Chili wasn’t my thing for a long time. I didn’t have it growing up and frankly, it usually looked like slop you’d get plopped onto a plate at a grade school cafeteria.  Later on in life, though, I started to appreciate chili, despite its homely looks.  Its easy to make, requires only one pot, and welcomes many toppings and garnishes.

This recipe is a turkey one, but you can use any meat of your choice. Unsweetened cocoa powder and chipotle chiles in adobo sauce add an earthy and smoky background and, the pièce de résistance: cheddar-cornmeal biscuits. Love.

TURKEY CHILI with CORNMEAL-CHEDDAR BISCUITS
Serves 6 to 8

For the Chili:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1½ pounds ground dark-meat turkey
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
2 (14-ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, chopped, liquid reserved

For the Cheddar-Cornmeal Biscuit Topping:
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small dice
1 cup (4 ounces) grated sharp cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Optional Garnsishes:
Sour cream
Chopped cilantro leaves
Hot Sauce or pickled jalapeños
Cubed avocadoes
Lime juice

- Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425˚F.

- Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large oven-safe pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion, bell pepper, and 2 teaspoons salt and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cocoa powder, chipotle chiles, cumin, and oregano, and cook, stirring, until vegetables are well coated and mixture is fragrant, about 1 minute.

- Add the turkey, 2 tablespoons vinegar, Worcestershire, and mustard and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, and tomato liquid and simmer, mashing approximately half of the beans with the spoon (this will help thicken the chili), until the chili is thickened, 10 to 12 minutes.

- While the chili is simmering, prepare the biscuit topping. In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Working quickly, rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles wet sand. Add the cheddar cheese and buttermilk and stir with a rubber spatula just until combined.

- Remove the chili from heat and, using a 1/3-cup measure or an ice cream scoop, top the chili with the biscuit dough.  Bake until biscuits are golden, about 15 minutes. Serve with optional garnishes.

…and Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays… It’s almost spring, but winter is desperately hanging on like a clingy ex-girlfriend. But I can smell the faintest perfume of the new season, and the tree just outside is delicately starting to blush.

But Friday was all pouty clouds and drippy eaves; damp, sulky, and chilly enough for a warm sweater and this creamy chicken chowder.

I developed this recipe a few months ago for Cook’s Country, as a recipe card meant to be completed in 30 minutes or less with 10 ingredients or less. This edition takes its time a little more—chicken thighs are browned so the skin can be reserved and crisped to make my favorite new garnish of chicken cracklings or chicharrones, but it’s well worth the extra effort. The recipe is overall very simple and makes a great weeknight dinner with family or guests. A crisp green salad with buttery croutons and a glass of wine—whisk the clouds away.

RUSTIC CHICKEN CHOWDER
Serves 6

8 slices bacon, finely chopped
6 bone-in skin on chicken thighs, bones removed
Salt and pepper
8 scallions, white parts finely chopped and green tops thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 celery ribs, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup frozen peas

- Cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate with slotted spoon. Transfer all but 1 tablespoon rendered fat from pot to a bowl.

- Increase heat to medium-high. Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Cook thighs, skin-side down, until skin is crisp and golden-brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn and continue cooking until mostly cooked through, another 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to cutting board. Remove and reserve skin, then, coarsely chop the meat.

- Drain and discard all fat. Add 2 tablespoons reserved bacon fat back to pot. Add scallion whites, carrots, celery, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, until vegetables are softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

- Stir in flour and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Slowly stir in broth, making sure there are no lumps. Stir in potatoes and chicken meat.

- Bring chowder to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

- Meanwhile, finely chop reserved chicken skin and microwave until curled up and crispy, about 2 minutes.

- Stir in cream and peas and simmer until peas are heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with reserved bacon, chicken chicharrones, and sliced scallion greens.

- Serve with green salad dressed with vinaigrette and croutons

Variation: replace peas with corn, sauté 2 seeded and chopped fresh jalapeño chiles along with the scallion whites, and garnish with 1 cup chopped  cilantro.

When you go to a party where there’s a really random crowd, you’ll describe it to your friends as, “arroz con mango.” Because rice and mango don’t go together. Rice is eaten with beans. Or beef. Or chicken. Not mixed with mango.

Stupid girl! Just imagine all the years I wasted not eating rice with mango!  When one of my little brothers graduated college in LA, I spent a few days hanging out (OMG, Charlie, remember how furry your bathroom was?!) with him and his girlfriend Whitney. It was Whitney who introduced me to the magical combination that is rice + mango at a Thai restaurant (and the bacon-wrapped hot dogs downtown—¡muchas gracias!). It’s been true love ever since. And next time I use the term “arroz con mango” it’ll be to describe a super-fun party.

COCONUT-MANGO RICE PUDDING
Serves 6 to 8
This recipe calls for unsweetened coconut milk, not cream of coconut—don’t mix them up! The rice needs to be completely cooled before folding in the whipped cream. Spreading the warm pudding out in a large baking dish or rimmed baking sheet dramatically speeds up cooling.

6 cups water
2 cups Arborio (short-grain) rice
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 (14.5-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 very ripe mangos, peeled and cut into ¼-inch cubes

- Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the rice and salt and simmer over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until the rice is tender and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes.

- Reduce the heat to low. Stir in 1½ cups of the sugar and the coconut milk. Simmer, stirring from time to time, until the rice is thickened, about 15 minutes.

-Transfer the rice pudding to a large baking dish and allow it to cool completely.

-Once the rice is cooled, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla until soft peaks form (you can do this by hand or with an electric mixer). Fold the whipped cream and mango cubes into the pudding. Serve chilled.