Code 10 Chili -- Wyoming

We are a day late with our Friday Night Chili, postponed because we went to an Art After Five at the art museum last night to hear Greg Osby. If you ever have the chance to hear him play, don't pass it up.

Let me preface this with the fact that I came back from a three-hour yoga workshop to make this chili and, although the yoga instructor told us we would want to put nothing but healthy food in our bodies after our practice, all I could think about on the drive home was the cold beer waiting for me in the fridge and the spicy chili we were prepared to make.

As promised, we skipped ahead to Wyoming because we realized that we had to use the habanero peppers right away. The recipe called for 1 to 2 habaneros and since we ordered way too many we were going to use 2. However, when our throats started closing up just by dicing them, we chickened out and used only 1. This one deserves printing of the recipe and a couple of photos!

2 Cups chopped onions
1/3 Cup peanut oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
One 14-1/2 ounce can chicken broth
Four 4-1/2 ounce cans chopped green chiles, with liquid
2 Cups diced red-skinned potatoes, skin on
1 to 2 habanero peppers, seeded and diced (be VERY careful; wash your hands thoroughly after touching these things!!) -- if you can't find habaneros, the recipe says you can use jalapenos
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 pound sweet pork sausage, cooked and crumbled (remove the casing first)

Flour tortillas
**************************************
1) In a heavy skillet, saute the onions in the oil until soft. Add the garlic, then sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes, until the onions just barely begin to brown.

2) Stir in the broth, green chiles, potatoes, habanero peppers (or jalapenos), chili powder, salt, black pepper, and oregano. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the skillet so the mixture doesn't stick, until the potatoes are soft. Add the cooked sausage and cook 5 minutes more.

3) Serve with soft flour tortillas on the side. We actually scooped the chili onto the tortillas and ate it like that.

We rated this chili a 3.3. Geoff felt that we could have added both habaneros, especially when scooping it up with the tortillas. Ted gave it a low rating, way too spicy for him. I gave it a 4. I know, everyone says I'm a little generous with the 4's, but I thought this one was one of the best yet.

We served up this chili with Magic Hat Winter lager. This was just right for cooling down the spiced-up taste buds! Enjoy!!