I haven’t cooked a pot of chili since last winter. So when it got cold and damp last week, I had a hankering for a hearty bowl of the comfort food that Will Rogers called a “bowl of blessedness.”
There’s no food more divisive than this hearty stew of meat and beans. A fight is sure to break out if you have two or more people in the kitchen working on the same pot of chili. Like bread pudding or turkey dressing, no two recipes are the same.
I used the same recipe for a long time, but a few years ago I ran onto one I liked better. I’m never content to leave well enough alone, so I’m constantly on the lookout for new ways of doing things in the kitchen.
Take a look at this recipe and see if it inspires you to pull out a big pot and start browning some garlic and onions. When I reach way back in the cabinet for my soup pot, I always think of Louie Armstrong’s recipe for Red Beans and Rice. It started with: “First, get yourself a pot half the size of a tuba.” You might not need one quite that large for this chili, unless you’re doubling the recipe.
I always make chili for the family on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so I don’t have to think about cooking that day. With a pan of cornbread and a salad you have some pretty fine eating.
