Jeff has brought a lot of good things into my life (like, say, sanity), but one of the ones I appreciate most is chicken chili. All the flavor of chili in 15 to 20 minutes? Sign me up. Plus, it’s light enough to eat year-round.

We started making chicken chili by following the directions on a seasoning mix packet. Then we added fire-roasted tomatoes and frozen corn. Then Frank’s Hot Sauce. And we kept tinkering until we finally came up with a seasoning mix of our own.

So, here’s our Fired-Up Chicken Chili. It’s thick and spicy, perfect for a cold night or cheering on your favorite undefeated football team. My father is a chicken-hater, and even he loves it, so this variation might work for the chili-lovers in your family, too.

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Can a bowl of soup compare with history in the making? No. But at some point in the very near future, the election coverage will end, and you might be hungry.

Lately, I’ve been making this Thai Chicken Noodle Soup. Imagine a bowl piled high with noodles, chicken and a broth flavored with ginger, chilies, garlic, lemongrass, lime and soy sauce. Topped with cilantro and sliced chilies. Something that will fill your stomach, wake your tastebuds and clear your sinuses faster than Dr. Oz wielding a neti pot.

And, you know, this is a democracy, so feel free to play around with the recipe. Add some mushrooms or a can of unsweetened coconut milk. Use angel hair or udon. Trade the Thai chilies for serrano, jalapeno or habanero peppers. Leave them in instead of straining them out.

Just promise me you’ll do one thing: slurp. Read More…

It’s too hot for skin today. So, why am I posting about soup?

A few weeks ago, my friend Karen Beth asked for a good gazpacho recipe, and it got me thinking and craving and obsessing about one of my favorite summer lunches: Jamie Oliver’s Fresh Tomato and Sweet Chili Pepper Soup with Smashed Basil and Olive Oil.

The fresh tomatoes, roasted red peppers, chili pepper, and basil form a unique mix that you can swing Italian or Tex-Mex. It tastes just as good with a toasted mozzarella, tomato, and basil sandwich as it does with a nice hunk of The Barefoot Contessa’s jalapeno cheddar cornbread. My research has been intense.

If you’re looking for a slow-cook, feel free to lovingly blanch, peel, seed, and chop the tomatoes … and grill, peel, and chop the red bell peppers. For a quick cook, pick up a can or two of plum tomatoes and a jar of roasted red peppers, which I’m sure God created on the Eighth Day, because I love them so.

So, Karen Beth, this isn’t gazpacho, but it IS just as amazing cold as it is straight off the stove. Again, intense research. Hope you like it!

Fresh Tomato and Sweet Chili Pepper Soup with Smashed Basil and Olive Oil
Adapted from Jamie Oliver’s The Naked Chef

• 15 ripe plum tomatoes
• 3 medium red bell peppers
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh seeded red chili
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, or to taste
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 handfuls of fresh basil leaves

Score the tops of the tomatoes, blanch in boiling water for about 20 seconds, or until you can remove the skins and seed. Grill the peppers whole (to achieve a really sweet pepper taste they should be grilled until black), rest in a covered bowl, then peel and finely chop them.

Put the chopped peppers in a warmed, thick-bottomed pan with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and the chopped red chili. Add a pinch of salt and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the roughly chopped tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes with another pinch of salt and red wine vinegar so that they sort of melt and infuse themselves together. Add the stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

In a food processor, chop the basil to a pulp. Add a pinch of salt. Stir in the remaining olive oil and a drop more red wine vinegar. Drizzle the mixture generously over your soup.