Sunday, December 17, 2006

Chili When It's Chilly

Surfacing briefly from work and a weekend away to ask: Does anyone have a really good chili recipe? Or rather, two -- one vegetarian, one meat?

Thanks for any and all recommendations!

14 comments:

  1. I don't use a recipe, but two tips:

    One: Add a can of Manwich sauce to either a meat or a veg chili--gives it an extra savory flavor that I haven't really been able to match with other ingredients. Combat the sweetness with an extra few shakes of cayenne pepper. Some like it hot!

    Two: Sprinkle a handful of Fritos over (or under) your chili when serving. Crunchy goodness.

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  2. Mama Graziana’s Chili

    Texas inspired and Italian-influenced. There are no beans in this chili.

    Olive oil
    2 lbs. Beef chuck, cut into small cubes
    2 cups tomato sauce, or beef or chicken broth, or plain water if you don’t have those
    1 large onion
    2 cloves garlic
    1 teaspoon oregano
    1 teaspoon cumin
    2 teaspoons chipotle
    1 bay leaf
    1 tablespoon salt
    pinch cayenne pepper
    pinch red pepper flakes

    Chop the onion and garlic and cook in olive oil over medium high heat until soft and golden. Turn heat up to high and toss in the cubed meat, stirring and cooking until the meat has lost its pink color. Add tomato sauce or broth and all the spices, and stir, until it all comes to a boil. Lower the heat, put the cover on the pot slightly askew, and simmer for three hours, or until the meat is pretty much falling apart.

    This makes a flavorful, spicy but not killer-hot chili. If you want it hotter, increase the pepper and chipotle.

    Serve with biscuits or corn bread, and chopped onion, sour cream, and grated cheddar for folks to add as they wish.

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  3. Delurking...this is a simple and tasty recipe -- the chocolate gives a great flavour. (I make a spicier version, and sometimes I add meat; here's the original recipe, from Real Simple):

    1 tablespoon olive oil
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1 small onion, finely chopped
    1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
    2 tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice, or one 16-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
    2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
    2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
    5 cups vegetable broth
    2 teaspoons ground cumin
    1 teaspoon salt
    1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

    In a stockpot, over medium heat, cook the oil, garlic, onion, and green pepper until slightly softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, vegetable broth, cumin, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Before serving, stir in the chocolate until melted.

    Keep It: Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days or in the freezer up to 4 months. Freeze individual servings in heavy-duty zipper bags.

    Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings

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  4. In your cauldron, combine 3-4 onions cut into big chunks, 3 drained and rinsed cans of beans, fresh or canned tomatoes, and several dashes of cayenne pepper. Cover and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste if needed to thicken.

    I read the labels of canned tomatoes and use the ones with just tomato in it. This gives it a fresher taste. I also like starting from dry beans for the same reason. We don't like garlic, so I just use cayenne. You can also buy chili powder which has other spices. For meat, I brown hamburger and throw it in.

    I cook it for hours until everything is blended. It could be cooked more quickly at a hirer temperature, but I burn it to the bottom of the pot when I do that.

    I hope you find a recipe to your taste and enjoy the cold weather.

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  6. Trying again to get the link in right...

    This one can be made with chicken or without, for a veggie option. It's made with white beans, so untraditional, but very good.

    chili blanco

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  7. "Laura's Chili"

    (no, I'm not Laura)

    Brown:

    1 lb. lean ground beef and
    1 small onion, chopped

    Add:

    2 cans DelMonte Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
    2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce
    1 cup water
    3 or 4 cans drained kidney beans
    2 tbsp. cocoa powder
    1/2 tsp. cinnamon
    Chili powder to taste
    Salt and pepper to taste

    Serve with shredded sharp cheddar cheese for sprinkling on top.

    I am SO not a chili fan, but I really like this version. The chocolate and cinnamon give it a special flair.

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  8. It is good weather for chili isn't it?

    Here's a good veggie recipe from the Moosewood cookbook = a classic. The bulger gives it a ground beef texture.

    http://homepage.mac.com/islandmike/RECIPES/Chili_Collection/recipe_720.html

    Nigella does an interesting one with cornbread on the top. After you make the chili then spoon cornbread batter on top and bake. It puffs up to make a crunchy crust. I make sweet cornbread with corn.

    I'm going to try the chocolate chili.

    Marilyn

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  9. Jane Brody has some excellent chili recipes in her classic cookbook for healthy eating, both vegetarian and con carne. My favorite was a "chili pot pie" that baked with a corn meal top crust in a ten inch pie plate. Easy and delicious.

    Unfortunately, I am not sure I can out my hands on the book, since I cook less and less as I get older and older, but I will hunt if it is of any interest.

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  10. I love trying different chili recipes! I am interested in "bean-less" chili, if anyone has a recipe like that? The chick pea versions might work. Can you just substitute chick peas for any recipe that calls for kidney beans, etc.?

    Thanks!

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  11. Hi Cheryl: forget about cooking and order from Zippy's:

    http://www.zippys.com/zippys/

    I was in Hawaii last week for the U2 concert (yeah) and had some of their chili--it was fantastic and they will ship to you so just order and enjoy. If you don't like it, I'll ... ummm .. take your unused portions .. hehe good luck

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  12. I'm going to test a bunch of these. Way Yum!

    The Moosewood one (suggested by TheToyMaker) is my standard recipe, but with the spices upped significantly--especially the chili powder. Oh--and I use pinto beans instead of kidney beans.

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  13. sorry to gatecrash: BOOK 7 TITLE OUT!!! Can we have a comment please, Ms Klein?!

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  14. I will bring you the famous 'Mrs McElroy Chili' recipe. It can be spiced up or down depending on your palate.

    Aunt Carol

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