While it may be the first day of March, and spring feels near for some, our West Coast team located in Sun Valley, Idaho is experiencing record breaking snowfall this season which means lots of warm fires along with a bowl of our favorite chili, a side of skillet cornbread, and one of ourOld Fashioneds to wash it all down.

This White Chicken Chili recipe is one of our favorites.  It has just the right amount of creaminess, with plenty of spice, and is the perfect companion on a chilly night. Have fun with the family or a group of friends and make a chili bar out of it with all of our favorite fixings to top it off with, including ourBarrel Aged Pepper Sauce if you’re looking to add some more heat.

Our Brown Butter Maple Skillet Recipe is the ideal side because it’s buttery sweetness balances the savory spice of the chili, making this a complete dinner everyone will love. With just the right amount of ourBarrel Aged Maple Syrup in the recipe you can always drizzle a bit more on top with a pad of butter if you want to amplify the buttery sweetness of this cornbread, which makes it a great breakfast treat the next morning too! We swapped out the standard cornmeal for our good family friend’s famous grits.Hagood Mill Yellow Stone Ground Grits. The Hagood’s Mill has been producing grits since 1823 out of Pickens, South Carolina and are some of the most authentic tasting grits you’ll come across.

So this weekend, we encourage you to light a fire, get the oven going, and enjoy this cozy dinner that will warm your soul and fill your belly with some of our favorite Southern flavors. Enoy!

White Chicken Chili (recipe adapted from the Chunky Chef) 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb boneless skinless organic chicken breasts trimmed of excess fat
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 24 oz. organic chicken broth (low sodium)
• 2 15 oz cans great Northern beans drained and rinsed
• 2 4 oz cans diced green chiles (I do one hot, one mild)
• 15 oz bag of frozen corn
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• small handful fresh cilantro chopped
• 1/4 cup half and half

TOPPINGS:

• Pappy & Company Barrel Aged Pepper Sauce
• Sliced jalapeños
• Sliced avocados
• Dollop of sour cream
• Minced fresh cilantro
• Tortilla strips
• Shredded Monterey jack or Mexican cheese

PREPARATION

1. In a medium soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeño and cook, stirring, until the onion has softened, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is lightly browned on the outside and no longer pink on the inside (add more olive oil if the pot starts to dry out), 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Toss the minced garlic and spices into the pot and turn a few times to coat the chicken evenly. Add the corn, beans, and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, about 20 minutes.
4. Blend with a hand held blender or mash with the back of a wooden spoon to help thicken the chili. Stir in the cream, garnish with the desired toppings, and serve!

Brown Butter Maple Skillet Cornbread(recipe adapted from NY Times Cooking):

This lightly sweet cornbread has a crunchy, buttery crust, which comes from baking it in a hot skillet. If you have a cast-iron pan, this is the time to use it. The heavy, heat-retaining material will give you the darkest color (which equals the most flavor). But any large ovenproof skillet will work. And if you don’t have a skillet big enough to hold all the batter, you can either halve the recipe or bake the cornbread in 9-by-13-inch pan. (Brown the butter first in a saucepan.) Your bread won’t have the same dark crust, but the moist crumb flavored with brown butter and ourBarrel Aged Pure Maple Syrup will make up for it.

INGREDIENTS

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• ½ cupPappy & Company Barrel Aged Pure Maple Syrup
• 2 ¼ cups buttermilk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups grits: We like to useHagood Mill’s Yellow Stone Ground Grits
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. On the stovetop, in a 11- or 12-inch skillet (ovenproof and preferably cast iron), melt the butter over medium heat. Cook, swirling pan to lightly coat sides and bottom, until the foam subsides and the butter turns a deep nut brown. (Watch carefully to see that it does not burn.)
2. Pour brown butter into a large bowl. (Do not wipe out the pan.) Whisk the maple syrup into the butter, then whisk in buttermilk. The mixture should be cool to the touch; if not, let cool before whisking in the eggs. Then whisk in the grits, flours, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
3. If the skillet is no longer hot (cast iron retains heat longer than other metals), reheat it briefly on the stove for a few minutes. Scrape batter back into it. Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into it emerges clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in the skillet for 10 minutes before slicing. Finish with a slice of warm butter and a drizzle of ourBarrel Aged Pure Maple Syrup