a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain the grease.
Add the olive oil, cinnamon, cubed steak, brown sugar, garlic, coffee, and onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the bottom from burning. Reduce heat to medium and add the celery, all three types of peppers, mushrooms, chiles, and spices, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until everything starts to smell really good.
Reduce the heat to low and add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beer; cook for a few minutes. Stir in the baking soda (the chili will bubble and boll for a few seconds). When it's done acting up, add beans and simmer uncovered for 1½ to 2 hours or until beans are thoroughly cooked. (Note: If you are using cooked, canned beans, add them after the chili has cooked for about 1½ hours.) Add the corn if desired.
Tune up the chili with Tabasco, salt, and more spices to suit your taste. Serve with favorite garnishes like onions, grated cheese, and sour cream, and be sure to have some crackers, corn bread (see recipe on page 16), and rivers of ice-cold beer on hand. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
HE MUST HAVE BEEN STEWED
In the early twentieth century, chef Auguste Escoffier, one of the most prolific chefs to ever oversee a soup, declared that a proper consommé has not only meat in the broth but at least sixteen vegetables as well (although most countries other than France used approximately six).
I guess that dismisses his own country's darling, Gratinée Lyonnaise, otherwise known as French onion soup; one lowly onion simmers in that pot.
Spooning Up Memories of JFK's Soup
I've decided, after interviewing hundreds of gastronomes, that guys who grew up either in cold climates or near seaboards, lakes, streams, or even trout ponds are more passionate about eating soup than are hot-house, land-locked gentlemen. It's a whimsical theory, but I do know that Mike Love of the Beach Boys, who grew up in Surf City USA, favors sumptuous homemade soups over most other entrées!
Born and bred in New England, near Cape Cod, President John F. Kennedy loved the sea and any connection to it. It is no surprise that he loved seafood, particularly a hearty New England fish chowder that he would request several days in a row while at the White House. In fact, in 1961, First Lady Jacqueline submitted a recipe for the fish chowder to the Congressional Club Cook Book, which is still in print today. If clams and oysters and seafood be the foods of love, Kennedy was smitten. In honor of a true chowder man, I offer my best recipe.
An empty stomachis not a good political advisor.
—Albert Einstein
Noble New England Clam Chowder
A favorite of President John F. Kennedy
1¼ pounds (3 to 4 medium) potatoes, diced into ½-inch pieces and parboiled
4 cups half-and-half
3 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons clam base (found in specialty food stores)
2 teaspoons sugar
½ cup flour
¼ cup butter, melted
Three 6½-ounce cans chopped clams, drained; juice reserved
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh chives, chopped
Dice and parboil potatoes until al dente.
Using a large bain-marie or double-boiler, heat to a hot simmer the half-and-half, milk, garlic, clam base (see The Inside Line on next page for a substitution), clam juice (strained from the can), and sugar.
In a small bowl, combine flour and butter to form a roux. Add about ½ cup of the chowder concoction to the roux, blend well, and then whisk the roux into the large pot. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the chowder begins to thicken. Add the clams and potatoes and simmer for another 10 to 12 minutes until the potatoes are tender (but take care not to overcook the potatoes).
Season with salt and pepper and garnish each serving with fresh chives. Makes 4 servings, fit for a true New Englander and president.
THE INSIDE LINE
Clam base can be found in most specialty food stores. However, to make a homemade clam base, simply puree the contents of a 6½-ounce can of clams with 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons lemon juice; use 2 tablespoons of this base for the recipe.
May the saddest day of your future be no worseThan the happiest day of your past.
—Irish proverb
It All Started with Chicken Soup
Chicken soup has the power to cure colds and cold hearts. It is our birthright to slurp the golden broth when its magic is needed to soothe the soul and comfort the senses. Mm…Mm…good….
Tom Lagana, the author who cooked up Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul, another serving from the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series, sent me his story and favorite recipe:
Do you know what I eat for breakfast? Chicken soup. As a little boy I hated breakfast foods and simply refused to eat. When I started kindergarten, my mom finally stumbled on to something I would eat for breakfast. The tradition has continued into my adult life.
In light of her father's love for her soup, in Newman's Own Cookbook Nell Newman says of dad Paul, “Give my father a hearty soup, a can of beer, and a bag of popcorn, and he is as close to heaven as he can get. He does handstands over my chicken soup.” I have never known a wise man to turn down something made with love. So get out your spoons and enjoy this simple version of a heartwarming, immune-boosting staple.
Tom Lagana's Original Chicken Soul Soup
3-pound whole fryer chicken
6 to 8 cups water
1 garlic clove, diced
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
½ cup carrots, diced
½ cup leeks, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Freshly
