Chicken and Chorizo Chili Simple to make, the original recipe is by Rachel Ray. She claims 30 minutes, but allow yourself 45-60. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan 1 pound chorizo, chopped 2 pounds ground chicken 3 tablespoons chili powder, 3 palm fulls 1 tablespoon ground cumin, a palm full 1 tsp fire roasted paprika 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 pkg white shoepeg corn, thawed 1 (15-ounce) can red beans, drained 1 bottle beer [dark beer is best] 1 (28-ounce) can diced fire roasted tomatoes Salt 6 cups chicken stock 2 cups quick cooking polenta [see note] 2 tablespoons butter 2 scallions, finely chopped [see note] 2 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme leaves Heat a big, deep skillet over medium high heat with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Add chorizo and drain its fat after 2 minutes. Push the chorizo off to the sides of the pot and add chicken meat. Brown and crumble the chicken, 5 to 6 minutes. Season the chicken with chili powder and cumin while it cooks. Combine the onions, garlic, peppers and beans to meats and cook another 5 to 6 minutes. Stir the beer into the chili and reduce the liquid a minute then add the tomatoes and heat through. Season the chili with salt, to taste, and reduce heat to low. Bring 6 cups stock to a boil in a medium pot, stir in polenta and keep stirring until the polenta masses and thickens to a porridge, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in butter, scallions and thyme and season with salt, to taste. Fill bowls half way with polenta and make a well in the center. Fill up bowls with chili and serve. NOTE substitutions for this occurence: my store was out of polenta, so I used quick cooking white corn grits [not the hominy] and overcook them just a bit, taking care not to burn. no scallions either, so i used 3 green onions [basically the same thing] finely chopped and added to the chicken stock.

from a recipe posted on the Cooks' Forum at Compuserve. The substitutions I made are mentioned in the recipe, which was listed as an appetizer, in which case you would make fewer than the six cakes I made. Note: green onion, red pepper, parsley, and shrimp and be chopped all at once in a small food processor. 2 beaten eggs 1 cup + 3 Tbsp Daisy Brand Sour Cream (used Breakstone's Reduced Fat) [1/3 cup for cakes, cup for sauce] 2 tablespoons chopped red pepper (didn't have - used Mt. Olive jarred roasted red pepper) 2 tablespoons chopped green onion 4 teaspoons chopped parsley 5 dashes hot sauce (used Cholula brand) 2/3 cup crushed Caesar croutons (would you believe I had these in the house? - Marie Callender brand) 1 tablespoon lemon juice 6 ounces drained lump crab meat 1/2 cup cooked, chopped shrimp 1/2 cup bread crumbs (used 4C seasoned) 2 tablespoons oil or butter Sauce: 2 tablespoons horseradish 2 tablespoons ketchup (+ remaining 1 cup of sour cream) Beat eggs. Add 3 tablespoons sour cream, chopped red pepper, chopped green onion, 1 tablespoon parsley, dash of hot sauce, croutons and lemon juice. Add crab and shrimp. Form mixture into cakes. Dip each side into breadcrumbs. (My mix was not dry enough to form into cakes so I added a bit more breadcrumbs) Heat oil or butter and fry each cake until golden (approximately 5 minutes per side). Garnish with lemon slices and parsley. To make sauce, thoroughly combine 1 cup sour cream, 3-4 drops hot sauce, horseradish, ketchup and 1 teaspoon parsley. Serve on top of cakes. Serves: 6-8 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Time To Table: 40 Minutes