by Ethan Johnson
September 21, 2007

Yes indeed, the temperatures are hovering around 90F these days, but me being me, I had to get the urge to make cold weather college and NFL football season food. If you can't be at the tailgate party, and you don't live anywhere near the closest Big Ten school, well, grin and bear a nice hot bowl of:

Cold Weather Chili

Can ya believe it? An original recipe. Might be a first.

2 Tablespoons pure olive oil
2 medium white onions, diced
3-4 stalks of celery, trimmed and diced
1 - 1.5 lbs chili meat OR ground turkey
2 cans [Hatch] diced tomatoes + chilies, drained
1 can [Red Gold] chili-ready diced tomatoes, drained
1 can red or black beans, drained
1 cup beef broth
1/2 can tomato paste
Kosher salt
Ground Cinnamon
Ground Chipotle
Ground Cumin
Ground Allspice
Ground Coriander
Mexican Oregano
Epazote (1 TB per 2 QT of chili)
[Smoked Spanish] Paprika
Minced Garlic
Ground Cayenne Pepper (use sparingly, unless you want to go for obnoxiously hot)
Dried crushed jalepeño peppers
1/2 jar [Spice Hunter] chili powder blend (approx 1/3 cup)

(Serves 2-4.)

1. Are we noticing that this recipe differs from nearly every other on this site? Pay close attention. First, let's dice up the onions. Detailed instructions may be found here.

   

   

   Set aside in small bowl (or on paper plate).

2. Trim and dice the celery stalks. I sliced the stalks lengthwise, lined them up, and chopped evenly. Set aside in bowl/on plate.

   

   

3. Set a dutch oven (or similar pot) over medium heat. Add the olive oil.

   

4. Simmer onions and celery for 3-5 minutes, or until onions turn translucent.

   

   

5. Add chili meat (I used about 1 lb of 99% lean ground turkey for this example) and stir constantly, chopping at the meat with a wooden stir fry paddle or wood spoon to break it up into smaller pieces.

   

6. Brown the meat. If grease/oil has accumulated, scrape the contents of the pot to one side, tip the pot, scoop out the excess oil, and discard safely. (Note: Ground turkey tends to turn whitish when cooking. This is OK.)

   

7. Stir pot contents throughly, then add the canned ingredients. First the beans, then all of the tomatoes, then the tomato paste and the beef broth. (Note: Brand names are suggestions only. Use whatever is readily available or your favorites. These are ours.)

   

   

   

   

8. Now add the spices/dry goods. Now pay attention: I am not giving out any measurements because a) this recipe may be used for this year's chili cook-off, and I want to vex any would-be competition looking for an edge, and b) honestly, there are no measurements other than anything I noted in the ingredient list. A dash of this, a dash of that.

   

   

9. Stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to "lower than low".

   

10. Cover and stir every 45 minutes. Season to taste after the third stir, and every 90 minutes thereafter. This is an all-day project, so make sure you have the time to invest. Remember, more cooking time = bigger flavor.

    

11. Serve with oyster crackers, cheese, and diced red onion.

12. Yah hoo!

Notes: Epazote de-gasses the chili. Even if you don't win the chili contest, your customers will thank you for taking the bloat out of the recipe. Trust us, we swear by this and will never again eat chili without it. Penzey's Spices sells dried crushed jalepeño peppers. I tried the for the first time when I made this example, and they really add a dimension. A little goes a long way. Finally, use beef broth to give your chili a "velvety" texture. This isn't chili from a mix, or from a dollar menu.

Enjoy! Let me know how it turns out. <EM>

(The full, ever-expanding In the Kitchen recipe list may be found here, if you take a notion.)