Daughter is away for a month. I’m cooking a few recipes with ingredients that she does not enjoy, such as cumin and any hint of piquant. I’ve also been trying to find and use items languishing in the freezer. The first recipe was a return to spice and second mined the depths.

White Chicken Chili

Some time ago, in our life pre-COVID, I was an avid attendee of demonstration cooking classes at our local Williams Sonoma Store. This was and still is their marketing ploy to show patrons how to use their equipment and food offerings. More importantly, the “classes” were fun and informative. One recipe that stayed with me was for chili made with chicken, well their recipe calls for turkey.

Chili con carne is a recipe all women my age learned to prepare in high school home economics class. Ground beef, kidney beans, tomatoes, onions, and chili powder. Years later, a dear Oklahoma friend informed me that “real” chili does not include beans, just the meat. While living there, I perfected my chili with ground bison, and yes I used a variety of beans.

Chili was and is a dish that Daughter has never liked. I’ve made it a few rare times for potlucks here a few times. In her absence, it was time to excavate the white chili recipe. And several packages of poached chicken breasts were waiting in the freezer to be used.

White Chicken Chili. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add one large diced onion, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add two teaspoons of cumin, 5 chopped garlic cloves,  and 1 chopped jalapeño; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in 1 lb. Anaheim chilies, roasted, peeled and diced, or 3 cans (each 7 oz.) whole fire-roasted Anaheim chilies, diced chilies (all chilies omitted, in deference to Constant Companion’s tastes, in the past I used a can of green chilis) and 3 1/2 cups of the broth., then transfer to a slow cooker. Stir in 1 pound of diced cooked chicken (or turkey), 3 cans of drained and rinsed cannellini beans, 2 tablespoons of oregano, and 1/3 cup of minced cilantro.

Cover, bring to a boil, then simmer for an hour.

Note: The original recipe is for a 3 hours in a slow cooker.

Kritharoto (Tomato Orzo With Squid and Shrimp)

The second recipe using excavated ingredients is new, yet another found in my in-box. I think the source is Saveur Magazine. It looked intriguing and Constant Companion loved it. I had the shrimp* and squid waiting in the freezer for the perfect use. This recipe fit the bill.

*I don’t usually promote products. However, I used the Argentinian red shrimp from Aldi for this recipe. It nice sized shrimps, peeled, and ready to cook, and not too expensive.

Tomato Orzo With Squid and Shrimp. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot and shimmering, add 1 pound of shrimp, one green bell pepper and one red bell pepper thinly sliced, and one coarsely chopped medium onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp is light pink and the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot and shimmering, add 1 pound of cleaned squid cut in about 2 inch sections. Cook, stirring occasionally, just until curled, 2–3 minutes.

Add the shrimp mixture to the skillet with the squid. Add 1 cup of dry white wine over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently and scraping up any browned bits, until the liquid is reduced by about one third, 4–5 minutes.

Add the 1 ½ cups of tomato purée,* ¼ cup chopped parsley, and ½ teaspoon oregano, season to taste with ground cinnamon (omitted), salt, and black pepper. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced and darkened slightly, about 15 minutes.

*I found it too tomato-ey and would decrease this ingredient.

Stir in 1 pound of orzo, cover, and simmer; and stir occasionally to prevent scorching, until the pasta is cooked, about 15 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.

Constant Companion and I enjoyed both of these dishes and, of course, the leftovers. PS, I think Daughter will enjoy the shrimp and orzo.