I anticipated that this chili would be a good one. According to the cookbook's notes, New Mexico is the chili state. But here's the dilemma. New Mexico's chili was so salty that it almost seemed like the 1-1/2 Tablespoons of salt was a typo. I even hesitated when I poured it in. It was actually hard to notice anything other than the salt. We decided that we had to rate it according to the recipe just like we would if we thought that there was too much spice or not enough veges as we have with all the others. As a result, the final tallied score was only a 2.77.
As we were preparing the chili we decided that we might need some rice at the bottom of the bowl. The only rice I had in the cupboard was a bag of black & mahogany rice. This was a godsend because it did serve to somewhat cut back the salty flavor.
Our beer was "Walt Wit" unfiltered Belgian White-Style Ale made in Philadelphia. It was a very nice beer that sparked the conversation as to what claim Philadelphia had to Walt Whitman. He lived the last part of his life in Camden, New Jersey just across the river, but that would give Camden claim, not Philly. He did write about Philadelphia as "...a broad tumble of clouds, with much golden haze and profusion of beaming shaft and dazzle" I guess, as he looked at it from Camden. And one end of the Walt Whitman Bridge is in Philadelphia. That's about it though. I think Camden gets to claim him.
Despite the low rating of this chili, I would still like to go to Hatch, New Mexico's chili festival. It sounds like they go gaga for chili like mad!
*Chili Nation, p. 100
No comments:
Post a Comment