Soups, Stews and Chillies
Short Rib Chili
Tender, beer-braised short ribs make this far from your average chili. If timing allows, make it a day in advance, allowing the flavors to fully meld. Then all you have to do is warm the soup, add garnishes and crack open one of the beers left over from the short rib prep.
Sausage Sweet Potato and Corn Soup
We use country sausage in this soup but if you like it with a little more heat you can use a spicier sausage.
Shrimp Jambalaya from Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen
Yet another in the seemingly endless parade of hearty one-pot dishes from the Creole and Cajun traditions, jambalaya is a close cousin of Spanish paella (which comes as no surprise given Louisiana’s previous ownership by Spain). I love jambalaya, whether it’s made in the “red” Creole style, with tomatoes, or in the “brown” Cajun style, without, because even though it requires a little slicing and dicing, it’s actually a fairly fast and weeknight-friendly one-dish dinner—and it really sticks to your ribs. As with this recipe, I often make mine with shrimp, but jambalaya is sort of like gumbo in that it is made with everything from chicken, sausage, pork, and oysters to alligator, boar, venison, and turtle—basically, anything that swims, crawls, grazes, or flies in the vicinity of southerners.
Split Pea Soup with Country Ham
This comforting, old-fashioned soup freezes well, so double the recipe and freeze half for an easy dinner. Just thaw and reheat.
Toasted Farro Stew with Kale and Roasted Butternut Squash
The key to this dish is Parmesan– not just the grated cheese, but also the rind. Adding it to the pot as the soup simmers infuses it with Parmesan’s distinctive nutty undertones, which pair well with farro. For a bright finish, I swirl a spoonful of pesto in after the soup has finished cooking.
