Suzi & Karen Brooks @ the Florabama

Hi Fellow Foodies,

Still re-entering my home life back in Nashville after a whirlwind weekend on the Gulf Coast at the Frank Brown International Songwriters’ Festival. So much fun! Thanks to everyone there who came out to my six different sets — there was so much great music to choose from I’m honored that you guys chose mine! Special thanks to Dave Chatham, Chancy Rogers and Bernie Toothaker of DC Lane for their musical & physical support. Not only great writers and players but invaluable help with all the logistics, setting up and tearing down… and irreplaceable as friends.

In keeping with my current trend, I decided to throw together a chili for my dinnertime gig at one of my favorite clubs, the Silver Moon. Slightly disoriented from Thursday & Friday’s festivities, I stumbled out to the parking lot around 7am Saturday and was rummaging around in my car for my soup pot & spices when much to my surprise, there was Karen Brooks! She’s the wild woman I’d shared the stage with at Florabama’s Wild Women Show the night before… wonderful writer and entertainer, we had a great time! Anyway, I told her what I was up to, carried my equipment back inside and started my grocery list… a few minutes later, a knock on my door and there she was again! This time bearing gifts, hot coffee and Krispy Kreme doughnuts … what an angel!

Finally to the supermarket, fortified and organized, I flew through the aisles collecting the following:

3 large, sweet onions
* small jar of peeled, minced garlic
8 poblano peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
4 anaheim peppers
4 large jalapenos
8 limes
2 bunches cilantro
* 3 freshly cooked rotisserie chickens
8 15oz. cans cannellini beans (great northerns)
* 4 11oz. cans tomatillos
* 8 32oz. boxes chicken broth
* 2 12oz. bags shredded Mexican cheese blend (you can substitute your cheese of choice)
olive oil
chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne (quantities to taste)
12 oz. your favorite beer or wine (this is for you to sip on in the afternoon while chopping – makes the chili taste better, I swear.)

* The ingredients with an asterisk beside them are time saving shortcuts. If you have the time and inclination you can peel and mince fresh garlic, cook your own chickens and use their carcasses to make homemade stock, husk and chop fresh tomatillos and pass a block of cheese to shred at the table. If you’re cooking 60-75 servings, however, I don’t recommend it

First task is to wash all the poblanos, bells, anaheims & jalapenos, half them, seed them and flatten, skin side up on a large cookie sheet in batches. Broil on high, 4 or 5 inches from the heating element for about 5 minutes, checking frequently. When the skins are blackened and bubbly, remove with tongs to a clean plastic bag and let steam until cool enough to handle.

By the time I got that done and everything else lined up, ready to process, I not only had Chancy over to help clean chickens but my new friend, Karen, returned to help with the chopping – she was a lifesaver that day and afforded me time to rehearse with my guys and change clothes, etc… thanks, Karen!

I chopped the onions while Chancy cleaned every good bit of meat off those chickens – the dark meat is great in chilis too. (If you’re at home, save the carcasses for a homemade stock in the future – they can be frozen.) Then Karen and I peeled the skins off the peppers and opened all the cans… drained and rinsed the white beans and tomatillos while heating a little more than a quarter cup of the olive oil in the stock pot. First the onions go into the oil. Then after a few minutes when they’re transparent, add as much garlic as you like — I used about 3 TBSP, equivalent to about 8 or 10 cloves, depending on size. The chicken and peppers get chopped and go into the pot along with the spices. I didn’t measure but I’d guess I used about 4 TBSP cumin (love cumin!), 4 TBSP chili powder, 1 TBSP cayenne, 1/2 TBSP paprika and a little salt to taste.

When the spices are fragrant, add the chopped tomatillos, white beans and chicken broth. You may decide you only want 6 or 7 of the boxes of broth, depending on how thick you like your chili. Also, if you like a smoother consistency, you can mash or puree half of the beans in a Cuisinart or just in a bowl with a potato masher before adding them to the pot. Stir it all up until it comes to a simmer, turn down the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes.

Before serving, cut up the limes for individual squeezes and clean & chop the cilantro. Those plus the shredded cheese make great finishing touches. Serve with plenty of the cold beverage of your choice (this is HOT) and either tortilla chips or fresh flour tortillas… to complete the experience, turn up your favorite DC Lane or Suzi Ragsdale CD and imagine you’re at the Silver Moon after a day at the beach!

Cheers!
Suzi

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Kitchen by Suzi