Southwestern Potato, Crab And Corn Chowder... The Perfect Cold Weather Comfort Food

This year West Texas has been experiencing the coldest weather in more than 20 years, for the longest period of time. Therefore, all I seem to want to do is make soups, stews, and chowders; then curl up by the fire with a good read or a new movie. I'm afraid Mr. Snoots is growing tired of this, being the West Texas born and raised guy that he is. Unfortunately, he's just going to have to bear with me until the weather turns warm once again. Having grown up in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, this is just the way I roll. I happen to know that you need something to eat that will stick to your ribs when the temperatures plunge into the teens, with even colder wind chill factors.

Now, during the summer I usually wait for an excellent deal on corn-on-the-cob, like when they are 10 ears for $2.00. Then, I get them home and roast all of them over a fire with hickory smoke, scrape the kernels of corn from the cob, divide it evenly among freezer bags, label the bags, and toss them in the freezer. The reason I do this is so I can have it available for meals such as this, without all the fuss of having to do the corn first. And really, who wants to grill outdoors when it's below freezing? Not I.

So, all I have to do is make the potato soup, which I always seem to make way too much of. We usually have the Potato Soup the first couple of nights, then I totally change it up by adding the corn and the crab, plus a bit of Gruyere cheese and Parmesan cheese. It totally changes the taste and texture of the soup, by becoming a chowder. It's so filling that I usually find it necessary to eat several cups of it, in intervals. I do hope you enjoy it as much as we do.


Potato, Corn And Crab Chowder:


Ingredients:


4 cups of chicken broth

3 cups of potatoes, diced

1-1/2 cups of onions, diced

1 cup of celery, diced

1 bay leaf

1 cup of baby carrots, diced

5 to 10 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 cups of milk (or Half & Half if you're young)

5 Tablespoons of butter

1-1/2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper, freshly ground

1 Tablespoon of fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 - 7 ounce can of diced green chiles

1 package of crab chunks (For Heaven's sake please don't use the fake crab.)

1 package of previously frozen roasted corn


Directions:

1. In a large dutch oven or stock pot, melt the butter and add the onions, celery, and potatoes. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes.

2. Add the chicken broth and the bay leaf, making sure that the broth covers the vegetables by about an inch to an inch and a half. Place the lid on the pan and allow the veggies to simmer for about 30 minutes.

3. Now you can add the carrots, salt, and pepper. Add more broth if necessary and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

4. When the vegetables are thoroughly cooked, remove the pan from the fire and use a potato masher to crush at least half of the veggies.

5. Return the pan to the fire and bring almost to the point of boiling. Add the milk (or Half & Half).

6. Now you can add the corn, the chopped green chiles, and the crab. Simmer over medium-low heat for an additional 30 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the soup from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

7. Before the last 15 minutes of simmering, add the chopped fresh parsley. Serve, when time is up, with fresh French or sourdough bread.

You can thank me later...

Pan Fried Pork Tenderloin With A Pomegranate Reduction Sauce And Cowpoke Appaloosa Pinto Beans

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Texas Home Cooking, written by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. The only variation I've made is that I've used Anasazi (Appaloosa) beans along with the pinto beans and I didn't have a coke on hand so I used a Tecate beer. Their flavor only enhances the taste of the pinto beans. Oh, and I also used chicken broth in place of water, once the cooking began as well as ten times the garlic.



Cowpoke Pintos:


Ingredients:


1 pound dried pinto beans, soaked overnight (or 1/2 pound of pintos & 1/2 pound of Anasazi beans)

8 cups of water

12 ounces of Coca-Cola (or ginger ale, Dr. Pepper, or beer)

1 14-1/2 ounce can whole tomatoes, undrained

1-1/2 medium onions, chopped

1/4 to 1/2 cup tomato-based barbecue sauce

2 to 3 pieces slab bacon, chopped

3 Tablespoons Chili Powder

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 to 4 fresh serranos or jalapenos, seeded and minced

2 teaspoons of ground cumino or Mexican oregano

1 teaspoon salt, or more, to taste



Directions:


1. In a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot, combine all the ingredients except the salt.

2. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer.

3. Cook slowly, stirring up from the bottom occasionally, for at least two hours, adding more water if the beans begin to seem dry.

4. If you cook the beans on a fire that's too hot, the skins of the beans will crack and curl, so be sure to keep the flame low. I cook them all day, very slowly.

5. Stir in the salt in the last few minutes of cooking. The beans should hold their shape but be soft and just a little soupy.

6. Serve in bowls with some of the liquid. Add cornbread and you're done.


Pan Fried Pork Tenderloin With Pomegranate Reduction Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 pork tenderloins (each about 3/4 pound)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup plain pomegranate juice (such as POM Wonderful)
• 3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 to 2 teaspoons Sherry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Stir together cumin, coriander, pepper, cinnamon, and salt in a shallow bowl. Pat tenderloins dry and dredge in spice mixture until evenly coated.

2. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Reduce heat to moderate and cook pork, turning occasionally, until meat is browned on all sides and thermometer inserted diagonally into center of each tenderloin registers 145°F, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer pork with tongs to a cutting board (reserve skillet) and let stand 10 minutes.

3. While pork stands, pour off and discard any fat from skillet, then add pomegranate juice to skillet and boil over moderately high heat until reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 3 minutes (if side of skillet begins to scorch, reduce heat to moderate). Stir together cornstarch and water and whisk into juice, then boil sauce until thickened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and add Sherry vinegar to taste, then swirl in butter until incorporated. Pour sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and skim off any fat. Season with salt. Slice pork and serve with sauce.


The beans and pork are even better the second night. Crumble some cornbread into a bowl and pour beans with liquid over the cornbread. Serve with the sliced pork tenderloin with pomegranate reduction drizzled over the top.




On another note, the Coca-Cola purportedly reduces the gaseous effect of beans. However, nothing much works if you go dancing afterward....


Oh, and guess who I saw today? The lovely Felicia. I wanted to go out and put a blankie over her (it's COLD!) Mr. Snoots just looked at me with a raised eyebrow.... I didn't do it. But, she looked really cold!