscotti to a rack and cool completely. Drizzle with melted white chocolate. Refrigerate until set, about 10 minutes.

Bettye's Banana Bread

This recipe is from one of the books I must have received from my cookbook club decades ago when I was a young unmarried woman. I know I've been making this banana bread for about 45 years. The book is The Gift-Giver's Cookbook (1971) by Jane Green and Judith Choate. I'm sorry to say I'm not sure where my cookbook is but the recipe's been copied in several places.

Bettye's Banana Bread

Cream 1/3 c. butter with 2/3 cup sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Add 2 eggs one at a time. Blend in 3 mashed bananas. Bananas should be 1/4 c. to 1/3 c. each and for this recipe I would want at least 1 to 1-1/4 cup of mashed bananas.

Sift together 1-3/4 cup flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt. Add the flour to the sugar/banana mixture together until mixed. Add 1 tsp. vanilla. Add nuts if desired.

Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees in a 9" loaf pan until tester comes out clean.

Persimmon Cake

We had a persimmon salsa in one of our Blue Apron dinners a few weeks ago. My mother used to make a persimmon cake that we all loved, but this was when I was an adult and not a child - so I'd never bought, peeled or chopped one before. The cake just miraculously appeared on her table.

I saw a pile of persimmons in Trader Joe's last Tuesday and bought some. I knew the recipe was in my favorite Bundt cake book that my mother gave me over 40 years ago.

Persimmons seem to come in two shapes and I don't know the difference. The ones I bought were "flat" like a pumpkin. I've seen others that are shaped more like Roma tomatoes or acorns. They can be deep yellow or red. I'm not sure if there is a difference in taste. Persimmons ripen in the fall into the winter. Like an avocado, persimmons seem hard and unripe until they are suddenly ripe with black spots on their skin. Botanically, they are considered berries.

The cake is delicious and dense - I added sugary golden raisins and chopped pecans for the fruit and nuts. The persimmons are peeled and chopped. I set the aside in a bowl for a day or so in the frig to fully soften.

Combine 3 cups flour with 2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. allspice.

Cream 1/2 cup butter and 2 cups sugar in a large bowl until they are fully mixed and fluffy. Add 3 eggs, one at a time. Beat in 2 cups of chopped persimmons.

Add the flour mixture and then fold in 2 cups raisins (dark is called for in the recipe) and 2 cups chopped nuts. Pour the thick batter in a pan (I used bundt) and bake - 1-1/4 hours at 325 degrees or until it tests done. Don't overbake! Top with sugar glaze or ice cream when serving.

If you'd like to cook or bake with persimmons, Martha Stewart has 12 ways to enjoy them before this season is over.

Ginger-Walnut Biscotti

These are delicious. I buy the ginger in a large bag from Hoosier Hill Farm on Amazon. It is sliced and I cut it into bits about the size of small currants.

The basic dough recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's Fruitcake Biscotti, as are all my biscotti recipes (Dark Cherry-Walnut, Dried Apricot-Almond, etc.)

 INGREDIENTS
 4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
1 teaspoon dried lemon peel

2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
4 large eggs plus 1 beaten large egg white, divided

1 1/2 cups chopped candied ginger
 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
 Ginger sugar or sparkling sugar for sprinkling

 DIRECTIONS
 Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In the bowl of a stand mixer, using paddle attachment, combine flour, granulated sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add butter and beat on medium-high until coarse crumbs form. This will take 5 minutes or more. With mixer on low, add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in ginger and walnuts. On parchment-lined baking sheets, shape dough into four 3-inch-wide logs. Brush with egg white; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until just set in middle, 30 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. With a serrated knife, cut logs on the diagonal into 1/4-inch slices. Bake on parchment-lined baking sheets until just golden, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool on sheets on racks.

Dried Plum Cake

Dried Plum Spice Cake

About 2 cups pitted dried plums (or prunes)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup cooking oil
3 eggs

Crumb topping: 
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cut sugar and flour into butter until crumbly.

Directions:

Grease and flour a Bundt pan; set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saucepan cover dried plums with water. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup of the liquid (add water, if necessary.)

Chop plums.

Stir together 2 cups flour, 1-1/2 cup sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. Add reserved plum liquid and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed just until moistened. Add eggs; beat 1 minute more. Stir in plums.

Pack the crumb topping into the bottom of the Bundt pan, adding chopped nuts if desired. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan on top.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Serve warm. Makes 16 servings.

Red Velvet Cake

I'm trying out cake recipes for this year's Volunteer Appreciation Tea at the Library. I love Cakewalk by Robbin Gourley, especially her personal stories about each cake, so I've picked three cakes to try before making the final version for April 28th: Hummingbird Cake, Walnut Cake with Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting, and Red Velvet (or Hand-Me-Down Cake).

The Red Velvet cake was good but not a winner. It seemed too dry for me; perhaps I overbaked it. In any event, the kitchen was a mess with all that red food coloring and red batter but I had fun making it and brought it to the neighbor's for an Easter dessert. The frosting recipe was questionable but it turned out delicious. Robbin Gourley's family have handed the recipe down for years.

Red Velvet Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and flour two or three eight inch cake pans. (I used three).

Sift together 2-1/2 c. flour, 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 t baking soda and 1-2 t salt. Set aside.

Combine 1 cup buttermilk and 1 T (yep, that's tablespoon) red food coloring and set aside.

Cream together 1 cup butter and sugar, adding eggs, one at a time, and beat until thoroughly combined. Alternate the flour and buttermilk until it is all incorporated, adding the vanilla and the vinegar.

Spread the batter evenly into pans and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool and in the pan ten minutes and then turn them out onto racks and cool completely.


For the frosting, place 3 T flour in a saucepan and slowly add 1 cup of milk, whisking in gently and cook the mixture until it is creamy. Cool surrounded by a pan of ice water or in the freezer. Cream 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and 1 cup of very soft butter.  Add the cooled thickened milk and beat until the consistency of whipped cream.

Cream together 1 cup butter and sugar, adding eggs, one at a time, and beat until thoroughly combined. Alternate the flour and buttermilk until it is all incorporated, adding the vanilla and the vinegar.

I must say we added vanilla yogurt and chocolate sauce when serving.