Here is my current favorite chili recipe, since I usually have a hard time finding the stained scrap of paper it is written on. Now I should be able to find it anywhere I can get to Google.

I enjoy a good meal, but I'm no foodie, certainly not like Alwin, or Dori and Tom, or Chuck. My favorite foods lean more toward upscale pub-grub than some of the food I've seen them write about before. But this chili is some serious stuff. Serious.

If you make it and like it, perform some random act of kindness in your hometown.

Mmmmm, Darn Goooood Chili

I adapted this from a FoodTV.com recipe that was adapted from Every Day Is a Party, by Emeril Lagasse, with Marcelle Bienvenu and Felicia Willett, pub. by William Morrow 1999.

The FoodTV.com recipe claimed this much would serve 16. Naaaah. In my experience, this serves about a dozen or so wives and their husbands during a football party. Bam, indeed! ;-)

This recipe should be followed pretty much like you were making pastry -- that means you must respect the spice quantities exactly. Respect da spice! Doing so will result in a chili that has a marvelous spicy heat that starts to rise, but stops just before it becomes too hot.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions
2 teaspoons salt (make 'em small ones)
1 teaspoon cayenne

4 pounds beef (Round or some other suitable cut. Just ask your butcher, if you aren't sure.), cut into half-inch cubes
2 teaspoons salt (make 'em small ones)

1 cup tomato paste

2 28oz. cans of whole tomatoes and the liquid
4 cups beef broth
4 tablespoons chopped garlic (yea, right. Only four. heh.)
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups dried white beans, gunk removed, rinsed, cooked in enough salted water to cover until tender, drained and cooled

Lotsa clean spoons, because the aroma from this is a killer, and you'll have lots of folks wanting to try some while it is cooking.

Mysterious Special Ingredients

If your gonna add any of these items to your chili, you should do it when no one else is in the kitchen. Hide the evidence carefully, too.

Folks from the Queen City area know Cincinnati-style chili has cinnamon and chocolate added. Honest, it adds complexity to the flavor. You should carefully add one at a time to the chili. You should add just enough of each for there to be additional rich flavors rolling around in the chili, but not so much that a sober person could actually figure out that cinnamon and chocolate had been added. This means one-half a teaspoon of cinnamon, certainly no more than two-thirds of a teaspoon of cinnamon. For my chocolate, I use chocolate syrup, since it's easier to handle. Two to three tablespoons should do the trick. OK, maybe few more squeezes, too, since I like chocolate. That much should still fly under the radar.

The better part of a 12 ounce bottle of a hearty beer (I like using stout or porter, myself) could also find its way into your chili, but realize that this will increase cooking time slightly. Finish the rest of the bottle while you wait, to help pass the time. Have another one, to keep that little bit company, while you stir things, and chat with the folks who stop by just for "a little taste" of your chili. ;-)

Some freshly ground allspice is also a nice way to add a little mystery to your chili. For this much chili, about one-half teaspoon, no more. OK, maybe just a tiny pinch more, but that's it. This should keep it in the background, but add enough presence to the complex medley of spices you want here. Too much allspice could throw off the balance with the other spices, so you'll want to test this out with a test batch, before trying this for real at a large football party. Hey, you gotta suffer to create art like this.

Stuff you need for serving this

Fried potatoes to carry the chili (could be wedges, skins, thick steak fries, home-made kettle-style chips, or even *thick* store-bought potato chips in bags.
1 pound crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Cooking directions

In large heavy pot, heat vegetable oil over medium high heat.
Add onions, season with 2 teaspoons of salt and the cayenne, and cook, stirring until they are wilted and golden, about 4 minutes.
Season meat with remaining salt, and add to pot.
Cook, stirring, until the beef is browned evenly on all sides, about 4 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, beef broth, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, and beans.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for at least two hours.
Skim off fat that rises to surface.

Serving directions

To serve, ladle chili over potatoes, then sprinkle with generous amounts of blue cheese, and garnish with parsley. (For bagged potato chips, tear open bag and ladle chili in, then add cheese and parsley.)

Eat with a fork, or your fingers. Use chunks of a hearty, fresh bread to mop up whatever's left in your bowl. Go ahead and give in to those caveman instincts with this one. There will be lots of other folks happily grunting around you anyway.
4:04:02 PM  [] blah blah blah'd on this    

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