The title alone should be enough. The only thing that prevented this chili from being a total "0" was that I bought Steve Raichlen's barbeque sauce over the holidays and, even though you know I'm anti-barbeque sauce, this wasn't too bad. The overwhelming flavor was the barbeque sauce. I probably should have saved it for another chili. You really didn't taste the bologna. Thinking about it being in there though, kind of gags me.
One more week to go. Wisconsin is last. We will then begin planning our party. From the time between the final chili and the party we are going to try other chili recipes from different sources, one of which I found on my high school best friend's sister's website: http://savoringtheseasons.blogspot.com/. She writes about black bean chili on her January 28, 2011 posting. Her blog is fantastic. Be sure to check it out.
We anticipated that West Virginia's chili would be a bust so we didn't even bother with beer. I'm optimistic about Wisconsin. I'm going to try to find Prima Pils beer to accompany it recommended by another high school friend. Can you tell I have just discovered the wonders of Facebook?
Until then.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Seattle Coffee Chili -- Washington*
Washington's chili used 12 large dried pasilla chiles and a tablespoon of chili powder, so it promised to be nice and spicy. It didn't let me down. The 1-1/4 cups of very strong black coffee was another plus, being the coffee-holic that I am.
Unfortunately, Ted's rating was only a 3 (because of spice) and Geoff gave it a 3.2 because he thought it to be too salty (easy to remedy next time). We all thought it would have fared better if beef were used instead of chicken. So along with my rating of a 4, Seattle's final score was just a 3.4. Geoff says I give everything a 4 after a couple of beers (not so!!!).
I'm going to reprint the recipe here despite the final rating because I think it's worth it (and it's two days later and I haven't had a beer)!
12 large dried pasilla chiles
1-1/4 cups very strong black coffee
brewed from a dark roast
one 13-3/4-ounce can chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, smashed
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken
cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon salt (I recommend less)
1 Tablespoon masa harina dissolved
in 1/4 cup warm water
__________________________________
1) Place the chiles in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes, until soft; then stem and seed them. In a food processor, puree the chiles with the coffee and chicken broth until smooth. Set aside.
2) In a Dutch oven, saute the onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Add the chicken and stir and cook until browned. Add the chile puree. Stir in the chili powder, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour. Remove from the heat and stir in the masa harina mixture. Return to the heat and cook for an additional 7 minutes.
We went to an old standby after last week's "difficult" beer and had Yuengling Black and Tan; always a safe bet.
Photos for this week's chili will follow due to technical difficulty. OK, here's the photo. A much-reluctant Ted agreed to one photo on the blog.
_______________________
*Chili Nation; Jane & Michael Stern
Unfortunately, Ted's rating was only a 3 (because of spice) and Geoff gave it a 3.2 because he thought it to be too salty (easy to remedy next time). We all thought it would have fared better if beef were used instead of chicken. So along with my rating of a 4, Seattle's final score was just a 3.4. Geoff says I give everything a 4 after a couple of beers (not so!!!).
I'm going to reprint the recipe here despite the final rating because I think it's worth it (and it's two days later and I haven't had a beer)!
12 large dried pasilla chiles
1-1/4 cups very strong black coffee
brewed from a dark roast
one 13-3/4-ounce can chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, smashed
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken
cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon salt (I recommend less)
1 Tablespoon masa harina dissolved
in 1/4 cup warm water
__________________________________
1) Place the chiles in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes, until soft; then stem and seed them. In a food processor, puree the chiles with the coffee and chicken broth until smooth. Set aside.
2) In a Dutch oven, saute the onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Add the chicken and stir and cook until browned. Add the chile puree. Stir in the chili powder, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour. Remove from the heat and stir in the masa harina mixture. Return to the heat and cook for an additional 7 minutes.
We went to an old standby after last week's "difficult" beer and had Yuengling Black and Tan; always a safe bet.
Photos for this week's chili will follow due to technical difficulty. OK, here's the photo. A much-reluctant Ted agreed to one photo on the blog.
_______________________
*Chili Nation; Jane & Michael Stern
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Maple-Spiked Chili with Cheddar Stars -- Vermont
I'll start tonight's blog with what I normally end. The beer. Golden Monkey by Victory Beer made in Downingtown. If you've ever had reflux in your life, don't drink this beer. Enough said.
Vermont's chili included, of course, Vermont cheddar cheese on top and pure maple syrup (a whopping half cup of it)! Surprisingly, the maple syrup did NOT make the chili overly sweet at all. Overall, there was nothing bad about this dish, but nothing overly scrumptious either. We rated it a 3.28.
We are really winding down now with only Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin to go. Plans for the party are starting to get serious.
Vermont's chili included, of course, Vermont cheddar cheese on top and pure maple syrup (a whopping half cup of it)! Surprisingly, the maple syrup did NOT make the chili overly sweet at all. Overall, there was nothing bad about this dish, but nothing overly scrumptious either. We rated it a 3.28.
We are really winding down now with only Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin to go. Plans for the party are starting to get serious.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Shenandoah Valley Apple-Nut Chili -- Virginia
 |
6 dried pasilla chiles
2 Granny Smith apples
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 cup chopped onions
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider
1 bunch scallions chopped (about 2/3/ cup)
cooked rice
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the pork in an uncovered baking pan and roast for at least 1 hour, until cooked through. Don't turn it and don't season it as it cooks. When cool enough to handle, cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.
2) Place the chiles in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand 30 minutes, until soft; then seed and stem them. Place the chiles in a food processor. Peel, core, and quarter one of the apples and add it to the chiles along with 1/2 cup of the broth and the peanut butter. Puree until smooth; set aside.
3) In a Dutch oven, saute the onions in the oil until soft. Add the chile puree, ginger, mustard, salt, brown sugar, and the cider. Stir and bring to a simmer. Add the pork along with the remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth, if needed to keep the mixture good and moist. Cook and stir until the pork is warmed through.
4) Dice the remaining apple and mix it with the scallions. Use this garnish to top each serving of chili. Serve with rice on the side.
***************************************************************************
What a wonderful myriad of flavors!! By the way, we had to postpone Vermont because I realized when I went shopping for ingredients after work that it required cranberry beans to be soaked overnight!! We will have it next week. Our beer was Sierra Nevada Celebration and we served it with some of the frozen cornbread from last week and we still have another serving left in the freezer!!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Memphis Barbecue Shrimp Chili (Tennessee) & Tigua Indian Definitive Bowl of Red (Texas)
I didn't get around to posting Tennessee's chili with all the business of the holidays, but it wasn't much to crow about anyway. Only earned a 2.9. Apparently shrimp is big in Memphis, but all in all it didn't make it for us.
On to Texas. I was anxiously awaiting this one. We always hear about Texas being known for chili. This recipe was adapted from the Tigua Indian tribe from west Texas. I expected heat and we got heat. Made with beef round cubes and cumin, chili powder, and red jalapeno powder, it was probably one of the spiciest ones next to Utah. Of course, our anti-spice enthusiast brought the final score down to a 3.27 but, surprisingly, Mike liked it (he's is also anti-heat). Go figure!
We drank Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale made by Michelob; eh, not so great. Had a sweet aftertaste.
More exciting than anything though was the cornbread we made to accompany the chili or, I should say, the creamed corn we made that went into the cornbread was a recipe I must give you. I have always HATED creamed corn that comes out of a can. Honestly, it looks and tastes like throw up, right? This recipe came from Geoff's new cookbook, "Good Eats" by Alton Brown. A favorite of his from his apartment days when he had cable tv that I haven't had the opportunity to see. The recipe follows.
We were lucky to find corn on the cob and at SuperFresh no less!!
*********************************************************
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 medium (about 4 ounces) onion diced
2 pinches kosher salt
1 sprig rosemary bruised (crushed roughly between your hands)
8 ears fresh corn (3 pounds)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric (gives the corn a beautiful color)
2 Tablespoons stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup heavy cream
1 pinch black pepper (freshly ground)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1) Put the butter in a 3-quart saucier and melt over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, and rosemary and sweat until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, use a chef's knife to cut off the corn kernels.
3) After the kernels are off, turn the knife around and use the spine of the blade to scrape out any remaining pulp.
4) Add the corn, sugar, and turmeric to the saucier and continue cooking over medium-high heat until the liquid from the corn thickens a bit, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the cornmeal onto the corn mixture and stir to combine. Add the cream, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the corn is very soft, 2 to 3 minutes.
5) Fish out the rosemary, season with pepper.
I wish I had thought to take a photo of this. It is a beautiful color, absolutely yummy and doesn't at all resemble the slop you get out of a can. By the way, this cookbook is one of those that you can just sit back and read for information and entertainment. I highly recommend it.
Next week is Vermont when we get to use the maple pepper we found a few weeks ago. Until then, try the creamed corn!!
On to Texas. I was anxiously awaiting this one. We always hear about Texas being known for chili. This recipe was adapted from the Tigua Indian tribe from west Texas. I expected heat and we got heat. Made with beef round cubes and cumin, chili powder, and red jalapeno powder, it was probably one of the spiciest ones next to Utah. Of course, our anti-spice enthusiast brought the final score down to a 3.27 but, surprisingly, Mike liked it (he's is also anti-heat). Go figure!
We drank Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale made by Michelob; eh, not so great. Had a sweet aftertaste.
More exciting than anything though was the cornbread we made to accompany the chili or, I should say, the creamed corn we made that went into the cornbread was a recipe I must give you. I have always HATED creamed corn that comes out of a can. Honestly, it looks and tastes like throw up, right? This recipe came from Geoff's new cookbook, "Good Eats" by Alton Brown. A favorite of his from his apartment days when he had cable tv that I haven't had the opportunity to see. The recipe follows.
We were lucky to find corn on the cob and at SuperFresh no less!!
*********************************************************
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 medium (about 4 ounces) onion diced
2 pinches kosher salt
1 sprig rosemary bruised (crushed roughly between your hands)
8 ears fresh corn (3 pounds)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric (gives the corn a beautiful color)
2 Tablespoons stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup heavy cream
1 pinch black pepper (freshly ground)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1) Put the butter in a 3-quart saucier and melt over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, and rosemary and sweat until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, use a chef's knife to cut off the corn kernels.
3) After the kernels are off, turn the knife around and use the spine of the blade to scrape out any remaining pulp.
4) Add the corn, sugar, and turmeric to the saucier and continue cooking over medium-high heat until the liquid from the corn thickens a bit, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the cornmeal onto the corn mixture and stir to combine. Add the cream, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the corn is very soft, 2 to 3 minutes.
5) Fish out the rosemary, season with pepper.
I wish I had thought to take a photo of this. It is a beautiful color, absolutely yummy and doesn't at all resemble the slop you get out of a can. By the way, this cookbook is one of those that you can just sit back and read for information and entertainment. I highly recommend it.
Next week is Vermont when we get to use the maple pepper we found a few weeks ago. Until then, try the creamed corn!!
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