stiffwillichili

Recipe: T-Rev's Black Bean Beer Brew

Sorry for the alliteration.

This soup recipe goes out to my boys up north (north of me, anyway) in Buffalo and Pittsburgh. This black bean soup will keep you warm when you're tailgating in the snow. And the recipe will only take you about an hour from start to finish, so it's great in a pinch.

INGREDIENTS:

2 14½ oz. cans black beans, strained
1 14½ oz. can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp. olive oil
½ red onion, small dice
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1 bottle Labatt Blue or other good lager
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. cumin (NOT cayenne,* Erik!)
2 sprigs fresh oregano
2 bay leaves
1 cup fresh corn sliced from cob (canned corn isn't as good, but it will also work)
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash cayenne for heat

1. Sweat red onion in olive oil in stockpot set to low heat. Season lightly with salt and pepper and stir sporadically for 5 minutes.

2. Add garlic, diced tomatoes, garlic and onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, and another dash of salt and pepper. Stir once and cover for five minutes to simmer. Check halfway to be sure ingredients aren't sticking, and give a quick stir.

3. With flame or burner still set to low, add chicken broth, beans, beer, fresh herbs, cumin, and corn. Stir to combine and cover pot, leaving a small vent with lid for steam to escape. This will allow soup to reduce to a thicker consistency. Once soup starts to boil, set heat to simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Once soup has thickened a bit, close lid completely and allow soup to simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves before serving.

5. Ladle soup into four individual bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream. Serve hot with a side of nacho chips.

Note: By the time the soup has finished cooking, the oregano likely will have fallen apart throughout the soup. I prefer this more rustic feel, but if you'd rather remove it before serving, you can wrap it in cheese cloth before adding it to the pot so it can be easily retrieved.

This recipe makes 4 perfect servings, so if you want to increase the quantity you can easily double or triple the ingredients across the board.

I also apologize for failing to include at least a couple photos, but if you try this out feel free to snap a few yourself like my man Wolf did for T-Rev's Cajun Schmearwich, and I'll be sure to post them.

* One day my brother called me for my chili recipe. I ran down the ingredient list and told him to add between two and four tablespoons of chili powder, a few dashes of hot sauce or cayenne to taste, etc. I called the next day to see how he liked it and he told me everyone loved it, but it was so spicy they could barely eat it.

He said it gave them all an excuse to drink more beer with it (even though milk works better, but that clearly isn't manly), but I asked why it was so hot. He said, "Well, you said to add two tablespoons of cayenne!"

What I really said was a couple tablespoons of chili powder, but yeah, that amount of cayenne will do it. I felt sorry for his ass the next day.

Recipe: Baked French Onion Soup

This recipe is the perfect accompaniment to a nice steak dinner or great just served alone for lunch. Most French onion soup recipes will call only for beef broth, but I think balancing it with chicken broth yields a much smoother and richer flavor. But feel free to experiment with all sorts of variations. I have, and this is merely the one I've settled on as the best.

INGREDIENTS: 

6 large sweet onions, thin julienne
8 cloves fresh garlic (4 chopped for soup, 4 whole for croutons)
2 quarts beef broth (8 cups water/8 beef bouillon cubes)
2 quarts chicken broth (8 cups water/8 chicken bouillon cubes)
2 cups dry white wine
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. garlic powder
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
Bouquet garni (2 bay leaves, 4 sprigs each thyme and parsley)
4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
24 half-inch thick slices French baguette (about 2 loaves)
6 cups gruyère cheese, grated or shaved
4 cups parmigiano-reggiano cheese, finely grated

1. Bring large stock pot to medium low heat and add olive oil. Add onions, season with salt and pepper, and sweat until caramelized, stirring occasionally. Once onions have caramelized (about 1 hour), add butter, garlic powder, oregano, and Worcestershire sauce. Add beef and chicken broth, wine, and bouquet garni to pot. Bring soup to boil and immediately reduce heat and let simmer for at least 30 minutes, but an hour or two if possible.

2. While soup cooks, prepare croutons by placing bread slices on ungreased cookie sheet and baking in 400˚F oven for 10 minutes (no need to turn them). Shred cheese and set aside. When croutons are done, remove and let cool. Brush with whole garlic cloves on one side.

3. Preheat broiler with rack 6-8" from heat source. Place oven-safe soup bowls on cookie sheet and ladle in onion soup. Place two baguette croutons garlic side up in each bowl and top with about 1/2 cup gruyère and 1/3 cup parmigiano-reggiano. Broil until cheeses are brown and bubbling.

Serves 12 easily, but it can serve up to 16 -- just prepare extra croutons.

Recipe: Tortilla Soup

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes (or your favorite chunky salsa)
5 cloves crushed garlic
4 quarts water
16 chicken bouillon cubes
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. cumin
Fresh cilantro to taste (start with 8 to 10 leaves)
1 (silver dollar-size) chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped
½ bag white or yellow corn chips
½ bag blue corn chips

1. Bring large stockpot to low heat and sweat onion in olive oil for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

2. Add diced tomatoes, fresh garlic, lime juice, chipotle pepper, cilantro, and spices and seasonings. Cover pot and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Note: You may decide to add more salt at the end, but because the corn chips are salted it's best to take it easy at first.)

3. Add water and bouillon cubes and turn heat to high to bring soup to a boil. Stir, and reduce heat to low. Cover (lid slightly ajar) and simmer another 20 minutes.

4. Add corn chips and stir until soft, about five minutes. Turn off heat and use an immersion blender to blend and thicken the soup until creamy. Add extra chips as necessary to achieve desired thickness.

5. Taste for any additional spices. Serve in individual bowls and garnish with fried tortilla strips (or crumbled tortilla chips) and plenty of shredded Monterey Jack cheese.