A hearty bowl of chili warms heart and tummy
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Noticing the br-r-r-r and wet elements the other morning, I half expected to see a little skiff of snow decorating the top of a nearby mountain. There didn’t seem to be any, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking we may not be too far from our first flakes of the season.
According to family tradition, then, I’ve already laid in the necessaries for a big batch of chili – the beef, another big bag of pinto beans (we go through lots of those every winter), and even upped my stock of hot chilies, good, strong yellow onions, and garlic. Checked my seasonings and am OK there, so we’re good to go. And I just can’t wait!
“On the first day it snows,” Grandad told me, holding my hand tight as we plowed along in sudden near-blizzard, whiteout conditions that closed all Seattle schools hours early, “we Hardestys always make a big pot of chili.” So we zigzagged up to our little neighborhood store, shopped for what we didn’t already have on hand at home, stoked the fire, drank some cocoa, peeked at the unending snow coming down hard, and Grandad and I MADE CHILI.
It was the best chili I ever ate, and everybody in the whole family said it was just absolutely delicious. Naturally, I was quite proud to have been a helper-cook, since Grandad could not possibly have made it all by his lonesome, to use a family expression.
Since that time, once I got old enough to cook myself in my own kitchen, because of that wonderful, incredible, unforgettable special snowy day with Grandad, I have been happily compelled to make my chili this very same, handed-down-in-the-family way. Truthfully, it would be sacrilege were I to veer away from this hourslong, so-satisfying meal in the making.
But for others, who’d like to celebrate the first day of snow with something new and different in the chili category — those who are not locked into making the same old recipe over and over — do I have one for you to try. It’s borrowed from “Seasoned With Sage,” that truly yummy and delightful cookbook I’ve mentioned before, the one with treasured recipes collected by Volunteers of the High Desert Museum in Bend, Ore.
Aside from being quite a surprising departure from the usual types of chili most of us make (this one calls for both unchili-like spices and chocolate – yes, chocolate. What’s interesting about the following recipe is what contributor Joy Newhart has to say about it: “I can still remember the aroma of this chili as I strolled along the streets of Cincinnati.”
See what you make of:
Cincinnati chili
2cups kidney beans
Water
2onions
4cloves garlic
1can (29 ounces) whole tomatoes
1can (29 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1/8teaspoon ground allspice
1/8teaspoon ground cloves
1teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2ounce unsweetened chocolate
1bay leaf
4tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1tablespoon Worcestershire
2tablespoons vinegar
3-4cups water
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Chopped onions for garnish (optional)
Oyster crackers and fruit salad
Soak beans overnight in water to cover. The next morning, drain, cover with fresh water and cook until tender. Drain and set aside.
Mix onions, garlic and whole canned tomatoes in blender; or dice onions, garlic and tomatoes and turn into a large pot. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, chocolate, bay leaf, chili powder, salt, Worcestershire, vinegar and water. Stir to mix ingredients thoroughly, bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in reserved beans the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle each serving with cheese and, if desired, chopped onion. Serve with oyster crackers and fruit salad.
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