Try Some Chili to Take the Chill Out

The Husband and I both like spicy foods. So, a while back when we were looking for something that we could do as a couple, we hit upon the idea of Chili Cook-offs. We’d been to a number of Chili Cook-offs and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Everyone looked like they were having a good time, including the cooks. Since it looked like an all-around good deal, we decided to try it.

Being the logical people we are, we decided that we had better have a "product" before we entered the "marketplace". Since neither one of us had really made chili from scratch, we had to do some research. We started making chili. We made a lot of chili. A whole lot. We made so much chili that we even started to crave mariachi music with a side dish of Willy, Whalan and the Boys.

Finally, we hit upon a recipe that we liked and decided that we were ready to go out into the world. Our first Chili Cook-Off was at a local shopping center. Recognizing that presentation was at least half of the battle, The Husband went out and "padded our resume" at the local trophy store. In addition to purchasing a number of blue ribbons, he had a trophy featuring a chili pot engraved with 1985 Segiun Chili Champions. (Guess who was conveniently missing from our booth when it was visited by a couple from Texas, who were surprised that they hadn’t heard about the Segiun contest. After all, they only lived an hour from there.) To make a long story short, we WON. Our first outing and we WON!

Buoyed by our success, we decided to enter the world of sanctioned Chili Cook-offs. We joined the International Chili Society and started with another local Chili Cook-off. It was a comedy of errors right from the start. The night before the Cook-off, The Husband diligently sharpened the knives. Oh, they were sharp all right. Sharper than his vision. Five minutes into meat cutting the day of the Cook-off, he managed to slice a hefty hunk of his finger off. While he drove himself to the local emergency room for 5 stitches, I was left to trim and cut 25 pounds of meat, 5 pounds of onions, 3 pounds of peppers, 8 bulbs of garlic, etc. After all that, we didn’t even win. Not even for most unusual ingredient.

Undeterred, we were back the next year. This year we enhanced our presentation. Since we called our little concoction "Chicago Fire Chili", we had Chicago Fire Department shirts. We had toy fire trucks. We had fire extinguishers. We even had fire hats with revolving red lights on them. And, again, we didn’t win.

It wasn’t until we ventured outside of our local community that we learned the error of our ways. Sanctioned Chili Cook-offs aren’t about the best tasting chili. They are about the chili that tastes the most like some idealized concept of chili. After tasting the winning chili at a number of Cook-offs, we found what that was ...something hot and salty. In fact, too hot and salty to tempt me to eat a whole bowl of it.

Chicago Fire Chili
Serves a bunch.

5 pounds bottom round roast, trimmed
olive oil
2 large white onions
2 large yellow onions
2 large red peppers
2 large green peppers
1 1/2 bulbs garlic
14 ounces beef broth
28 ounces chicken broth
7 ounces tomato sauce
14 ounces chili powder
2 tablespoons New Mexico chili powder
2/3 ounce ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons molé sauce
2 bottles Mexican water -- aka Dos XX beer
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
green onions -- thinly sliced

Trim meat removing fat, sinew, and gristle. Cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes. Quickly brown meat about a half pound at a time in olive oil. DO NOT DRAIN MEAT. Place browned meat in a large heavy bottomed pot.

Coarsely chop onions. Add onions, beef broth, 14 ounces of chicken broth, chili powders, cumin, oregano, coriander, cinnamon, and salt to pot. Cook uncovered for 1 1/2 hours.

Peel and crush garlic. Mix with tomato sauce and molé sauce. Add mixture to chili pot. Coarsely chop red and green peppers and add to chili pot. Cook uncovered for 1 hour.

Use remaining chicken broth to thin chili if necessary. Adjust seasonings.

Serve in large soup bowls. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and sliced green onions.

Jalapeno Cheese Cornbread
Serves 6.

1 package Jiffy Corn Bread mix
2 whole egg
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup jalapeno peppers, canned
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

Mix corn bread according to package directions. Stir in peppers and cheese. Pour into a greased 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake according to package directions. Cut into 12 pieces.