The 'ber months of the year are here for 2023, and we love nothing more than to curl up with some soup on the first days of cool temperatures. Christina has once again served us a wonderful recipe that will hit the spot on those fall nights. 

Don't forget to grab one of our Fireside Soup Mugs when they are released on September 23rd! Hopefully by that time we will have some chilly (or chili?) nights. 

Curried Cauliflower Chili
w/Potatoes and Chickpeas

Christina Williams, West & Taylor

Westandtaylor.com

This recipe came to life in the midst of needing supper but having not gone to the store that week. I’m an avid fan of working with what you have, so I headed to the pantry and the freezer for ingredients that would make a hearty soup/stew. When I saw what I had on hand I was instantly reminded of my favorite Indian dish, Aloo Gobi; I prefer the cauliflower over the potatoes so this leans on the cauliflower. After tasting the soup and knowing exactly what I would do differently next time, I took notes and developed this. I’ll even give you some of my notes on how I will continue to play with this recipe in the future.

Prep Time: 30 minutes |Total time: 1 hour to overnight

Ingredients

• 32 oz of broth
• 16 oz frozen cauliflower
• 10 oz frozen riced cauliflower, optional
• 17 oz (or half a bag) frozen diced potatoes
• 1 can of garbanzo beans/chickpeas
• ½ cup diced onions
• 6 cloves of chopped garlic, or 1 Tbls minced
• 15 oz tomato sauce
• 1 package (1 oz) onion soup mix
• 1 package Knorr Vegetable Mix, optional
• 1 Tbsp Yellow or Sweet Curry Spice blend (I used Spice House brand)
• 2 tsp Red Curry blend (again Spice House brand), optional 
• Olive oil for sauteing the onion and potato
• S/P to taste, remember if you use both the onion soup and vegetable mix you may not need as much salt.
•  

Preparation

• In a large pot or dutch oven, saute the onions, garlic and potatoes in olive oil until the onions are soft and the potatoes are lightly browned. Feel free to pull these out and roast until the end of the soup making process if you’d like your potatoes to be on the cripsier side.
• Pour in your broth and add in the curry seasonings, bring to a slow boil and add in your chickpeas.
• Add in your cauliflower, onion soup and vegetable mix (if using). Mix and taste, add salt or pepper if you need. (Because I like the cauliflower aspect of the dish that inspired this, Aloo Gobi, I add in riced and chunks of cauliflower. If you don’t like the cauliflower idea that much, leave out the riced so you can easily eat around the cauliflower if needed. However, I will say the riced cauliflower helps provide the ‘rice’ that the inspiration dish often comes with.)
• If you’ve roasted your potatoes, onions and garlic, now’s the time to add them to the pot.
• Now, you’ll need to add in your tomato sauce and possibly a can (the tomato sauce can) of water, depending on how thick you’d like your soup. 
• Turn the heat up and make sure it comes to a boil before bringing it to a simmer and allowing it to sit for about 15 minutes. Stirring frequently so the ingredients do not stick. 
• As with any chili, this is in my opinion better the next day, but if you must eat it straight away I do recommend letting it rest-off the heat-for about 30 minutes. This not only allows the flavors to meld but if you use the vegetable mix, it will make sure that the dehydrated vegetables in the mix are rehydrated properly.

Notes:

• The Red Curry blend is optional but I almost always put paprika in my recipes and since this is curry inspired and Red Curry usually has paprika in the blend, why not just lean into it?
• If you have left over roast potatoes, by all means, use them instead of frozen.
• Going forward, I may turn this into a creamier stew by replacing a portion of the broth with coconut milk, but again this was born from what I had on hand at the time. 
• If you prefer a spicier curry, please by all means use a hot curry blend, add peppers or use more curry powder than in the recipe.

Leftover Jam Jar Uses
Leftover Jar Dressing & Jam Marinade/Glaze

Christina Williams, West & Taylor

westandtaylor.com

One thing I hate is waste. I try to use as much scraps and leftovers as possible in my kitchen; from saving vegetable cut off for stocks or adding eggshells and coffee grounds to my garden beds I try not to toss usable waste.

Total Time: 15- minutes

Ingredients for Leftover Jar Dressing

• 1-2 Tablespoons of jam, scrape the jar
• 1-2 teaspoons mustard
• Equal parts Olive Oil and Vinegar
• Start with ¼ cup but add more if you are making a large amount
• Use up extra scraps by infusing your vinegar with strawberry tops for an added zing.
• 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon of minced onion, fresh. If using dried, use only 2 teaspoons
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon Honey, optional

Preparation

• If the jam is stuck to the bottom of the jar, heat up a little water and sit the jar in it until the jam releases.
• In the nearly empty jar of jam add the garlic, onion and oil and vinegar, put the lid back on and shake vigorously. 
• If you are using an empty jar of mustard, then pour the oil, vinegar and jam mixture into the mustard jar and shake. 
• The empty jam jar is the perfect container to store the dressing until time to use. 
• Taste the jam and add the honey if you’d like it sweeter. 
• Salt & Pepper to taste.

Ingredients for Jam Marinade/Glaze

• 1-2 Tablespoons jam
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Honey
• 1-2 Tablespoons Lime Juice (or Apple Cider Vinegar if you are using this on red meat)
• 1 Tablespoon Sriracha/Hot Sauce -or to taste
• 2-4 Tablespoons Oil
• I used a mix of toasted sesame oil and olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons Paprika
• S & P to taste

Preparation

• If the jam is stuck to the bottom of the jar, heat up a little water and sit the jar in it until the jam releases.
• To the jar add all ingredients and shake until combined.
• This marinade and glaze is perfect for any meat or vegetable; just remember darker fruit jam (grape, cherry, blackberry) are better on red meat and pork, while lighter jams (peach, orange marmalade, etc) are perfect combinations for salmon, shrimp or chicken. 
• If using as a glaze as well as a marinade, brush the meat with the mixture before and during the cook time and then spoon the remaining mixture over the meat in the pan right before removing the meat. 
• After removing the meat, add 2 Tablespoons of butter to the glaze in the pan and let reduce until a glaze forms that will leave a trail when the spoon is pulled through it. 

It's June, and here in Winchester, KY that means one thing: BEER CHEESE. For the past 15 years or so, we have celebrated being the birthplace of Beer Cheese by hosting the one and only Beer Cheese Festival in our downtown. This is a wonderful festival that draws in 20,000 people (that's more than our population!) to try some of the best beer cheese that the state has to offer. You can buy tickets to try & vote for your favorite! Local restaurants all have specials devoted to the delicious orange dip as well, and we might have something up our sleeve as well....

We will be one of many booths at the festival, so make sure you leave yourself enough time to check out everything. Nothing would be more perfect for this month's recipe than something with beer cheese in it, and Christina has come up with a delicious surprising way to use beer cheese. You won't want to skip trying this month's recipe!

Beer Cheese Cavatappi
w/Pork Bratwurst and Scallions

Christina Williams, West & Taylor

westandtaylor.com

Total Time: 20-40 minutes || Feeds: Approx 4 (as a side)

Ingredients

• 1 cup of your Favorite Beer Cheese
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 8 oz Pasta, Cook
• 1 Tbls Butter
• 1 Tbls Flour
• 1 cup reserved pasta water, salted
• 2-4 diced green onions
• 4 oz Diced Pork Bratwurst
• 1 Tbls Garlic Powder
• 2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• Up to ¼ cup breadcrumbs and parmesan combined
• Salt and pepper, to taste (start with 1 tsp each and go from there)

Preparation

• Prepare your pasta of choice in heavily salted water and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Saute your bratwursts in a saute pan until browned and set aside.
• While the pasta is cooking, combine your beer cheese, heavy cream, garlic powder, onion powder, salt/pepper and nutmeg until it is a smooth liquid texture.
• Over medium heat, in a saute pan melt the butter and add the flour to form a roux (feel free to add a little more if you like a thicker cheese sauce). Once your roux is formed, add your cheese and cream mixture to thicken. Here, feel free to add more cream or cheese if the sauce is thicker than what you like; but don’t worry over it too much. You can always thin it down a bit with some pasta water.
• Reserve at least one cup of the pasta water and then drain your pasta. 
• Add the pasta, bratwurst and green onions to the saute pan with the cheese sauce and combine. Drizzle in some of the pasta water to help both season and coat your pasta.
• In an oiled 8x8 (or a round cake pan) pan, pour the pasta and cheese mixture in and top with breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. 
• Bake in the oven until the breadcrumbs and parm have become golden in color. 

Notes

• For a twist substitute green onions for leeks and add ½ cup of shredded white cheddar. 
• This is my personal favorite way to make it!
• If you like heat, use spicy beer cheese and/or add 1 Tbls of hot sauce to your cheese sauce.
• I’ve also made this with a handful of chopped spinach in the mixture with excellent results! 
• Feel free to double the recipe and use a 9x13 casserole dish to bake. 

The first of our new recipe series - starting out with these delicious Red Velvet Crinkle Sandwich Cookies from West & Taylor.