Chili Adventures

[Elmorton]

On tonight''s menu, the main course was chili. This is completely DH''s arena - before we got married, I made it clear that I see chili as an equivalent to bbq-ing (as I was taught by my father) : it''s a man''s job.

That doesn''t mean I can''t complain... DH''s chili is kinda weak. He uses canned tomatoes, a can of chili mix, and ground beef (drained) and water - and maybe a seasoning packet that lists the directions or something. It''s OK but not anything special. Today he jazzed it up by adding chili powder and cumin (which WAS an improvement).

When we lived in our first house, our neighbor was one of DH''s co-workers, an older bachelor, and his chili was AMAZING. It was thick, kinda creamy and had a really nice smoky flavor. I''d loooove it if DH could do something like that - I used to tease DH that someday when he''s older and refined, he''ll make better chili. But...I don''t think I want to wait that long!!

And, while I''m posting about chili, I''m curious about regional differences. How do you serve your chili? Growing up, mine was always topped with cheese and oyster crackers. DH grew up having it served with (or over) corn bread (which is soooo yummy). When my dad visited the UK on a faculty exchange, he made chili for his host family, and they poured it over white rice (he was horrified, but they seemed to like it). And, at my church''s annual chili supper, we used to laugh about the strange ingredients people added to the communal pot - one year, I kid you not, we found broccoli in there.

So, please fess up with your chili secrets and stories - help my DH learn!

 

[lauralu]

I have to have celery for sweetness and some black beans. Not as many black as chili beans though. Besides the ground beef, tomato paste for creamy thickness we add tomato sauce and chopped tomatoes,chopped Onion and chili seasoning.Than kidney and chili beans in sauce. When we are feeling "hot" we add cyan pepper. Than we top it with sour cream and cheddar cheese as well as dump it over baked potatoes. Or... eat it with frito lay scoops or doritis . Now mind you, non of these ingredients are ever measured. We make it by taste and taste alone....yum yum

 

[KimberlyH]

I don''t measure, but I do spice. I sweat onions, then add garlic and ground beef to the pan. Once browned I throw that in the crockpot (not drained) with kidney and pinto beans, diced tomatoes, green chiles or jalepenos (depends on what''s in the cupboard), tomato sauce and tomato paste to thicken it up a bit, and then spice w/ chili powder to preferred taste. DH and I both like spicy food, so we tend to add more chili powder than some might like. I like using the crock pot because it gives the flavors a chance to meld together.

I once made chile from a recipe and it was a disaster. It was the hottest, most disgusting thing I''ve ever tasted. DH and I sat at the table with our eyes watering (after making my 86 year old MIL something else to eat because we didn''t want to kill her with chili) trying to pretend we could hack it. We ended up dumping it after about 3 bites, with concern that we might burn a whole in the bottom of the plastic garbage can. It was my first and last attempt at chili with a recipe, it tastes much better this way.

 

[divergrrl]

I saute onions, garlic, and then brown ground turkey (or beef..but I''m trying to do less beef)...I add diced tomatoes with green chiles (zing!), a can of tomato paste, red beans,white beans,andkidney beans. A packet or two of chili seasoning (to taste) and then I boil macaroni noodles and serve it over the noodles.

I was shocked and amazed the first time I ordered chili as an adult and it did not come with the mac! LOL.

I like my chili.

I also make a great black bean chili with orange sections. Its a vegetarian recipe. mmmm...

 

[divergrrl]

oh and in my house I do the BBQing. Everyone makes fun of DH...but I am the cook in the house. I just like it. It''s MY forte, my arena, and get the hell outta my kitchen!

 

[divergrrl]

Black bean soup. I call any soup with beans & spices chili. I''m weird that way. LOL

Brazilian Black Bean Soup
Soup - Legume - -

INGREDIENTS

2 cups black beans
2 tablespoons oil (approximately)
1 cup onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup green pepper, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 oranges, peeled and sectioned and seeded
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
METHOD
Rinse the beans. Cover them with water, and let them soak several hours (at least 4) or overnight.
Pour off excess water from beans. Place beans in saucepan with 3 1/2 cups water or stock and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, simmer 1 1/2 hours over very low heat.

Saute onions and garlic in oil. Then add carrot, celery and green pepper. Add a little water to the vegetables to steam them along. Add the coriander and cumin.

When everything seems just as it should be, add saute to the beans. Let the soup continue to simmer over lowest possible heat.

Add oranges, orange juice, sherry, black pepper, red pepper and lemon juice to soup. Give it a stir, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning. If you wish to think, add water; if you wish to thicken, puree some or all of the soup in a blender.

Serve topped with sour cream or yogurt.

NOTES
Yield: Serves 5 to 6.
From Mollie Katzen''s Moosewood Cookbook.

 

[zoebartlett]

We don''t measure either. We just look through the cupboards and dump whatever we find into the pan. Cayenne pepper, chili powder, garlic powder and onion powder (or the real stuff), black beans and other beans (pinto?), cumin, tomato paste, diced tomatoes (or real tomatoes), etc. I''m not a huge fan of beans but in chili they''re okay. I love chili with big chunks of vegetables but my FI prefers it with fewer veggies.

I don''t like cornbread but my FI does. If we''re eating out and he orders chili, sometimes he gets a side of cornbread to with it if possible. I like mine with cheese and oyster crackers (and maybe a touch of sour cream). Serving chili over rice actually sounds good to me. I hate to admit it because it sounds so bad for you, but so does serving chili with Fritos. Is that called Frito pie? It''s a southern thing, right? I''m not from the south and I don''t think that''s a popular thing up here in the north. I''ve also had chili over a baked potato and it''s good. Very filling but good.

 

[ladypirate]

If he makes it from a mix, that would be the difference right there. Try making your own chili powder (toast some dried chiles and whir them in a food processor to get the powder) and using fresh onions and garlic and good canned tomatoes and ground beef chuck. Try adding a bottle of dark beer--it gives it a nice creaminess. We also usually add kidney beans when we make it, but they''re not necessary. Yum!

 

[Elmorton]

AWESOME ideas! Thanks, everyone!!! OMG - DH is going to loooooooooove the idea of adding a dark beer and toasting our own chilis. Diver, the black bean soup sounds really yummy, too!!! Thanks for sharing. Now we definitely have some ideas to spice up the chili. YAYYY!

 

[monarch64]

Diver, your black bean/orange chili recipe sounds amazing! Good thing it''s still cool enough here to justify making chili so I can try it before next fall! Thanks for posting that!