Football Mania: Cha Cha Chili

Last but certainly not least in my Football Mania Menu series, my Cha Cha Chili! A dish that is both comforting and easy, the trick is here to give it plenty of time to simmer so that all of the flavors have the chance to mingle and meet. It's easy enough that you can get it going the morning of the big game and let it simmer away while you get the rest of the party ready, or you can make it the night before and warm it right before guest arrive. I recommend arranging a do-it-yourself topping bar for guests to customize their own personal chili toppings with the suggested toppings below! 

Need a few more ideas? Try my Mixed Stuffed Peppers and Hot Swiss and Almond Dip to complete your Game Day Menu. What else are you serving this Sunday? 

Cha Cha Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean, ground beef (or substitute ground turkey)
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 16 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste + 1 can (6 oz) water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1 can pinto beans

Toppings:

• Sour cream (reduced fat)
• Cilantro, chopped
• Sharp Cheddar, grated
• Chives

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, and sauté garlic and onions until translucent. Add meat and thoroughly cook through. Add green pepper and continue to cook until softened. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste and remaining seasonings. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Mix in kidney and pinto beans and juice. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes. Toppings are to be used as desired.

'Tis the Season to spice up your Holiday Menus

Reserve your Place at the Table Today

This is my absolute favorite time of year - The weather is crisp and my favored fruits and vegetables like, butternut squash, pumpkin, artichoke and figs are in season! It's always around this time when I start planning my menus for the Holiday's. First up is Thanksgiving and this year I'm doing something completely different.

'Tis the season to indulge in specialty wines and one-of-a-kind menus. As Executive Chef and Culinary Director of BDB, I'm announcing a limited holiday edition of "Kristin's Table." Looking for exciting new dishes for your Thanksgiving Feast? Join me to learn new recipe's and flavors through a five course tasting menu with Italian wine pairings. You'll enjoy this intimate tasting in the private cellar room of Bocca Di Bacco Chelsea, 169 9th Ave Corner of 20th St.

Walk away with recipes, gift bags, memories and more!

Now taking reservations for Tuesday November 18th, 7:30pm.

Limited Seating Available. $115 per person

Reserve your seat today by emailing 

monica@kristinsollenne.com

*a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the H.O.P.E. Foundation

Food Network Here I Come!

I am VERY excited to share this news with all of you! I will be appearing in a new Food Network series, "Kitchen Casino"! Amongst all of my projects, I couldn't be more excited to become a part of the Food Network Family. The show will be full of excitement and of course, CHANCE! 

If you love "Chopped" and other cooking challenges, you'll love "Kitchen Casino". There will be three rounds of challenges for the four chefs coming to compete. The whole show takes from the "casino" vibe with pulling a slot machine for ingredients, spinning stations and even having to finish someone else's dish! 

It will be hosted by Bill Rancic and there will be a few other judges alongside me overseeing the challenges. This is a dream come true and I can't wait to hear what you guys think! 

The show will air on April 7th at 9|8c! Grab that popcorn!!!

-Chef K

Leftover Pumpkin

Leftover pumpkins from the holidays? Don't throw them out! Those gorgeous orange beauties are waiting to be transformed into pumpkin bread, pasta fillings (my favorite) like my pumpkin cannelloni that I served up this year for Thanksgiving and even creamy pumpkin soup to name a few! I love keeping pumpkin puree in the freezer so that I can use them in my recipes all year round. Follow this easy recipe to learn how to cook up your leftover pumpkins! Promise you'll thank me later ;)

 Ingredients

• 2 whole Small Pumpkins

Preparation Instructions

Select a couple of smaller sized pumpkins. Cut the pumpkin in half. With a spoon or a scoop, scrape out the seeds and pulp from the center. You don't have to be too thorough with this.

Place all the seeds into a bowl (you can roast them later and make pepitas for a healthy snack). Repeat until all the pumpkin pieces are largely free of seeds and pulp.

Place pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet (face up or face down) and roast in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes, or until pumpkin is fork-tender. They should be nice and light golden brown when done.

Peel off the skin from the pumpkin pieces until you have a big pile of the stuff. If you have a food processor, throw in a few chunks at a time. A blender will work, too, if you add a little water. Or you can simply mash it up with a potato masher, or move it through a potato ricer, or process it through a food mill.

Pulse the pumpkin until smooth. If it looks too dry, add in a few tablespoons of water during the pulsing to give it the needed moisture. (Note, if the puree is overly watery, you should strain it on cheesecloth or over a fine mesh strainer to get rid of some of the liquid.)

Dump the pureed goodness into a bowl, and continue pureeing until all the pumpkin is done.

You can either use this immediately in whatever pumpkin recipe you’d like, or store it in the freezer for later use.

To store in the freezer, spoon about 1 cupful of pumpkin into each plastic storage bag. Seal the bag with just a tiny bit of an opening remaining, then use your hands to flatten out the pumpkin inside the bag and push out the air. Store them in the freezer until you need them.

Hope you all of you try this easy recipe at home and use those pumpkins!

-Chef K

Pasta: Sauces and Shapes

With all the different shapes and sizes of pasta, I am often asked how to choose what pasta to pair with a sauce. So, here's a little cheat sheet to help when cooking up your favorite pasta dishes!

Shaped pastas like orecchiette, farfalle, and fusilli are perfect for most sauces. However textured sauces in particular are best with shaped pastas, for example vegetables or meaty sauces. This is because the shapes are able to stick and hold onto chunkier ingredients. We use orecchiette for our lamb ragu sauce, so that each bite is filled with a little bit of that succulent lamb. YUM!

Tube pastas are best served with thick sauces. This could be anything from a simple marinara, to a bolognese meat sauce. The tubes and ridges hold onto the sauce and get enveloped in all the yummy flavors! A rigatoni would be best with a meat sauce, while a penne is ideal for a creamy pink tomato sauce.

When it comes to the flat and long pasta family, they need lots of olive oil love! You'll notice a lot of the thinner versions such as angel hair, spagetti or linguine will be served in lighter tomato or wine sauces. This is because they need the lubrication from the liquid and oil to stay silky smooth. For thicker versions such as fettuccine, or tagliatelle, these can hold up to cream sauces or ragus. 

Hope this quick cheat sheet helps! 

-Chef K