So Many Dishes

I love Tuesday nights. I’m not referring to the cookbooks from the Milk St. kitchen. What makes Tuesday night special is that it’s Ken’s night to cook.

Although Ken would cook occasionally before, he started cooking regularly after he retired. Since Tuesday was the day that most of my voice students came for lessons, it made sense for that to become his night to be in charge of dinner. Even though I decided that COVID lockdown was the right time to permanently close my private studio, Ken continued his role as Tuesday chef.

Ken is not afraid to try new recipes, and this evening was no different. I’ve dubbed him the family chili master, because he makes several excellent variations, and he added another tonight. This time, his choice was a pumpkin turkey chili from The Chicken Bible by America’s Test Kitchen. This is as good as any of his other chili recipes. He cut the recipe in half, but there’s plenty for leftovers tomorrow. He did omit the dried ancho chilies that were called for; instead, he added a bit of Penzey’s chili powder and put the hot sauce bottle on the table. I don’t think he needs to change a thing, except maybe add a bit more of the pumpkin purée. The pumpkin taste isn’t obvious, and it adds nicely to the texture.

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

• 1 lb. ground turkey, 93% lean
• 2 cups chicken broth, plus more if needed
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2- inch pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin purée
• 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

Toss turkey, 1 tablespoon of broth, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and baking soda in a bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside for 20 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and their juices to blender and blend until smooth.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, bell peppers, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, add turkey, and cook, breaking up meat, until no longer pink, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in spices and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in puréed tomatoes, pumpkin, and remaining 1 cup of broth and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for one hour.

Stir in beans, cover, and cook until slightly thickened. Season with salt to taste, and serve.

I made some drop biscuits, and they were the perfect accompaniment. As I said, we added hot sauce at the table (Florida Sauce with datil pepper from Fat Cat), and we both agreed that a dollop of sour cream would have been nice, but it was great without it.

I hope your Tuesday was just as good as ours. Happy eating!