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....."THE CHILI WHISPERER".....
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So many of you have written, saying the recent "Coney Island" post made you hungry for hot dogs, so I thought it would be fittin' to write about a favorite of all of us: "CHILI." Actually
the correct terminology is probably "chili con carne," or maybe "chili con carne con frijoles."
Okay, my lady-cook readers, most of you have probably read an early post of mine titled:
"A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Oven," in which Mil gave up baking (ostensibly,
anyway). But I want you to know---in no uncertain terms---that even though Mil does not
SIFT FLOUR, SEPARATE EGGS, OR CLARIFY BUTTER, he is still a formidable cook---a dangerous one---one to be-reckoned-with! Particularly when it comes to CHILI!
Don't even bring up my amateur cooking days (before I started watching Paula Deen and Bobby Flay.) Yes, I know, I did put 1/2 bottle of vanilla in a pie once; it just smelled so good---and tasted good too! And we won't talk about the time I was making my dear Mom's pickled cucumber slices to go with beans and corn bread and put a half bottle of boiled vinegar
on my sliced cucumbers in a bowl---though the wife did mention it at school to her co-workers. (Actually, if you prefer your cucumbers a bit strong, they weren't too bad!)
But enough of this fun repartee; we must get on with making chili here.
How I got my recipe is: One September night back in 1974, my wife was out of town due to family illness; the State Fair was on and although one of those rare early northers had hit Albuquerque, my youngest son and I decided to go to the Fair. After he (being about 10) did a few rides and we checked out the photography display, Tom Bollack's vegetable display, the sheep and the goats, it was after seven and getting pretty cold, with a wind blowing. Places were already closing due to the weather---people were leaving. We found one cafe still open. It was a church-operated cafe. We each ordered coffee and a big bowl of chili. It was the best chili we had ever eaten!! And we were getting the dregs of the day at that.
Now here is the interesting thing, I knew that a friend with whom I did business occasionally was a member of that church. I saw him one day and asked if he ever worked over there at the State Fair in his church's cafe. "Every year!" he said. I then did the unthinkable. I said in a covert tone out the corner of my mouth: "Do you think you could get me your secret chili recipe?" He, ( we will call him "The Chili Whisperer") getting into the mood of the moment, leaned in to me and whispered: "I'll get it for you, BUT I'LL HAVE TO KILL YOU." "Okay," I said. "Anything for THAT RECIPE."
I got the recipe, and he, being a busy guy, and not only a "chili whisperer" but a busy business one also, forgot to kill me. Now, I am going to pass it on to you, but note, I have improved his recipe so much, it is not the original one at all. So we are okay with the "secret thing" stuff.
Here is my version of that recipe, from memory...never use notes...it is from scratch:
3 1/2 lbs. of best lean beef hamburger (or 2 1/2 beef and 1 pork) NO TURKEY
1 large onion diced small
Garlic to taste---4 or 5 mashed
1/2 Green Bell, diced tiny, optional
1 beef cube; 1 chicken cube
The biggie: 1 envelope Lipton's Onion Soup Mix (AKA: "Mil's Sauce")
2 cans of chicken broth
1 can of beef broth
1 can tomato soup, 1 can "Contadina," 1 can chopped tomatoes (or garden, in season)
1 can cream of chicken soup, or second choice--cream of potato
1 large carton frozen Bueno Green chillies, mild
1/2 cup to one cup mild red chili powder, to taste
1 1/2 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp of oregano
From here on chili gets very personal; "some like it hot." I use hot green or hot red chili
powder, one or the other or both--maybe a TBS of each; maybe 2 TBS of red pequin.
Cook pintos an hour in a pressure cooker (hour from from first spew) and add to chili to your taste; maybe four or five cups, with some bean water... Add a half cup of cornmeal when cooking the meat, onion, spices, and I add same to liquid when simmering the chili; it thickens it some later. You can use bean juice or add water if needed; I don't like real thick chili; there is a happy medium...a "just right."
CAN WE TALK? it is easier than it looks. I am talking to seasoned chili makers here, I know.
Don't fool with small amounts of chili; make big amounts. It'll freeze in increments. Don't fool around with TURKEY; it won't affect the Great Cosmic Outcome! Not enough garlic is a mistake. Mil is not good at "proper recipe quoting." You know what to sautee with the meat. You know not to simmer your chili on high, but very low or it will scorch. And do stir. Oh, yes, use a modest amount of black pepper, but no salt until the end ---you may not need it. I probably have forgotten something.
places like Terlingua. Texas. In discussing chili recipes once with me. he said in an emphatic way: "Any self-respecting Texan would not put BEANS in his chili!" Well, "de gustibus non est
disputandum," I always say.
Recipes for MIl's Chuck Wagon Chili:
1. Bowl of Chili and corn bread; add a shot of catsup like the old-timers did.
2. Frito Pie: chili, Fritos, onions, cheese, sour cream, olives
3. Enchiladas: layer corn tortillas with chili, cheese, onions, sour cream, olives, tomatoes
4. Burritos-flour tortillas; use you imagination
5. Juevos rancheros- you've got flour and corn tortillas, again use imagination.
6. Regular old-fashioned hot dogs and chili
7. I like: one hot dog bun toasted flat with a piece of American cheese on each end:
Heat two Oscar Meyer long deli-style wieners in micro at about 80 seconds. Lay
these on your flat bun. Lots of mustard. Ladle big juicy batch of chili over dog, heat whole
thing in micro about 1 1/4 minutes, then add onions/pickle relish/whatever. Eat with sharp little knife and fork.
If you invite Mil over to sample, he likes diet Pepsis, from that white box!
GOOD COOKING!!
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BY MIL
5/31/12
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Sent from my iPad
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