Deb's Killer Chili

Looking forward...

2010-05-04T05:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just can't help it. Sometimes real life just gets in the way of things you would rather do.
I am back. The San Antonio Express News was kind enough to print an article in the food section on this chili journey and blog. Thanks to all those that contributed their time and efforts...we made the front page of the food section... what a treat!!

Enough chatter!
This week, we're going to hit it hard and come out steaming! Due to unexpected events, we were unable to have our chili night last week, so this week we are doubling up. We are going to make both Famous Dave's Route 66 Truck Stop Chili, (whew), AND Bar Abilene Chili, from Minneapolis, MN. What? Okay, there is a place named Bar Abilene in Minnesota? Cool. I'm very excited about both of these chilis, but I've already discussed Dave's in a previous post.

Bar Abilene's looks like my kind of stew. Full of interesting spices (including dry mustard and paprika), it also requires Guiness beer, chicken broth, tamarind pulp, molasses, chipotle chiles, a poblano chile, salsa roja and masa harina!!! (I wonder if the folks that put beer IN their chili understand how good that beer is when one just drinks it WITH their chili? Always wondered that....) Anyhoo, Thank God we have some good Mexican specialty stores here in San Antonio; Thanks to them I'll be able to come up with these ingredients with no problem.

I'm very excited about trying this one, and in fact, I need to go and find some people to come taste. This is going to be fun. Not enough time to write...gotta go.
Will check in again before the weekend!

First of the Midwest Region!!

2010-04-24T18:46:00.001-07:00

Well, let me tell you, we had some differing opinions about this chili! I personally loved the flavor. Now, I have to admit, it was pretty bland, but that can always be fixed, and the initial flavor was good.

On a 1-10 scale for flavor, it only received a 6 (mine was the highest score, but it wasn't enough to balance the others). It received a unanimous "1" on a 1-5 heat scale, i.e., no pizazz, no nuthin'!

Overall, considering the flavor, texture, etc., it received a 5.5. I think it was wronged! Again, it utilized chunks of chicken breasts, which we don't generally associate with chili, so I think the visuals put some people off. My very favorite thing about this chili was the addition of hominy! Okay, so honestly, how many people use hominy on a regular basis? You? You? Yeah, right. I think I may have purchased it twice in my life...for a specific recipe. Well, people, let me say right now that I am going to put it in all my chili from now on. It was delicious! It added a corn-flavored sweet-ish aftertaste that went so very well with the chili, cumin and other flavors. Delish!
Why didn't the others like it so much? I think because of two things: they couldn't get around the concept of chunks of chicken breast in their chili, (understandable, as it wasn't even "hidden", like when we use ground turkey; at least that's ground up!" AND because it had no zip to it. It just didn't seem much like chili.

Some of the comments:
"The flavor ws only a "3" until the toppings were added...no heat! Very bland."

"Pretty presentation; sweet, no heat, good texture, lighter---not a hearty chili--a "chick chili!"

"A delightful option for those who enjoy chili with less heat, a lighter flavor and the absence of red meat which has been replaced by chicken, providing a healthy option for the heart-conscious."

"Hominy adds great flavor. The chili was light and tasty, although there was no heat/spice to it at all. Would be excellent with some heat!"

I must say that I like tasting two chilis in one night...especially when one is beef and one is chicken. It makes for interesting dining conversation. Who knew that just discussing eating could be such fun? On a side note, I did provide fresh hot cornbread, tortilla chips, and crackers to go with both chilis. The toppings were the same for both; chopped green onions, shredded cheddar cheese, and sour cream. One of the things I've noted, is that whenever sour cream is added, the heat is decreased. Is that why we do sour cream on enchiladas or tacos? To "tame" the heat? Just asking...I never really thought about it; just knew it was GOOD.

Well, I'm off. Tomorrow is a day to think about the next chili, which, with a name like "Famous Dave's Route 66 Truck Stop Chili" has got to be good! You'll never believe what the interesting ingredient of Famous Dave's chili is....actually it has a couple, but the one I find most intriguing is, are you ready for this?
Kahlua liqueur.
Now we're talking. Happy Trails!

Chili #10: We've reached the end! Of one section....

2010-04-21T03:53:00.001-07:00

Out with the old, in with the new! Last night, we finished the Eastern U.S. section of the book. We also began the next section, the Midwest.

Yep, two chilis in one night. Joe upped his intake of Tums to 4, and it looks like I may have to get back to my Friday night schedule for chili. I guess our tummies are too old to have cocktails, two kinds of chili and a dessert on a Tuesday night. It's just too much.

The good news is, it was a LOT of fun! We invited our neighbors over to taste chili with us, and they are very kind and sociable, so it was a lovely evening. More good news, and to the point; both chilis were good! The interesting thing was, we didn't all like the same one, which proves once again the power of personal taste.

In order to write a blog instead of a book, I'll discuss the first chili here, then the next one in the next post.

The first chili (#10) from the Sidecar Bar & Grille in Philadelphia, Pa received an average of 7 out of 10 on the Taste/Flavor scale. For heat, it got a 3, which surprises me, because it seemed a bit spicier than some of our previous chilis in this section. On an overall scale of 1-10 for good flavor, texture, color, etc., it received a 6.5.

One of the interesting things about this chili was the way they added the meat. In this I did deviate from the recipe in terms of technique, but not, I think, in flavor. The recipe calls for the ground beef to be made into patties then seared in a hot iron skilled until very dark brown, then broken up into pieces and added to the stew. Since I no longer have any cast iron (due to the heaviness of it on my wrist and the new induction glass cooktop that I'm terrified to scratch) I used the BBQ grill on high, and seared the outside of the patties, then crumbled them to add to the mix, but I don't believe that it detracted from the original intent.

As far as flavor, when I took my first bite, I recoiled from the saltiness. Other tasters didn't seem to have a problem with it, but in looking back over the recipe, it requires salt PLUS Adobo seasoning, which has salt in it. An easy fix; if I ever make it again, I will leave out the salt and just use the Adobo seasoning. We did enjoy it, though, especially with cornbread. Possibly the cornbread's slightly sweet taste balanced the saltiness?

Some of the comments:
"Has some heat but it dissipates quickly. Flavorful, and the toppings really set off the flavor and taste."
"A little salty, good flavor, color was not rich like I would expect."
"This is a refreshing change from the traditional chili that depends heavily on chili powder for flavor. ...a delightful taste and aroma."

Overall, I thought this one was one of the better ones in the Eastern section of the book, and I would not hesitate to make it again; I'd just use less salt.

It was a good way to end the first section. On a personal note, as one chef put it "We cater to the Eastern palate", thus I'll be happy to move on to the Midwest, where, I hope, we'll find a bit more spice!

I'll discuss the next chili in the next post. Happy Trails!

Tuesday morning...chili is in the air!

2010-04-20T06:57:00.001-07:00

Having neighbors is wonderful. Sure, maybe sometimes you don't want to hear that lawnmower at 7am on a Sunday morning, but usually they're there and willing to lend a hand. If you need to borrow a wheelbarrow, our neighbors are always willing to offer theirs. We were trying to get our Christmas tree off the roof of our SUV and I'm not quite tall enough...one neighbor saw us and came running to help us with it. Plus, I love the chit-chat with neighbors while we're all out working in our yards.

Yes, neighbors can be wonderful. When our company from the East Coast called last night to say they weren't coming after all, due to a business emergency, I ran across the street and begged our neighbors to come to dinner tonight. Thankfully, and on short notice, they agreed to come over to taste some chili with us!

Now this should be fun. Our East Coast company has been with us before for our "chili nights". This will be new to our neighbors, and they have no idea what they're getting into. I lured them with Key Lime Pie for dessert.

It's morning still, and the house smells like a wonderful restaurant; the kind you walk into and instantly wonder "What's that incredible smell?" The kitchen is redolent with the fragrance of garlic and onions, chili and cumin. I'm still having my morning coffee and I'm ready for lunch! Bring on the cornbread! On a serious note, since I never taste the chili until we sit down for dinner, (no matter how good it smells!)here is what we're having tonight.

The last of the Eastern U.S. chilis, number 10, is from the Sidecar Bar & Grille in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the cookbook, the Sidecar is downtown and is considered to be a sleek, urban-chic watering hole, serving fashionable martinis. Their chili is called a crowd-pleaser, and the creators encourage the cook to play with it and "experiment with the ingredients at will". My kind of cookin'.

Once we finish that, we'll start a new section, (the Midwestern U.S.) with the Chicken Salsa Chili from the Cafe Latte in St. Paul, Minnesota. A new ingredient for me, this recipe calls for the addition of hominy, as well as using chicken broth. I'm all about trying new ingredients; that's what makes this journey so much fun. I usually put corn into my own chili, but hominy? I'm looking forward to it.

Spring is in the air, and it's going to be a great day. A ground beef chili, a chicken chili, cocktails before dinner with kindly neighbors, and key lime pie for dessert. Does it get any better than this? I can't wait...but I do promise to not sneak a taste!

Last of New England, First of the Midwest!

2010-04-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, tomorrow night we're tasting recipe #10, the last one of the Eastern group! It's from the Sidecar Bar & Grill in Philadelphia This chili has all the common makings of what we generally put in chili; peppers, onions, garlic, cumin, cayenne papper, chili powder, etc. Also, it's made traditionally, with ground beef. It DOES, however, require lager. As I've stated before, I'm not used to the taste of beer IN my chili; I'd rather drink it WITH my chili, but I'm going to stay open-minded and open-mouthed, and look forward to this one!

Because we're having company tomorrow night, we're going to do two chilis. We'll do the first one in the Midwestern U.S. group, from the Cafe Latte in St. Paul Minnesota, it's the "Chicken Salsa Chili". This one is made with chicken breasts, chicken broth, the usual chili and tomatoes and beans, with the additino of a new ingredient: hominy and lime juice. Because it calls for fresh chopped cilantro, I know I'm going to love it. It should be interesting, to say the least!

I will be topping both chilis with sour cream, chopped onions and shredded cheese, and, as usual, there will be fresh homemade cornbread.
I'm off to the grocery store to stock up on ingredients. See you on the other side!
Deb

Another Good One...almost!

2010-04-07T04:43:00.000-07:00

Two in a row, I can't believe it. Because we had company from the East Coast last night, we decided to make two chilis in the book and have them help us "taste test". It was a lot of fun, especially because these were right at the top of the heap. The Salamandra Restaurant in Carlisle, Pennsylvania provided the recipe for their "Poblano and Grilled Chicken Chili".

Okay, you say, poblano peppers...big deal. Sounds like they'd fit right into chili, right? So what was the "interesting" ingredient? Well, first off, it used chicken and not beef. Okay, you say, big deal; everyone has tried turkey chili at one time or another, right? Sure, sure, but in this recipe, you grill the chicken on the BBQ first, then ADD it to the chili. Huh?

It also had a second "interesting" ingredient. The serving suggestion is to serve it hot, topped with chopped green onions and shredded cheese. Okay, fine, but the cheese is gruyere! VERY different!

Here's how it all turned out.
On the basic 1-10 scale for taste, it received only a 6. As far as heat, on a 1-5, it received a 1.5, not unusual for an Eastern chili.
As far as the overall rating, it received a 6.5 out of 10. Not bad, but certainly not the one we've liked the best so far.

Some of the comments are very informational, so don't let the score lead you to believe it wasn't a good chili...read the comments:
"I loved the different texture and color. The cilantro and onions really added a unique touch!"
"Not real tasty, but an interesting texture."
"I loved the texture, color and flavor of the cilantro. Did not care for the chicken, but liked the gruyere and onion addition; really added a good zing."
"Good mixture of tastes but nothing stands out. Needs some zing."
"Couldn't quite get around the chicken...would have been great with beef."

This chili was beautiful to behold. It was chock full of all the things we love about food...good color, texture, and flavors; black beans, kidney beans, cilantro, gruyere cheese, green onions. A true feast for the senses. Unfortunately, the grilled chicken didn't go over so well.
We all agreed that if this chili were spiced up a bit and made with bison or beef, it would have been simply outstanding.

See you next time, and don't forget to add a little spice to YOUR life!
Deb

'Twas a good one!

2010-04-07T04:08:00.000-07:00

We tasted some good chili last night! Living in San Antonio, I've heard the phrase "Them Yankees don't know how to make chili!" numerous times. Oh, you Southwest chili snobs, I beg to differ. Main Street Euro-American Bistro & Bar in Princeton, New Jersey knows how to make a pretty darn good chili!

Okay, now, I must admit that when I initially read the recipe, I was a bit floored by the addition of dill. Naturally, when I lifted that first spoonful to my tongue, I was looking for it. The surprising thing is, I found it, but only in the background noise...it blended in. I think that the addition of the sweet Italian sausage was the kicker that pushed us over the edge into Happy-Land.

We had 4 tasters last night, and here are the results.
As far as simply taste and flavor, it received a 7.5 out of 10, one of our highest so far.
On the heat scale, like all of the "Eastern" chilis so far, it received a 1.5 out of 5. Again, that is not to say it was without flavor...the flavor was good; it just could have been spicier for our Southwest palates. But that's an easy fix if one wants it spicier.
It received an overall rating of an 8 out of 10, making it right up at the top of the ones we've tried so far.
Some of the comments:
"The Italian sausage adds a nice flavor."
"Good chili. Italian sausage adds to texture."
"A fairly traditional chili...liked the mixture of beef and Italian sausage."
"Traditional taste, good flavor and texture. Two types of meat is a good touch. I added cheese and onions (on the second round) which gave it a kick that tastes great."
Remember: We always serve the chili according to the information the restaurants suggest in the book, i.e., serve with sour cream, corn bread, etc. The tasters rate on that, then if they choose to have seconds, they can add what they want to it. The fact that they went for seconds says something!

Overall, this was one of the best so far. What I liked was that while the restaurant uses their "Main Street Wild West Chili Spice", (which they sell) they provided a good substitute mix to use, which was wonderful.
Thanks to the Main Street Euro-American Bistro & Bar for helping to make a success of another night of chili-tasting.

A Two-fer!

2010-04-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, I got totally sidetracked with some things for a week, but I'm back. I'm sure you all know how that goes!!??

Anyhoo, here we are, on a Tuesday night, about to do a "double-tasting"! Yep, a couple of folks are here visiting from the East Coast, so.....yep, you see how the mind is going. We're going to taste chilis #8 and #9 tonight!

Chili #8 is the Main Street Chili from the Main Street Euro-American Bistro & Bar in Princeton, New Jersey. The odd, er, interesting ingredient? Dill. The rest of it looks pretty "normal", so we'll see how it goes.

Chili #9 is the Poblano and Grilled Chicken Chili from the Salamandra Restaurant in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It uses fresh Polano chilis (I like that!). Oh brother, you say...that sounds pretty common for a chili...certainly not out of line. Uh huh, buddy, but how about the fact that it gets topped off with Gruyere cheese? Gotcha! Also, a bit interesting...one cooks the chicken breast on the BBQ grill first, then cubes it and adds it to the chili mix. Veddy veddy interesting, I say.

We'll see how these Easterners like these two and get back to ya!
Happy Trails from San Antonio, where, by the way, it was 90 degrees yesterday!

Main Street Chili comin' up....

2010-03-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

Howdy, from San Antonio! Well, Sunday night is going to be the taste test for "Main Street Chili" from the Main Street Euro-American Bistro & Bar in Princeton, New Jersey. Main Street's chili began on their catering menu 25 years ago and is still on the bistro menu.

The chili is self-described as Euro-American, because it uses Burgundy wine and sweet Italian sausage to help flavor it up. They also use their own Wild West Chili Spice, which they sell online, but they have kindly included a zesty substitute mix which I will be using.

And what will be the "interesting" ingredient this time? Minced fresh dill. Yup. I cannot even imagine dill in chili, but you know, it may mix up just fine with the Italian sausage and red wine. I am going to open my mind and just enjoy it. Regardless, it's going to be an interesting dinner!

This is going to be chili #8 out of the 10 coming out of the Northeastern U.S. Only 2 more after this and we're going to move on to the Midwest. I can't wait to see how they compare!

See you on the other side of "Main Street"!
Deb

#6, Tuscan Chili

2010-03-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

I have two words to describe last night's chili: very interesting! This chili is full of layers of flavor. While following the recipe, you add an ingredient or two, then let it simmer for awhile, then add more, then let it simmer; each additional layer flavoring the mix already in the pot. It was also the first chili we've made that wasn't a "traditional" chili. This was a bit of a struggle for our guests, who, I think, had a difficult time not comparing this to the more traditional chilis they're used to here in San Antonio.

Because of that, I am going to provide two ratings for this recipe: One, just myself and my usual tasting partner, and the second, blending and averaging all four ratings together.

For taste/flavor, this batch received a 6.5 out of 10; for heat, it received a 2, and it garnered an overall rating of 6.5.

The ratings based on all four tasters were as such: Taste, 5.75, heat, 2, and overall a 5.25.

There were an interesting range of comments as well:
"Very interesting mix of flavors"
"An aftertaste that wasn't my favorite"
"Interesting lingering spice taste"
"For all the ingredients, I was expecting more"
"Distinctive"
"Watery"
"Some flavors too strong for my palate, i.e., sage."
"Tasty, very enjoyable".

As you can see, there were a variety of opinions, which makes the mealtime a lot of fun! I think that the use of the garam masala, sage, rosemary, coffee and chocolate probably contributed to the differing opinions, as it created a very different-flavored mixture. Additionally, a couple of people admitted that their palates are not all that "open-minded"! :-)

What I tried to do was separate my belief as to what chili "IS" (as I've always known it) and tried to just open my mind to a new taste experience. Thus, in my personal opinion, it was a very flavorful and interesting (and good!) stew. What else? It was, by far, the most fun recipe to make!

See you next week!

Tuscan Chili tonight!

2010-03-19T03:49:00.001-07:00

Good morning, folks! It is a little before 6am and I am up and running with a busy day ahead of me.

We've invited a couple of friends over for tonight's chili-tasting. They are retired from the Air Force and used to live in Italy, so I thought they might really enjoy the Tuscan Chili. I know I am certainly looking forward to it!

As I've noted before, each chili seems to have it's own "special" ingredient. Well, well, well....Chef Cesare Casella has incorporated more than one interesting ingredient; in fact, his entire recipe is very interesting, and I can't wait to try it!

For example, a few of the surprising ingredients we find going into this recipe are pancetta, bacon, bacon, garam masala, potato, coffee, and of all things, chocolate! YES! What fun this is going to be!!!

Let's start with the pancetta. For you fellow food-channel addicts, you know Giada cooks with it all the time. I have used it only a limited number of times and have fallen in love with it! It is pork belly that is salt cured, spiced and dried, as opposed to our regular bacon, which is smoked. There are many types and you can find a variety in different regions of Italy, however, our grocery deli sells only one type, so that's what I'll be using tonight.

The next interesting ingredient is Garam Masala. Most commonly used in Indian cuisine, it is a combination of spices blended together to make a spicy mix. Note I said "spicy", not "hot". Some of the common spices in the garam masala mix are peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, cumin, nutmeg, bay leaves, star anise and coriander seeds. These are all ground together, and either blended dry or made into a paste using coconut milk, vinegar or water. There are numerous recipes available if I wanted to make my own, but for the sake of simplicity, I'm going to check out the Whole Foods store and hope to get lucky this morning. If not, I'll be in the right place to purchase what I need to blend my own mix.

Fennel seeds are in this recipe. I love to put fennel seed in my spaghetti sauce, so I think it will add a wonderful touch to the chili. I can't even begin to imagine what wonderful flavors we'll get from the coffee and chocolate!

The chili will be topped with Parmesan cheese, crumbled bacon, onion and avocado, and let me tell you, I cannot wait to try this. It is going to be very exciting!

#6, Vanilla Bean Cafe Chili

2010-03-17T12:40:00.001-07:00

Hey there, and here I am with another chili-chat! Last night, I made the chili from the Vanilla Bean Cafe in Pomfret, Connecticut. Let's get to the tasting, 'cuz I want to talk a little about the chili.

As I've been told from the chefs on the east coast, they make their chili to please the eastern palate, so I don't expect it to be hot and spicy, but I do expect it to be flavorful. This one didn't disappoint! On the 1-10 taste/flavor scale, we gave it a very solid 7, and it garnered a 2 on the 1-5 heat scale, as it wasn't all that spicy. (now, don't confuse spicy heat with flavor!) We gave it an overall rating of a 7, with the following comments from the tasters:

"Good body, a solid flavor that doesn't linger. A good chili that's worth repeating. Good cold-weather food, and definitely worth seconds. Lots of texture and colors; very inviting visually. The addition of cheese and green onions is a nice touch."

When one thinks of chili, one may think of simply a reddish-brown mess of "stuff" in a bowl. Now that I am making chili on a regular basis, and comparing them, I see a huge difference between them. There are some that are visually "washed-out", kind of a bland color, watery, with not much consistency. This was a beautiful chili! Not only do we have the jalapeno, celery, kidney beans, chorizo and ground beef, we topped it (as they serve it) with cheese and chopped green onions. It was wonderfully thick, and when one takes a bite of this stuff, you know you have a mouthful. Kudos to the Vanilla Bean Cafe! I had leftovers for lunch today, and yes, it was even better!!!

One may think that a "7" isn't that great a score. To me, 5 is an average, good chili, right in the middle. Thus, a 7 is two points above, a huge improvement. If and when I ever get to a "9" or "10", know that it will be something one can't possibly live without. So praises to the Vanilla Bean for a good recipe!

On Friday, we're doing Cesare Casella's Tuscan Chili, which should be very interesting. Cesare is from Italy and has owned a number of restaurants in New York City, currently the Salumeria Rosi at www.salumeriarosi.com. I am really looking forward to Friday. Stay tuned this week for more information!
Deb

Tonight's the night!

2010-03-14T06:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, a girl can go only so long without chili. I didn't even realize I was addicted, and here I am, craving it on a Sunday morning!

Since my last week or so has been shot due to illness and a bit of unexpected travel on the part of my tasting partner, I have had to forego the delightful aromas in my kitchen, and the joys of putting my palate to perhaps a perfectly potent, pleasing pot of delicious chili.

Tonight is the Vanilla Bean Cafe's "Award-Winning Chili". The chorizo and ground beef are reading and waiting, and the jalapeno, garlic, celery and bell peppers are conversing as to how best come together to assure the best blend of flavors...of course, they're watching the cayenne, chili powder and cumin, to see what they're going to do! What an orchestra of ingredients...I can't wait to hear the music!

It looks like it's going to be wonderful. Stay tuned!

Wow! A long week without chili!

2010-03-13T15:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry folks, I've been sooo sick!
Okay, in order to make up for a little missed time, I am going to make two, yes, that's right, two (2) batches of chili this week...hmmmm, guess I'd better head to the pharmacy and pick up some more Tums.

The first one I'll make on Monday night, so I can get back on schedule Friday night, for the "regular" Friday night club!
Gonna be a big week...stay tuned!
Deb

Too sick to cook!

2010-03-05T14:36:00.000-08:00

I'm soooo sorry, but there will be no chili tasting tonight. I have been ill all week with some sort of cold/flu and am barely out of bed. I kept trying to be upbeat and excited about it, as I kept getting sicker and sicker.
My apologies to anyone reading this...I will make a chili next week for sure, when I feel up to it and my taste buds are back to normal!
Thanks for reading!
Deb

Just chillin' out...on a Thursday

2010-03-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

Good day! It's Thursday again, and you know what that means? Time to think about chili! Yep, time to get the ingredients for tomorrow's Friday Night Chili Club test!

Tomorrow's chili is from the Vanilla Bean Cafe in Pomfret, Connecticut. I can't find a website to it, but I checked it out on TripAdvisor.com and folks sure seem to like the food. I'm hoping so, because our recipe tomorrow is their Award-Winning Chili!

I received an email from the owner Barry Jessurun, telling me about their smoked chorizo that they use in their recipe. Now, if you've read my blog, you know I love chorizo! I am hoping to find, here in the city of San Antonio, some good smoked chorizo to use in order to replicate the recipe as closely as possible. It is full of yummy ingredients, and it looks like it can't miss, but I guess we'll see!

Stay tuned for tomorrow night's taste test. Let's see if an east-coast chili can satisfy some southwest palates! It's all about the flavor, and I just can't wait!

Chill-i out until then!
Deb

It's Monday,

2010-03-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

and no chili until Friday...how sad!

Hello folks! Just thought I'd check in on a Monday and share something with you that I've been thinking about.

A number of people have asked me what I am going to do about determining our favorite chili in the Killer Chili book, i.e., how am I going to find the "best" recipe? Here's what we're going to do.

The book is divided into 5 regions, with 10 recipes in each region. We are going to cook one region at a time, and determine our best "choice" of chilis in that section. When I get to the end of the cookbook (I said by the end of the year, so yes, we will at some point be eating chili twice a week!) we will take the top recipe in each of the 5 regions and have a Chili Tasting Party! I will cook the top 5 in one day and that evening we will have a group of friends and neighbors over and do a tasting. Everyone will vote and we will have what we consider not the BEST, necessarily, but our favorite.

Since I am not a chef or a food critic, we are judging strictly by what we enjoy and what tastes good to us. We will end up with our favorite recipe in the book.
Then, I'm thinking that if we survive the heartburn of this year, we may have to move on to something else, like testing all the recipes in the Killer Pies book? OMIGOSH! Now that's something to shoot for, eh?

Until next time!
Deb

#5, Rosebud Diner Chili

2010-02-26T16:38:00.001-08:00

Hello from San Antonio!

Going along in the Killer Chili cookbook we are now halfway through the Eastern part of the country. Tonight's recipe was for the Rosebud Diner Chili from Somerville, Massachusetts, a suburb outside Boston. After making the first 4 "Eastern" chilis, we have come to expect a fairly bland type of stew, some more flavorful than others.

This actually makes some sense to me. I mean, just think of it. Traditionally, ingredients that go into spicy cooking (at least in America) are generally associated with the Southwest and West. Think hot-weather crops that one can blend together to make delectable flavors: tomatoes, bell peppers, all the different and numerous types of chili peppers, corn, beans, onions, garlic and cilantro, to name a few. These types of flavors (that we associate with the Southwest) may not be all that prevalent in the East or North, thus, folks from these cooler climes are not used to hot or spicy foods that we consider a part of daily life here.

When I was a child, we moved from Texas to Virginia. This was in the 50's, and one could not purchase tortillas in Virginia. Seriously! My mother's friends used to ship her tortillas and chili powder from Texas, so she could continue to make Mexican food, since that was what we ate...I grew up on pinto beans and enchiladas! Fortunately, she made her enchilada sauce from scratch, so she was able to make do from these shipments. What's my point? Well, obviously, local foods have always prevailed in whatever geographical area, and chili as we know it here may not have much of a history on the east coast, thus I need to not have expectations about what I am going to get! So, I'm reminding myself that this experiment isn't to "compare" chilis, but rather just to taste the variety of recipes in this interesting book!

Okay, 'nuff ramblings. Now for the Rosebud Review. On the 1-10 taste scale, it averaged a 5.5; on the heat scale of 1-5 it garnered a 2, and for overall chili, it again received a 5.5 out of 10.

Some of the tasters' comments were that "It is a good, thick chili/stew for a cold night." "Pretty good if you don't like spicy." Other comments were that "If you've ever eaten chili anywhere in the west, you probably won't think much of this. However, if you've never eaten chili, you'll probably thoroughly enjoy this as a flavorful stew."

I thought it was interesting that the recipe called for the addition of canned baked beans, but even more interesting was the fact that there was no garlic in the recipe at all. WHAT?! Umm, I thought garlic went into almost everything after 11am! :-)

A serious negative about this recipe was that when one began to add the spices (cumin, chili powder, seasoned salt, black pepper and Tabasco sauce), the amount given for each of these was "to taste". That's fine, for someone that is comfortable with cooking or creating food, however, if a first-time cook is attempting to make this recipe, he/she would have no idea of whether to put in 1 teaspoon of chili powder, or a cup of chili powder. BIG difference. I find that unacceptable in a recipe. Just my opinion, but a novice cook should be able to follow a recipe step-by-step, and if there is no amount given, what do you do? "To taste" just doesn't get it.

Additionally, there was no cooking time given. I personally like to cook my chili a long time, so the flavors can marry, but a newcomer to the art of cooking wouldn't know this. Just some thoughts for those of you thinking about writing a cookbook or sharing a recipe with a friend!
Until next time!

Chili from Massachusetts?

2010-02-25T18:25:00.000-08:00

Hey folks!
Tomorrow's chili recipe is from the Rosebud Diner in Somerville, Massachusetts. The Rosebud Diner is located in a suburb of Boston, and is in a restored historic diner car! It's been in operation since 1941 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

It also has a full bar that serves a Bloody Mary with their scrambled eggs and home fries...now that's my kind of diner!

The recipe is a simple one, full of the regular good stuff like meat, beans, onions, etc... BUT as I've noticed, many of these recipes have a unique ingredient that I don't usually associate with chili. This one: canned baked beans. HUH? Then I re-read the intro and remembered that Somerville is outside Boston...get it? Boston Baked Beans....may be some history there, but regardless, I am excited to try it! I'm sure the baked beans will add a nice sweet-ish flavor to the pot.

It also uses fresh tomatoes, which seems a bit odd to me. The recipe is a bit skimpy in that, when listing the ingredients, cumin, chili powder, season salt, black pepper, and Tabasco sauce are all listed as "to taste", as in cumin to taste. Sooooooo....hmmmmm. I think that I'll start with kind of an "average" of what I've been doing, then will cook it for a couple of hours (also no time frame on this) and taste, then add more to MY taste!

Not exactly science, but then again, I guess chili isn't.
See you after the taste test...wish you could join us!
Deb

#4, Portsmouth Brewery Chili

2010-02-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the Friday Night Chili Club!

Tonight we cooked and tasted the Portsmouth Brewery Chili from the Brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We love that folks up in New Hampshire are using chorizo in their cooking!

There are a couple of main things that we didn't care for; we thought it was a bit thin, and it certainly wasn't spicy enough for our Southwest palates. (To be fair, the notes below the recipe stated that if we wanted a spicier chili to add more cayenne pepper, and for a thicker chili, to add the tomatoes slowly until chili reaches the desired consistency. We didn't do that; we just followed the recipe, so if we made this again we would know, so there is certainly no negativity intended.)

While my co-taster said "It was nothin' to write home about, but it was a good, solid chili", we agreed that it gives you a little "zing" at first that quickly fades away from your mouth. For taste, we gave it a 6 out of 10, for spicy heat, a 2 out of 5, and an overall 6 out of 10.

The recipe book doesn't share how to serve it; we made some cornbread to go along with it, which worked out just fine.

My taste buds would probably prefer an icy cold beer next to the chili and not in it, but beer lovers would likely enjoy this mix, as it has a dark ale mixed in. It's definitely worth trying if you spice it up a bit and make it a bit chunkier!

Thanks to the Portsmouth Brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire...if we're ever up that way, we'll try the chili!

Chorizo chat...

2010-02-17T12:44:00.000-08:00

Hi there!

I was reviewing the recipe for Friday's chili, and since it contains chorizo, I began to mull over all the possibilities available, and what type I might use in the chili.

For those of you unfamiliar with chorizo, it is a sausage, usually made from pork. It can be found in Europe, Spain and Portugal, Puerto Rico and South America, but the kind I am generally familiar with is Mexican Chorizo.

It can be made from a variety of pork meat cuts, including lips, lymph nodes, and salivary glands. Yes, it does sound gross, but for some reason, when all that chili powder and other spices get mixed in, it's delicious!

Here in San Antonio, one can head to the grocery store and purchase any number of brands of chorizo. There are numerous manufacturers of pre-made/pre-packaged chorizo, or one can purchase it fresh. These days, you can even buy soy chorizo! We are also fortunate enough to have hispanic meat markets here that grind and spice up their own. Each store may put their own seasoning into it, thus there may even be a difference in the fresh varieties.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to head down to the hispanic market and purchase fresh, authentic chorizo, however, because I am being consistent in the use of my canned beans and tomatoes, I will look for some good fresh chorizo, locally made, in the grocery store. I will use that same kind for all future recipes that utilize this wonderful sausage.

By the way, for you chorizo virgins, try this: open up the casing and fry the chorizo up in a skillet like ground beef, with some chopped onions and bell peppers. Then toss some eggs into the mix and scramble it around. Toss some grated cheese in it and serve it up on some warm tortillas with a cup of hot French Roast and you have a fabulous breakfast!!!

Seriously, lymph nodes?
Who knew?

Back to the Southwest!

2010-02-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

Just returned from a week in New Orleans. Man, do those people know how to party and how to enjoy their food. I'm ready to pack up and move.

We didn't eat any chili in New Orleans. What we did eat was wonderful gumbo, jambalaya, beignets, and bread pudding with warm whiskey sauce. (Yes, that's mine in the photo, and it didn't last long!) AND we drank absolutely wonderful cocktails!

One of the things I love about this country is that even a 9-hour drive from your hometown can feel like a different country. San Antonio is all about the hispanic culture; Mexican history, Mexican food and mariachis. New Orleans is all about Jazz music, French, Cajun, and Creole food with some deep-south plantation coffee thrown in. Omigosh...the coffee. The beignets. Yummy.

But I'm back in San Antonio, so back to thinking about chili! This week, I'm making the chili from the Portsmouth Brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Their recipe uses one of my favorite ingredients: chorizo. Being that Peter Egelston is a brewer, of course they have to toss a bottle of beer into the mix as well, so I'm really looking forward to Friday's batch!

You can check out their website at:
http://portsmouthbrewery.com/

See you on Friday!

No chili this week...

2010-02-07T19:41:00.000-08:00

I will be in New Orleans for a few days, leaving tomorrow (Monday), to celebrate Mardi Gras, and now, the Super Bowl victory of the Saints. (Even though I don't follow football, it sounds like yet another great reason for a party!)

Chili cooking will resume week after next. See you then!

Does this make sense to you?

2010-02-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

I realize in reading back over my blog, that I sound like some sort of "food critic". I am certainly no food critic, and can claim absolutely no professional chef's standing, nor any formal training at all in the art of food preparation.

What I DO bring is a basic love of food. There is nothing more fun than sitting down to a new meal and truly "seeing" it...the combination of colors and smells; the anticipation of that first taste on the tip of my tongue. Sometimes I just close my eyes and take a whiff... Okay, call me crazy, but it's really fun to use senses other than our tongues to appreciate our food.

I don't know about you folks, but the four seasons change pretty slowly for me, and down here in south Texas, there are really only two seasons: hot and hotter. Visually, not much is different when I go outside from day to day. And sure, the world smells different in the early morning after a rain than it does on a hot dusty afternoon, but again, slow changes. People, we get to eat (and thus use our noses) at least 3 times a day! Think about it: morning bacon, mmmmm.... Lunchtime soup, or even a tuna sandwich brings fresh new scents to the nose. Chili for dinner? Nothing is better than the fragrance of sauteeing onions, garlic and peppers to make my eyes light up in anticipation and bring a smile to my face.

Visually, have you ever really taken a good look at your food? How pretty it is? Think about it the next time you sit down to a beautiful pizza, or a well-constructed stew. Good food is more than just throwing some stuff together. Look at the luscious colors in nature's food palette, and how we combine them to not only taste delicious, but to be beautiful. Food is art! Even our ears can enjoy our meals. Think about the crunch of a good crust of a homemade baguette...isn't that different than the crunch of a carrot or a bell pepper?

I'm a tactile person...I like to touch and feel. I absolutely love to have a hot spicy meal like chili followed by something cold and soothing, say, the smooth creaminess of a cold Creme Brulee, or a slice of key lime pie.

It is truly fun to "feed the senses", so next time you sit down to a meal that someone has prepared for you, don't just gobble it up...experience it!
Excuse me, but I'm going to go open my spice cabinet and just take a whiff...
See you next time!

#3, Southwestern Black Bean Chili

2010-02-05T17:11:00.000-08:00

Hi, chili lovers!
Well, I have just cooked and eaten the 3rd chili in the book, from the Gourmet Cafe in Glens Falls, New York. I was really excited about this one, because I absolutely love black beans!

I was first turned on to black beans back in the 80's on a month-long trip through Mexico. You know, one of those trips you take when you're young, where you carry your backpack, sleep in a hammock on the beach, or at $3 "motels" and hostels, and survive on beer and street food. While down on the Yucatan Peninsula, instead of the usual "Tex-Mex" pinto bean, we were served black beans, a local Caribbean favorite. It was love at first bite.

I've always thought that it was good to kind of "mix it up", so I was ecstatic to see a mix of black beans and Great Northern beans in this recipe. Add dark beer to that and how could you go wrong? I mean, seriously.

We had an additional "taster" for this meal, so there were 3 of us instead of just we two souls (hmmm, that meant less chili for us...need to think about that next time we invite someone over!)

According to the book, Killer Chili, the Gourmet Cafe serves it topped with cheese, red onion and sour cream, so we did just that, and it was delightful!

The interesting thing about this mix was the lack of a strong "spicy aftertaste", and we weren't sure if that has something to do with the dollup of sour cream (which of course we stirred in!) or the addition of beer. Whatever it was, there was a burst of initial flavor when you first put it in your mouth, and then the heat immediately died. For taste, it was a unanimous 7 out of 10. We gave it a 3 on the 1-5 heat scale, and the overall rating was an 8 out of 10. It was a good combination, not too runny, with good proportions of beans, meat and tomatoes.

Two out of the three tasters noted that there could have been more "zing" to it. (Our San Antonio palates are likely used to a little more heat.) One comment: "Each spoonful led you to want more." There you have it. Another cold winter night, eating yummy chili.

Gettin' ready for #3...

2010-02-05T04:34:00.000-08:00

Good day!
This is the third week of the journey through Killer Chili, and the batch I am cooking up today is from the Gourmet Cafe in Glens Falls, New York. I checked out the restaurant's website, and it looks like a pretty neat little spot that combines a relaxed atmosphere with good cuisine.

The recipe has both black beans and Great Northern beans, so that should be an interesting twist. The recipe also appears to have all the traditional ingredients to make a delicious batch of yumminess, with an additional twist: the special ingredient in this one is dark beer!

Here is the restaurant's website address, and you can see the Southwestern Black Bean Chili on the menu! http://www.downtowngourmet.com/
Will get back to you with the results. Have a great day!

I hope I make you proud, Stephanie!

2010-02-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

Wow! I just received a message from the author of "Killer Chili", Stephanie Anderson! I had sent her a message telling her about the blog and my plan to cook my way through her book, and was hoping that I would receive a positive response, or any response, for that matter. She was most gracious in wishing me luck and will follow our adventure. Thanks, Stephanie!

Some of the things I enjoy most about the chili book are not only the variety of recipes and great photography of each and every dish, but the introduction to each chili. The author has written a little introduction to the restaurant and the folks that create these wonderful dishes. When you cook Shirley's Chili, you know that Shirley is the cook at the Dry Dock, and developed the recipe herself. I love knowing a little about the diner and the cook...it gives me a little window to peek into, and I feel that I am cooking with them when I follow their recipes.

What's going to be the chili this week? The Soutwestern Black Bean Chili from the Gourmet Cafe in Glens Falls, New York. With made-from-scratch beans and dark beer, it promises to be a rich chili with lots of flavor. I can't wait till Friday!

#2, Maine Diner Chili

2010-01-29T15:23:00.000-08:00

Well, well.
Let's just jump to the numbers.

Taste Scale 1-10
Deb: 2
Joe: 3
Heat Scale 1-5
Deb: 1
Joe: 1
Overall 1-10
Deb: 3
Joe: 3

Joe's comment: "It's not too zesty, and it doesn't have a very good taste." My feeling is that it is bland. It needs cumin, to provide more flavor. It also needs better quality ingredients.

This was a bit of an odd chili for me. I can see how it would be warm and filling, if I were coming in out of the rain off the lobster boat. However, I wasn't, so I am obliged to say there just wasn't much to it for me.

One of the best things about "home cooking" is the ability to put fresh ingredients into a dish. It is indeed true what they say: the better ingredients you use, the better the dish. I think a major problem with this recipe is the addition of a can of chili con carne. My thought on this is sure, use canned tomatoes, and use canned beans, as basic ingredients; but why put in canned chili, if your goal is to make GREAT chili? High quality yields high quality, so we've already decreased our chances of making something really great here.

Secondly, there is only one fresh tomato diced into it, with no canned. Sure, if you can pull a ripe tomato off the vine and use it in a sauce, that's great. However, canned tomatoes are picked at peak ripeness and canned immediately, thus in my mind have a richer flavor and are more consistently better-tasting. Also, (and this is only my opinion), one tomato isn't going to be able to provide the base of flavor that we generally associate with chili, or any tomato-based sauce or stew.

Third: For a "traditional" chili like this, the lack of cumin is huge. Cumin (comino) is, for me, a must-have for this kind of dish. The addition of horseradish and tabasco were unusual to me as well.
The "tip" in the cookbook is that the chili is better reheated the next day, so I will try the leftovers tomorrow!

I'd rather be like Paula than like Simon, but this one ain't makin' it to Hollywood.
Overall, we gave it a 3 on a 1-10 scale.

Preparing for the second batch...

2010-01-28T11:07:00.000-08:00

Okay, getting the ingredients together for my second batch of chili. Will make it tomorrow. I've noticed that a number of these recipes have an interesting ingredient to them...this one? Horseradish! Also tabasco sauce, which I seldom use, due to the fact that I don't care for the vinegar-like tartness. But I will follow these recipes faithfully!

The second recipe is from the Maine Diner in Wells, Maine. Now, when I think of Maine, I may think of lobster, or blueberries, but not chili! We'll see how it goes...check in tomorrow for an updated status, and on Saturday for the results! Let's hope the final word is "Yummm!"

Did you know?

2010-01-25T07:14:00.000-08:00

Did you know about the Scoville Scale? It's a heat scale for chili peppers. Created by Wilbur Scoville in 1912, it determines the amount of capsaicin (the chemical compound in chilies when determines the heat)and rates the peppers by Scoville Heat Units (SHUs).

Bell Peppers have 0 SHUs, = no heat, while Scotch Bonnet Peppers and Habanero Peppers both have 1000,000-350,000 SHUs. (Every trip we travel to the Caribbean, we pick up a bottle of pepper sauce, which is made from Scotch Bonnets, and let me tell you, it is HOT HOT HOT!).

Check out the Scoville scale information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale

It'll all make sense to you, why Serranos are so much hotter than jalapenos!

#1, Shirley's Chili

2010-01-23T14:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, the testing begins! I made Shirley's Chili, from the Dry Dock Restaurant & Tavern in Portland, Maine. A nice, hearty chili using ground chuck and kidney beans, very normal spices, a very typical chili. On a 1-10 scale, we rated it about a 7 or 8, on a heat scale of 1-5, we gave it a 3, for nice and spicy without being overly hot. I served it as suggested, with diced onions and cheddar cheese on top, with tortilla chips. Two thumbs up, and we gave it an overall rating of about a 7-8 on a 1-10 scale. A very good, solid tasty chili.

Shopping confusion...

2010-01-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

Okay, went to the store to gather ingredients for the first chili, and as I grabbed the organic tomatoes, I realized that these restaurants are surely not using expensive organic ingredients in their chilis....so I decided to use Hunt's for all the recipes. It's easily available, affordable, and will provide a consistency throughout the testing. Ditto for the beans. I put the organic beans back on the shelf and will use Bush's. Getting ready to start my first batch now. Gotta go find the gloves to work with the jalapeno.

When in Texas...

2010-01-22T06:26:00.000-08:00

I was watching Julie and Julia the other day, enjoying it for about the 3rd time, when I thought, hey, I should do something like that. Being retired is wonderful, but my brain is way too active to not have a goal. Alas, I thought retirement would bring with it a sense of satisfaction, supreme laziness, and laying around in bed sipping coffee in the morning while reading my latest novel. The reality is that I get up at 5am every morning, and although our house is large, I cannot see spending the whole day cleaning (yawn), so I have been looking for something fun to do, that would create a little focus; something fairly easy and small, but a goal.

Joe and I were at one of the Texas State Parks over the weekend, and I found a beautiful cookbook entitled "Killer Chili, Savory Recipes from North America's Favorite Restaurants". Divided into 5 sections (Northeastern US, Midwestern US, Southern US, Western US and Canada), there are 10 recipes from each part of North America.

I have decided to emulate Julie (in a small way) and work my way through the 50 recipes. My goal is to cook 1 to 2 per week. Considering time off for vacations, and that it is January, my goal is to complete all 50 by the end of 2010. I will provide our reviews and a heat scale.

Get out the Tums!