Sorry this is turning out to be a long post, but I would seriously enjoy
some suggestions on how to make the recipe better as it really had great
chili flavor and great potential.

I got this off the internet... *oh big surprise* anyhow it sounded good, but
it was just missing an underlying flavor and I just couldn't tweek it enough
to get it right. The "chili" flavoring of the recipe was just right really
rich, warm and delicious, but it was almost like it was missing it's base of
flavors. It would hit the tongue and make you think "wow this is really
good", but then leave you hanging thinking "what is it missing." I didn't
follow the recipe exactly and I put my changes in parenthesis. Any ideas?

Abercrombie's Southwestern White Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups boneless chicken or turkey meat
(5 chicken thighs)
14.5 ounces chicken broth (1 can)
(8 cups of water)
4 ounces chopped green chilies (1 can)
(2 cans of chopped green chilie)
60 ounces un-drained, small white beans
(1 pound dry navy beans, soaked)
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
(8 cloves garlic, minced)
2 teaspoons cumin powder
(4 teaspoons cumin powder)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
(1 teaspoon oregano)
1 teaspoon basil
(2 teaspoons basil)
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves or 2 tsp ground coriander
(2 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves)
2 teaspoons ground pasilla pepper
(4 teaspoons ground pasilla pepper)
1 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne or chili powder like Gebharts)
(2 teaspoon ground Gebharts chili powder)
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper, optional
(didn't add this, but had to add 2 tsp of salt)

Cook the chicken or turkey in a pan with the olive oil, jalapeno, onion, and
garlic. I normally use a pressure cooker instead of a fry pan to speed up
the process.

(I put soaked beans, 8 cups of water, and 5 chicken thighs into the crockpot
and cooked until done. About 8 hours. I then shredded chicken and
proceeded with above directions. For the ground pasilla pepper I bought
whole dried pasilla peppers... seeded, deveined and ground them in my magic
bullet :P)

When the meat mixture is done, shred it into smaller pieces, then put it
along with all other ingredients in a pot and simmer for at least an hour. I
usually let it go for a couple. If you want to crockpot it, do it on low for
the day. Add more jalapenos/red pepper/chili powder to kick it up a notch
for your own taste. I use boneless/skinless chicken thighs because I like
the flavor better than breast meat, but any kind of chicken/turkey will do
fine.

That's it for the easiest version. You can use fresh ingredients instead of
the canned and powdered for a special pot of the stuff. Use fresh herbs and
peppers if you can find them. Roast the peppers over some kind of flame (I've
used one of those small propane torches or the fireplace at times) till they
turn black, put 'em in a sealed baggie for 15 minutes or so till the skins
rub/slide off easily, remove seeds and stems, and dice 'em.

Try not to leave anything out the first time you make the dish, each spice
or pepper is important to the final taste. After that, adjust 'em to fit
your own tastes.

Servings: 8

King's Crown wrote:
> Sorry this is turning out to be a long post, but I would seriously enjoy
> some suggestions on how to make the recipe better as it really had great
> chili flavor and great potential.

Carrots and red peppers, more black pepper and more onion. And
coriander is no substitue for cilantro (per the original recipe)

-L.

"King's Crown" > wrote in message
. ..
> Sorry this is turning out to be a long post, but I would seriously enjoy
> some suggestions on how to make the recipe better as it really had great
> chili flavor and great potential.
>
> I got this off the internet... *oh big surprise* anyhow it sounded good,
> but it was just missing an underlying flavor and I just couldn't tweek it
> enough to get it right. The "chili" flavoring of the recipe was just
> right really rich, warm and delicious, but it was almost like it was
> missing it's base of flavors. It would hit the tongue and make you think
> "wow this is really good", but then leave you hanging thinking "what is it
> missing." I didn't follow the recipe exactly and I put my changes in
> parenthesis. Any ideas?
>
> Abercrombie's Southwestern White Chili
>
> 1 tablespoon olive oil
> 4 cups boneless chicken or turkey meat
> (5 chicken thighs)
> 14.5 ounces chicken broth (1 can)
> (8 cups of water)
> 4 ounces chopped green chilies (1 can)
> (2 cans of chopped green chilie)
> 60 ounces un-drained, small white beans
> (1 pound dry navy beans, soaked)
> 1 small onion, finely chopped
> 4 cloves garlic, minced
> (8 cloves garlic, minced)
> 2 teaspoons cumin powder
> (4 teaspoons cumin powder)
> 1/2 teaspoon oregano
> (1 teaspoon oregano)
> 1 teaspoon basil
> (2 teaspoons basil)
> 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves or 2 tsp ground coriander
> (2 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves)
> 2 teaspoons ground pasilla pepper
> (4 teaspoons ground pasilla pepper)
> 1 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne or chili powder like Gebharts)
> (2 teaspoon ground Gebharts chili powder)
> 1 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper, optional
> (didn't add this, but had to add 2 tsp of salt)
>
> Cook the chicken or turkey in a pan with the olive oil, jalapeno, onion,
> and garlic. I normally use a pressure cooker instead of a fry pan to speed
> up the process.
>
> (I put soaked beans, 8 cups of water, and 5 chicken thighs into the
> crockpot and cooked until done. About 8 hours. I then shredded chicken
> and proceeded with above directions. For the ground pasilla pepper I
> bought whole dried pasilla peppers... seeded, deveined and ground them in
> my magic bullet :P)
>
> When the meat mixture is done, shred it into smaller pieces, then put it
> along with all other ingredients in a pot and simmer for at least an hour.
> I usually let it go for a couple. If you want to crockpot it, do it on low
> for the day. Add more jalapenos/red pepper/chili powder to kick it up a
> notch for your own taste. I use boneless/skinless chicken thighs because I
> like the flavor better than breast meat, but any kind of chicken/turkey
> will do fine.
>
> That's it for the easiest version. You can use fresh ingredients instead
> of the canned and powdered for a special pot of the stuff. Use fresh herbs
> and peppers if you can find them. Roast the peppers over some kind of
> flame (I've used one of those small propane torches or the fireplace at
> times) till they turn black, put 'em in a sealed baggie for 15 minutes or
> so till the skins rub/slide off easily, remove seeds and stems, and dice
> 'em.
>
> Try not to leave anything out the first time you make the dish, each spice
> or pepper is important to the final taste. After that, adjust 'em to fit
> your own tastes.
>
> Servings: 8

Wow - sounds like quite a bit of work, but not having tasted it, I can't
imagine what it would be lacking.

Perhaps you should have added the jalapeno. After all, you do say, try not
to leave anything out.

Er.....why did you double the spices?

elaine

> Carrots and red peppers, more black pepper and more onion. And
> coriander is no substitue for cilantro (per the original recipe)
>
> -L.
>
I see coriander as a substitute for cilantro quite often and wonder who the
heck would think that. They have 2 entirely different flavors. Just
because they come from the same plant doesn't mean they are interchangeable.

Lynne

> Perhaps you should have added the jalapeno. After all, you do say, try not
> to leave anything out.
>
> Er.....why did you double the spices?
>
> elaine
>
Well "I" didn't say "try not to leave anything out" the original recipe
creator did. I left it out, because it was the only item that said optional
and I just can't take the heat of jalapenos. I doubled the spices after
tasting the chili. Figuring maybe my one pound of dried beans might have
been double the 4 cans of beans. It really helped when I doubled the
spices.

The recipe wasn't really any trouble at all. I used a crockpot, so the
beans, chicken broth and chicken were all cooked and ready to go. I did
have to grind the Pasilla peppers, but I couldn't find them pre-ground.
That still only took about minutes to get them ready and grind them.

Lynne

-L. wrote:
> King's Crown wrote:
> > Sorry this is turning out to be a long post, but I would seriously enjoy
> > some suggestions on how to make the recipe better as it really had great
> > chili flavor and great potential.
>
> Carrots and red peppers, more black pepper and more onion. And
> coriander is no substitue for cilantro (per the original recipe)
>

Ditch the Navy Beans. Use Great Northerns.

T.

King's Crown wrote:
> Sorry this is turning out to be a long post, but I would seriously enjoy
> some suggestions on how to make the recipe better as it really had great
> chili flavor and great potential.
>
> I got this off the internet... *oh big surprise* anyhow it sounded good, but
> it was just missing an underlying flavor and I just couldn't tweek it enough
> to get it right. The "chili" flavoring of the recipe was just right really
> rich, warm and delicious, but it was almost like it was missing it's base of
> flavors. It would hit the tongue and make you think "wow this is really
> good", but then leave you hanging thinking "what is it missing." I didn't
> follow the recipe exactly and I put my changes in parenthesis. Any ideas?
[snip recipe]

The recipe looks complete to me and I don't see anything amiss with
your changes. I think it's likely that the missing underlying flavor
is red meat. If you had beef or pork or both in there it wouldn't be
"white chili" but you say "it was missing its base of flavors." No
matter what your brain tells you to expect when it sees "white chili",
your taste buds are expecting red meat. -aem

What sort of meat are you using in it????

TRY ADDING SOME LIME JUICE

"King's Crown" > wrote in message
cut>


As I understand the premise of "white" chili it is chicken and white beans
in a green chile sauce ( vice Red meat and red beans in a red chile
base).Pork, the other white meat has been used in a similar dish as well.

you are using canned green chiles, jalapeno, pasilla and Gebharts Chili
powder which in mild form is probably a combo of Ancho, Pasilla and Mulatto
chile powder, cumin, garlic, onion, s&p. (the medium or hot version
probably uses an Arbol or cayenne chile pepper base). Then you are again
adding garlic, cumin and then your leafy spices. This is all personal choice
as far as taste but understand that duplicating ingredients is by choice not
just because a recipe calls for it this way.

I would stick with a single source of chile definately no more than two.
I recommend you try the Hatch NM green chile, Anaheim are very similar( that
is probably the green chile in the canned chiles you used) and if you want
additional heat use a dried chipotle or two.

a very simple recipe is use a Hatch Green chile sauce. Google Hatch Green
chile for recipes and purchasing sources. You can freeze both the chiles
and the sauce. It is great in a green chile stew with meat and potatoes .
chile roasting season should be declining about now so be quick to order.
If you cannot get Hatch chiles, get a bunch of Anaheim at the market and
roast them. Roasting methods are on the net also and very easy. Add
the cooked chicken( roasted perhaps?) and beans (canned are just as good)
along with the spices of your choice. Garnish with Cilantro and a squeeze
of lime when plating.
I tend to use Mexican Oregano in Mex/Latino cooking, no basil, and little if
any coriander unless it is a Caribe recipe

aem wrote:

>
> The recipe looks complete to me and I don't see anything amiss with
> your changes. I think it's likely that the missing underlying flavor
> is red meat. If you had beef or pork or both in there it wouldn't be
> "white chili" but you say "it was missing its base of flavors." No
> matter what your brain tells you to expect when it sees "white chili",
> your taste buds are expecting red meat. -aem
>


I'll bet using pork stock instead of chicken would help that.

I'd also add a couple of bayleaves, or some dried mint. (probably the
bayleaves)

Bob

On Nov 2, 2006, King's Crown asked about
white chili experts.

I'm white, but I'm not a chili expert. Sorry.

On Thu, 2 Nov 2006 08:38:48 -0800, "King's Crown"
> wrote:

>I got this off the internet... *oh big surprise* anyhow it sounded good

.....and you probably will find even more "self appointed experts" from
this forum. Hope you got time to read each contribution! <vbg>

King's Crown > wrote:
> 14.5 ounces chicken broth (1 can)
> (8 cups of water)
> 60 ounces un-drained, small white beans
> (1 pound dry navy beans, soaked)
> (...but had to add 2 tsp of salt)

It sounds like the dish is underseasoned. That isn't much
salt for that large a volume of liquid and beans. Sometimes
I make chili and something seams to be missing -- it usually
turns out to be salt. Sometimes I'll use oyster sauce to
increase the salinity.

Jnospam

> The recipe looks complete to me and I don't see anything amiss with
> your changes. I think it's likely that the missing underlying flavor
> is red meat. If you had beef or pork or both in there it wouldn't be
> "white chili" but you say "it was missing its base of flavors." No
> matter what your brain tells you to expect when it sees "white chili",
> your taste buds are expecting red meat. -aem
>

LOL the purpose of the white chili was to have the chicken, but that's
exactly what we said last night... "You know what this needs.... some beef!"
hahaha

Lynne

> a very simple recipe is use a Hatch Green chile sauce. Google Hatch
> Green chile for recipes and purchasing sources. You can freeze both the
> chiles and the sauce. It is great in a green chile stew with meat and
> potatoes . chile roasting season should be declining about now so be quick
> to order. If you cannot get Hatch chiles, get a bunch of Anaheim at the
> market and roast them. Roasting methods are on the net also and very
> easy. Add the cooked chicken( roasted perhaps?) and beans (canned
> are just as good) along with the spices of your choice. Garnish with
> Cilantro and a squeeze of lime when plating.
> I tend to use Mexican Oregano in Mex/Latino cooking, no basil, and little
> if any coriander unless it is a Caribe recipe
I definitely didn't want more heat it was just right there. I'll check on
the chilis you described. Lime juice has been suggested and I too, thought
maybe a better cooking method for the chicken might have helped too.
Definitely roast it next time or heaven forbid drag out the George Forman
Grill. It does make the best grilled chicken breasts!

Thank you so much for all your suggestions,

Lynne

"Ward Abbott" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 2 Nov 2006 08:38:48 -0800, "King's Crown"
> > wrote:
>
>>I got this off the internet... *oh big surprise* anyhow it sounded good
>
> ....and you probably will find even more "self appointed experts" from
> this forum. Hope you got time to read each contribution! <vbg>
>
>
I love reading other cooks ideas on how to tweek a recipes and bring it up
to snuff. No problem there.

Lynne

In article >,
says...
> I see coriander as a substitute for cilantro quite often and wonder who the
> heck would think that.
>
I haven't heard of cilantro anywhere in the world other than America.
But I have heard "In America they call Coriander Cilantro, spring onions
Scallions, and **** in a bottle, Beer"
--
Carl Robson
Audio stream: http://www.bouncing-czechs.com:8000/samtest
Homepage: http://www.bouncing-czechs.com

"King's Crown" > wrote in message
. ..
>> Carrots and red peppers, more black pepper and more onion. And
>> coriander is no substitue for cilantro (per the original recipe)
>>
>> -L.
>>
> I see coriander as a substitute for cilantro quite often and wonder who
> the heck would think that. They have 2 entirely different flavors. Just
> because they come from the same plant doesn't mean they are
> interchangeable.
>
> Lynne ----------------

I make mine with pork sausage and cannelini (sp?) beans.