SNOW PEA AUSTIN TX RECIPES

Steps:

• Place the chicken, onions, carrots, and celery in a large stockpot and cover with water. Add about a teaspoon of salt and a big pinch of pepper or handful of peppercorns. Feel free to add several stalks/leaves of fresh herbs (no need to chop), like parsley, thyme, oregano, or sage. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so water maintains a gentle simmer. Cover and cook chicken for at least 1 hour or until cooked through (about 165 degrees).
• Tip: I recommend making the dumplings the night before. They can sit out, loosely covered with a tea towel or plastic wrap until you're ready to begin cooking. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles small peas. Add milk — 1/4 cup at a time, you may not need a full cup — and stir until a ball of dough just begins to form, being careful not to over-mix.
• Divide the dough into two equal halves, loosely shaped into rectangles. Roll each half of the dough out onto a floured piece of waxed paper or parchment paper. Roll about 1/4 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut dough into rectangles about 1 inch wide by 3 inches long. Allow the strips to rest and harden for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Once the chicken is done, remove it from the broth and let it cool. Remove chicken from the bone (this shouldn’t be hard, it should be falling off pretty easily at this point) and shred into medium-sized pieces, discarding bones and skin.
• Pour the chicken broth through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth (you can improvise with a coffee filter or paper towel), discarding vegetables. Reserve 8 cups of broth for the dumplings. Refrigerate or freeze the rest to use for another recipe. It’s much more flavorful than the chicken broth you buy at the grocery store.
• In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat, bring the broth to a very gentle simmer. This can be a bit tricky depending on your stove because you don't want the broth to get too hot or the dumplings may come apart. You should be able to see lots of tiny bubbles rising below the surface of the broth, but they don't need to be breaking through into a full simmer yet.
• Drop in the dumplings, one at a time, and give the whole pot a gentle stir after every 5 or so dumplings. This will help keep them from sticking together. After all the dumplings have been added, continue to cook on medium, stirring regularly, for 7-10 minutes. At this point, the broth should have started to thicken and get more white/opaque as the dumplings cook down.
• Reduce heat to low and gently stir in your shredded chicken. Cover and continue cooking on low until thickened to your liking, about 20 to 30 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Heat the dried chiles (anchos, pasillas, costenos, guajillos, and chiles de arbol) in a dry, cast-iron skillet on medium for a couple of minutes on each side. Turn off the heat and then add enough water to the skillet to cover the chiles, and let them soak for half an hour.
• Meanwhile, in a large heavy pot, such as a Dutch oven, fry up your bacon. When done, remove from pan and crumble (Don’t worry if you opt to eat a slice—you deserve it!) and leave the bacon grease in the pot (it should be about 3 tablespoons). In the pot, cook your beef in the bacon grease on medium heat, a few minutes on each side until lightly browned. You will probably have to cook these in 2 batches.
• Remove the browned beef from the pot, and add your onions. Cook on medium until clear. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Put the beef back in the pot, and mix in the coffee, the beer, water, bacon crumbles, cumin, cinnamon, clove, allspice, coriander, and cayenne. Add salt to taste and turn the heat up to high.
• Your soaking chiles should be soft by now. Drain and rinse, discarding the soaking water (it will be bitter) and place them in a blender along with the canned chipotle chiles and one cup of fresh water. Puree until nice and smooth and then add the chile puree to the chili pot.
• When chili begins to boil, turn heat down to low and let simmer for five hours, stirring occasionally. Taste it once an hour, and if the flavors are too muted, feel free to add more of any of the spices. Also, it starts to get too dry, add more liquid (your choice!).
• After 5 hours, take a Mexican hot chocolate disc, and finely grate 1/3 of it into the pot. Scoop out 1 cup of broth and add the masa harina. Mix it well and then reincorporate it back into the pot. Stir until chili is thickened.
• Let the chili simmer for another half hour or so. Taste and adjust seasonings. When done, serve with cheddar, onions and tortillas.