I looked up from my home-office desk yesterday afternoon and spied what at first appeared to be a small red blimp hovering a few feet off the ground in my neighbor’s front yard. The previous night’s discussion pondering the probable Sasquatch – alien connection flashed back into active thought.
It took me a minute to realize that this apparition was in fact only my (best guess) obsessive compulsive disorder afflicted neighbor out performing his meticulous and ritualistic fall yard routine (he does vacuum leaves with his ShopVac), though he did appear to be dressed in nothing short of full-on arctic exploration gear.
His brilliant red expedition coat had at least 4 inches of loft and his insulated pants matched smartly. He was wearing an Elmer Fudd hat under the puffy down hood.
In his defense, it’s been a bit chilly here on the southernmost shore of the Sound; when I checked the temperature yesterday afternoon it was 44 (yawn), though it had dipped as low as 20 south of Olympia yesterday morning (sending the natives running for cover).
From the perspective of a displaced Montanan, it’s been cold enough to actually put on a long sleeve shirt when leaving the house and while I’ve not been driven to yet wear socks to fight off the cold, I did at least think about it this morning.
The cooler weather has put soups, gumbos, stews and chiles back in the menu rotation, and this White Bean Chili was #1 on the request list around here this week.
And for the ‘chili purists’ out there (I used to be one of them) who insist that ‘real chili’ is only made up of beef, beer, chile powder, tomato sauce and a never-revealed list of magic seasonings, I call bullshit.
This one’s really good and you can call it a chili if you want to.
1/2 lb. good bulk breakfast sausage
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 onions, chopped medium
2 cups Great Northern white beans, sorted and rinsed
8 cups chicken broth
2 4-ounce cans green chiles
3 cups canned diced tomatoes
1 tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. Mexican oregano
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
4-5 cups diced roasted chicken
2-3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
2/3 cup (more or less) chopped green onions
2/3 cup chopped cilantro
Sauté time. Preheat your stock pot over medium heat and add the sausage, breaking it up as it browns. Add the garlic and onions and sauté until the onions have softened.
Bean it. Add the beans and broth, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 2-3 hours until the beans soften. Keep an eye on it, you might need to add some broth.
Make it chili. Now add the chiles, tomatoes, cumin, oregano, cayenne, cloves and diced chicken. Simmer for another hour. Check to see if you feel like it needs a bit of salt, we almost always add a bit.
Serve hot. Ladle into chili bowls and top with the grated MJ cheese, green onions and cilantro.
Enjoy.
