Food is Cynful: Spicy Turkey Chili

About the Cyn

As I have added more and more recipe's to this blog I've realized that these are such sweet tender memories for me. Just as a photograph or childhood story will bring back memories, food floods me with tons of remembrances of happy times in the past! From family dinners and times with friends to Grandma making toast in the frying pan, food has brought about a way to record my family history. Food has always been and remains a huge part of our gatherings and I feel so very blessed to be able to share my memories and such terrific recipe's with my family and anyone out there who has a few minutes to spare. It is my hope that someday my children and grandchildren will prepare these recipe's and know they were special to someone!

Cynful Explanations

Al dente – An Italian expression applied in all western kitchens to pasta cooked just until enough resistance is left in it to be felt “by the tooth.” Fresh pasta can never by cooked al dente as it is too soft. The expression is also applied to vegetables that have been cooked crisp by steaming, boiling, or stir-frying.
Baste – To moisten food during cooking with pan drippings, sauce, or other liquid. Basting prevents foods from drying out.
Bias-cut - To slice food at a steep angle increasing the surface area, makes a thinner cut easier and looks better.
Butterfly- To split a food (such as shrimp) down the center, cutting almost but not completely through. The two halves are then opened flat to resemble a butterfly shape.
Caramelize – The flavor of many foods, including vegetables, meats, and seafood, is often enhanced by a gentle browning that caramelizes natural sugars and other compounds and intensifies their flavor. Meats for stews, for example, are usually browned to caramelize juices that if not caramelized are much less flavorful. Chopped vegetables, especially aromatic ones such as carrots and onions, are often caramelized—sometimes with cubes of meat—in a small amount of fat before liquid is added to enhance the flavor of soups, stews, and sauces.
Dice – To cut into cubes (unlike chopping, which cuts foods into irregular pieces).
Dredge – To coat a food with flour, any finely crumbled ingredient, or, in pastry, with fine sugar.
Egg wash – A mixture of egg or egg white, oil, and water brushed over floured items, which are then deep-fried or pan-fried in clarified butter or oil.
Fold – To incorporate an egg-white foam into an egg yolk foam or a flour batter without deflating it so that it retains its full leavening power.
Julienne – To cut into long thin matchstick size strips.
Marinade – A mixture of ingredients used to flavor and moisten foods. May be liquid of dry. Liquid marinades are usually acidic based and dry marinades are usually salt based.
Mince – To chop very fine.
Piping - To force a food (typically frosting or whipped cream) through a pastry tip to use as a decoration or garnish, or to shape dough, such as that for éclairs.
Poach – To cook completely submerged in barely simmering liquid.
Puree – To work or strain foods until they are completely smooth.
Ramekin – A small, ovenproof dish, usually ceramic.
Render - To melt animal fat over low heat so that it separates from any connective pieces of tissue, which, during rendering, turn brown and crisp.
Resting – Roasted meats should not be served straight out of the over, but should be allowed to rest in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil. (The foil keeps the meat warm; loose wrapping ensures that the outside of the meat doesn’t steam and lose its crispness.) Resting allows the meat to relax so the juices become redistributed in the meat and aren’t squeezed out onto the platter during carving.
Sauté – To cook over high heat in a small amount of fat in a sauté pan or skillet.
Scald – To heat milk just below the boiling point. Or, to immerse a vegetable or fruit in boiling water in order to remove its skin easily.
Sear – To brown the surface of pieces of meats and or fish by submitting them to intense initial heat.
Simmer – To maintain the temperature of a liquid just below boiling.
Steam – To cook in steam by suspending foods over (not in) boiling water, in a covered pot or steamer.
Stew – A cooking method nearly identical to braising but generally involving smaller pieces of meat, and hence a shorter cooking time. Also, the dish prepared by using this method of preparation.
Stir-fry – Chinese technique of cooking think slivers of meat, shellfish, and vegetables in hot oil.
Sweat – To cook foods over gentle heat, usually covered or partly covered, until they release their moisture. Vegetables, meats, and seafood are often sweated when making soups, stews, and sauces so that the foods release their juices into the pan and surrounding liquid. Sweating is the opposite of sautéing.
Tempura – A Japanese method of cooking vegetables and shellfish. They are coated with a light cornstarch batter and deep-fried.
Wok – A round-bottomed pan, usually made of rolled steel, used for virtually all Chinese cooking methods.
Zest – The thin, brightly colored outer part of the rind of citrus fruits. The oils make it ideal for use as a flavoring. Remove the zest with a grater, citrus zester, or vegetable peeler. Be careful to remove only the colored layer, not the bitter-white pith beneath it.

When I was little girl my parents would serve this funny grayish meat and bean

thing they called Spicy Turkey Chili. Now if you grew up in my house eating my Dad's (real) Chili you would instantly know that there is no substitute to his spicy, steaming, bean bowl of goodness but nonetheless my parents would try. They would ooh and aah about how good it was for us and tell us that it was so tasty. I don't know what my other siblings thought but for me growing up it wasn't, to say the least, my favorite. Now it wasn't that it was the worst thing they ever served us; like the time my Dad tried to dupe Roger, Trevor and I into eating this crazy concoction called Strawberry Chicken, but again it wasn't my favorite offerings like Meatloaf and Scalloped Potatoes or Steak and Mushrooms! I ate it and now I hope I didn't complain too much. As an adult, I have changed my palate to say the least and don't have the problem I once did with this (still a little on the gray side) Turkey Chili. (The turkey is more white than the brown ground beef and I always thought it looked gray) Yes this recipe is very similar to another recipe that has been passed around the dieting circles for years but it's not exactly the same nor is it exactly, come to find out, the same my mom makes either. In any case my family ended up liking it more than I ever remember liking it! How's that for a turn?! Hope you like it too. Here's how it goes...

1-2 lb Ground Turkey
1 large onion chopped 1 cup
1 cup celery
1 cup carrots
1 cup green pepper
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes w/ juice
1 cup chicken broth
3 tbsp tomato paste
16 oz cooked kidney beans rinsed and drained
1/2 tsp salt

Optional toppings:
1/4 cup scallion
1/4 cup cilantro
Fresh squeezed lime juice
4 oz shredded jack cheese
Sour cream

Dice all your vegetables into about the same size medium small dices. In a large stock pot saute onions, carrots, and celery until half way soft. Add garlic, and turkey. Brown turkey and break up into small pieces. Then add everything else, give it a stir, cover your pot, reduce your heat to simmer for about 45 minutes and stir occasionally. You may need to add salt but remember, you can always add salt but you can't take away salt once it's added! Serve on it's own or with any of the additional optional items.
Note: If you add the sour cream or jack cheese it will add calories and fat which this recipe has always touted to be low on.

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