I’m not sure if I’m supposed to put a trigger warning here for Hillary…
The weather, as Betty C has mentioned, dipped a bit here in Central Florida. So I made a big batch of chile con carne with red beans. Above you can see a bowl of chili con carne with red beans garnished with queso fresco crumbles and guacamole (not Boris Karloff’s recipe).
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef*
1 lbs stew meat* cut into 1/4 inch pieces/cubes
1 jalapeno diced fine with the pith and seeds removed
1 Anaheim pepper (Hatch chile) diced fine with the pith and seeds removed
1 large onion diced
8 oz of salsa verde medium heat
5 16 oz cans of red beans
2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
1 28 ounce cans of tomato puree
Chile powder to taste
Chipotle powder to taste
Cumin to taste
2 tablespoons of dark cocoa powder
Salt to taste
* I only use grass fed, hormone and anti-biotic free beef. Feel free to use whatever you prefer. If you prefer turkey or pork or no meat at all, adjust however you like.
Directions:
Place the ground beef in an oven safe dish, salt it to taste, and cook it off in a 350 degree oven. When its done, remove from oven and drain the drippings/juices from the beef and set the cooked ground beef aside. Cover the bottom of a heated stock pot with extra virgin olive oil**. Once the oil is hot add the stew meat and begin to brown. When the stew meat reaches the medium rare to medium stage add the diced onions and chiles as well as the salsa verde. Salt to taste. Sweat the onions and chiles with the stew meat until the onions become soft and translucent. Add the ground beef. Add chile powder, chipotle powder, and cumin to taste*** – mix well and cook for a few minutes so the spices begin to release their flavor. Add the beans, crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, and cocoa powder. Mix well. Taste to determine if you need to adjust the seasoning. Turn the heat down to a low simmer. Simmer the chili for at least four hours stirring regularly to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Garnish with queso fresco and gaucamole or with salsa fresca and sour cream or with nothing at all and serve.
** I know you’re not supposed to saute with extra virgin olive oil. I also know that doing so adds a lovely flavor to what you’re cooking. Feel free to substitute whatever type of oil you prefer.
*** I was always taught that the amount of cumin and chili powder had to be equal and that’s what I do.
jl
Another recipe from the national security guy, and not desserts this time. I assume no chemical weapon potential with this recipe? You got this certified?
Any chance a review would reclassify it? I don’t want to get in trouble if I try it out.
Edit: pic looks very promising. I’ll take a chance. I can cook this kind of thing and have a chance of not wrecking it.
Mike J
Want to know why the loons at the bird sanctuary still have power?
NotMax
As there’s no particular standard for what is packaged as “stew meat,” much prefer to buy a known cut (cheaper chuck will do just fine so long as the chili is simmered low and slow) and cube it at home.
Sounds like a recipe that would also do well with boneless short ribs.
dimmsdale
this is a PERFECT thread for the snowy weekend we’re (maybe) gonna have.
I know the recipe is labeled ‘con carne,’ but any practicing vegetarians wanting to suggest non-meat substitutes for the beef, I’d be obliged. I’ve been substituting ground turkey and/or chopped turkey bacon and/or turkey sausage, it sure isn’t beef but it’s acceptable.
thanks for the recipe–can’t wait to try it!
Diana
There are two excellent posts on chili at seriouseats.com, one on the best Texan chili con carne and one for best chili altogether. You will never look at chili quite the same way again after you read them.
Adam L Silverman
@jl: Gases are prohibited by the Geneva Convention.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: Either of those would work. I’m pretty sure what I got was boneless chuck. I’m not going through the garbage to check though.
Adam L Silverman
@dimmsdale: I’d use turkey thigh meat cubed up mixed with ground turkey.
trollhattan
Heh.
Sandia Blanca
What happened to the ground beef? It disappeared partway through.
Also, what is an “oven-shaped” dish?
darms
My Go-To Chili Recipe, been using this for decades…
1 ½ lbs meat
8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 8 oz. cans water (if using crock pot use 1 8 oz. can)
4 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon onion flakes/powder
1 teaspoon garlic flakes/powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon hot pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
salt to taste
1 tablespoon masa flour in ¼ cup water at end (thickens)
Add all ingredients (except masa flour). Cook on high until mixture starts to boil than reduce heat & simmer for about an hour. Add masa flour & water as paste then allow to boil. After a few minutes of boiling reduce heat and simmer at least another half hour. Sautéed peppers, onions & black pepper are nice additions but do not use diced or fresh tomatoes in place of the tomato sauce. These can be added after chili is done, however.
Mike J
crontab -e
edit out whatever runs form 8:15 to 9:15 every night. Or at least nice it.
Felonius Monk
Adam, your recipe is very similar to mine with a few differences. I prefer canned whole tomatoes that are then crushed by hand and I also add a tad of allspice, clove, and cinnamon (this really goes well with the chocolate). I also add a bottle of Negra Modelo (well, most of the bottle -– cook’s got to have a swig or two). I also have a very strong preference for pinto beans.
Nonetheless, I’d be happy to come down and polish off that bowl for you.
Omnes Omnibus
@Felonius Monk:
There are five more bottles in the sixer.
Adam L Silverman
@Sandia Blanca: good catches I’ll fix it now.
Adam L Silverman
@Sandia Blanca: Its fixed and it was supposed to be oven safe.
DiTurno
Adam, extra virgin is great for sauteeing, as long as you’re not wasting a really good pressing. But it has a lower smoke point and will break down with higher temps, so don’t go above medium high (or maybe lower, depending upon how hot your burners get).
Also, while canned beans are fine, dried beans are way better if you have time. Soak them over night in plenty of water and three tbsp of salt, then drain, rinse well, and cook for an hour or maybe longer.
Adam L Silverman
@Mike J: Huh?
Adam L Silverman
@Mike J: From what I’ve seen reported power in the area is run by the Harney County Electric Power Co-op. It provides power not only to Harney County, but several neighboring counties and even across the border down into Nevada. The reporting seemed to indicate that because of how the power is distributed you wouldn’t simply be shutting down the Refuge. Also, the Co-op is very concerned about who is going to pay the bill for all the electricity that the occupiers are using.
Felonius Monk
@Omnes Omnibus:
By the time I get around to starting the chili, there is only one left. :)
Adam L Silverman
@Felonius Monk: I usually use the whole stewed tomatoes and crush them by hand. I decided to put it up with the already chopped one for others ease of preparation. I also have put cinnamon in my chili before, so I’m with you there. And I’ve also mixed the beans – red kidneys and pintos or red kidneys and black beans too. I’ve never tried deglazing with a Negro Modelo, but that sounds good.
Adam L Silverman
@DiTurno: No argument on either of those. Unfortunately I promised I’d have dinner ready by seven tonight, so no chance to soak beans overnight.
Face
Just learned that a few chuckleheads think its a good idea to Reverse-SETI; broadcast out our location into space in the hopes listening aliens hear us. Akin to Indians giving directions on where to land to Columbus. Im sure visiting ETs, after traveling the cosmos, would just stop by, shake hands and then leave peacefully. Uh huh.
Omnes Omnibus
@Felonius Monk: Sounds like poor planning to me. Why wasn’t a case or more in reserve for emergencies?
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@dimmsdale: Seitan will provide a rather ground beef-like texture.
Omnes Omnibus
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Satan will do what?
Felonius Monk
@Omnes Omnibus: I prefer the Modelo for cooking and Pacifico for drinking, but when the Pacifico runs out we hit the Modelo. But you’re right, it’s poor planning -–. plain and simple.
Omnes Omnibus
@Felonius Monk: We all make mistakes on occasion.
Adam L Silverman
@Face: its a cookbook! A cookbook!!!!!
Adam L Silverman
@Mike J: @efgoldman: Next time I promise to click on your link and not to read your comment as if its a question. I gotta get some sleep.
Mike in NC
Extremely cold here these past few days, so I suggested to the wife we cook up some winter chili. Fabulous!
Adam L Silverman
@Mike in NC: All part of the service.
Felonius Monk
@efgoldman: Can you shed any light on this little gem:
(Source)
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Omnes Omnibus: You do need to dice it pretty fine, but it gives a very meat-like texture, as opposed to the soy subs.
I made a coffee chocolate chili for a cafe entry into a benefit cookoff, and I braised the meat in double strength coffee to start. Cumin, ancho powder, titch of cinnamon, clove+dark chocolate. Black and pinto beans, onion, garlic, red peppers, served out a giant coffee cup. It was a hit.
PurpleGirl
@Adam L Silverman: Great reference. I love this place.
seaboogie
I am a semi-expert in the business of olive oil and have worked in this industry in various capacities for the last 7 years. You absolutely CAN and SHOULD saute with extra virgin olive oil – it is healthy and delicious and there is no reason not to, unless cost is an issue – but this is the only oil that I cook with.
You do want to have the freshest oil possible – not more than two years old (as it starts to go rancid after that) – and pair the type of olive oil to the typle of dish you are preparing. So – since this is a recipe thread, I will give you all a couple of recommendations for affordable sources of delicious fresh California olive oil from two sources with whom I have a close relationship. With each of these, you are purchasing directly from the onsite mill.
Seka Hills Arbequina. This is a spanish variety of olive that produces a buttery, nutty oil that can be used as a great general purpose oil. They have 3-liter boxes and gallons that make cooking every day with EVOO much more affordable than buying small bottles at the grocery store.
McEvoy Ranch: Estate grown Italian varietals, grassy, peppery and a bit bitter (all positive attributes in olive oil). They have some 2015 harvest Olio Nuovo still available (fresh milled, un-racked, so some sediment is normal) – use this as a condiment, unless you are insanely wealthy. They should have 2015 bulk oil bottled and hopefull bulk oil from the 2015 harvest season available in a month or two.
California Olive Ranch: You should be able to find this at your local Whole Foods – and it is the oil that I purchase off the shelf. Also, they are the source for Trader Joe’s California olive oil.
Lucero: They have many individual varieties of olive oil (Ascolano is the olive oil version of eating a juicy peach) as well as a blended oil available in gallon jugs.
If any of you ever have any olive oil questions – ask away. If I don’t know the answer, I know where to find it.
seaboogie
@Face:
Well, if they are following US politics, I think they’d land, give us a hug and their sympathies – and then zoom off as quickly as possible.
Adam L Silverman
@seaboogie: I’m tracking on all that. I started apprenticing in kitchens when I was fifteen. All I know is everyone says/they say (no one ever says who they are…) you’re not supposed to do it. So I put the footnote in to immunize myself from they – whoever they are.
Adam L Silverman
@seaboogie: Or just set up a mass driver, pull in some large asteroids, and bombard us from orbit to prevent the contamination from spreading.
seaboogie
@Adam L Silverman: Yeah, everyone used to say that about olive oil, but there is a big education and standardization movement afoot for these last several years – driven largely by new world producers such as California and Australia – that is working to inform both consumers and the restaurant industry too.
seaboogie
@Adam L Silverman:
Think that would take out Trump too? Thinking that his narcissistic ego might be the 9th planet that is in the news today. Orbited now by a Palin moon, it appears….
NotMax
As it’s a food thread, gonna mention again that am slightly stumped by a belated holiday gift I unwrapped today – a bottle of (apparently homemade) Krupnik.
That’s gonna last for a while. Mulling over altering a honey cake recipe to incorporate it.
seaboogie
@NotMax: That sounds kind of yummy (I had to look up Krupnik). I’d top with Greek yogurt and toasted chopped pistachios.
NotMax
@seaboogie
The name does sound like it belongs to the black sheep 8th dwarf in Snow White.
kdaug
Don’t know who’s still listening in this cold, dark night, or what the topic of the thread is, but I gotta share – my monster dog had a habit (kinda – twice) last week of getting and eating bread. And some cookies. She was duly notified of her incorrect behavior.
Just now, I found her curled up with an unopened, somewhat intact dual bag of french baguettes. (She busted then in half.) But the bag was unopened, the bread secure
I am not sure that I am capable of such restraint
#bestdogever
JPL
@kdaug: Wow. I know I’m not capable of that type of restraint. Good doggie.
joel hanes
@kdaug:
Don’t know who’s still listening
Acknowledging.
Good dog. Good girl, yes, good dog.
cosima
I make a lot of chili when crowds are expected (had friends with two teenage boys over — wow, they could eat & eat & eat).
I do a lot of the same with my chili, but will add my top additions: a few tablespoons (or roughly 1/4 cup) of dijon mustard (this amount is really dependent upon how much chili you are making, I usually make an enormous slow cooker full). A bit of red wine. I don’t add black beans to mine, as I stick with kidney, soaking them overnight, then cooking for at least a couple of hours with a few whole (peeled) cloves of garlic, salt & a few bay leaves. The local shop does not always carry black beans (and never canned!), so I recently used adzuki (not sure if I spelled that correctly) beans as I would black beans. I have no idea why they had dried adzuki but not black. They seemed an interesting option that was like kidney + black in flavour/consistency, and I’d quite happily use them again. Anyone tried those? They are apparently (had to look up how to cook them online) a magic bean in terms of nutrients, which is saying something given how nutritious bean are in general.
This sounds like a great recipe, but sourcing several of the ingredients would be difficult here in the Highlands. How I would love to see an Anaheim chili again… There is almost nothing that I miss about living in the US, but one thing that my entire family (and other expats we know) miss is good Mexican food. I make what I can (carnitas, salsa & enchilada sauce being the ones that I most often make), but have basically no way of purchasing or making a verde sauce, and that is much missed! Growing is not an option in our small house/garden and this climate — primarily due to space & my complete hopelessness with any sort of plant that needs heroic efforts.
I do order a lot of spices that are out of the norm here in Scotland. Recently purchased allspice online (never find it in a grocery store here), and now have a bag that would last me several lifetimes (and it was the smallest size).
I’ve got to stop reading these recipe threads. It is making me pine for a US grocery store, and that is not a good thing…
raven
It’s soup. No tomatoes no beans,
raven
Texas on the Halfshell
Althea
Dear lord, I couldn’t bring myself to watch the full Sarah Palin video but I did watch that mashup and it was horrifying. Surely she was on high-powered drugs of some kind. Just the fact that people voted for this woman is terrifying to the core. Just a horrible, horrible, nasty, ignorant, barely literate human being. Did I mention horrible?
raven
Donny Douche on Joe “We’re talking about Florida, not some whacko state”!
David *Born in the USA* Koch
@raven: Not some whacko state who couldn’t conduct a simple election in 2000 like Florida. Oh, wait.
Randy P
@dimmsdale:
I’m not a practicing vegetarian but I do like to go veggie occasionally to try to control the calorie/red-meat intake.
Bulgur wheat works pretty well. Gives that same chewiness that’s nice to have in a chili. Just start the chili by heating up water and tossing in the wheat, dry. I tend not to measure so I don’t know how much, but I think it’s around 1/2 cup for a batch that’s going to feed two people.
I’m thinking of experimenting with quinoa for a batch this snowy weekend.
Lentils are also nice to add to a veggie chili, but I think the general effect of lentils is to add body and color to the sauce rather than chewiness, as they get pretty soft. Still, I love lentils and like the colorfulness of mixing several different kinds.
I also like to use several different kinds of beans for variety. Red kidneys are my basic chili bean, but I also like to toss in black beans and occasionally something different like chickpeas or black-eyed peas.
BillinGlendaleCA
@raven: ROTFLMFAO!
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Mike J: Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@seaboogie: I’m no expert on this stuff. My understanding is the smoke point of olive oil can vary dramatically depending on the details of how it’s processed.
My go-to place for ingredient details like this is CloveGarden. Here’s Andrew’s table of smoke points, etc.. EVOO isn’t as good for high temperatures as more refined oils (including light olive oil).
Cheers,
Scott.
Dwight S
Anaheim peppers are NOT Hatch chiles. Hatch chiles are primarily the Big Jim variety, were developed by New Mexico State University and get their unique flavor from the New Mexico soil, water and climate.
Anaheims are basically a waste. If it’s a fresh chile being sold any time other than early Autumn/late Summer, isn’t specifically labeled “Hatch” or “New Mexico,” don’t bother with it.
Ok, back to lurking. . .
Hillary Rettig
Are you talking about me Hillary or the other Hillary?
Life’s gettin’ confusing!
WaterGirl
When I saw the the name on the link with my bleary eyes this morning, I thought it said “with BAD beans” 9instead of red beans0 and I was absolutely certain that this would be a John Cole post.
I’m sure this will be a fine post, just not what I was expecting!
dimmsdale
terrific thread everyone, thanks! I now have a Word doc with Adam’s chile recipe plus everyone’s annotations and additions (including Olive Oil and grain-substitutes appendices) and boy does this look like the weekend for it. Into the master recipe file it goes. Cheers.
NCSteve
Me too. And I do this even though I make my own chili powder which invariably leaves me wondering “so why is it I don’t just triple the amount of cumin when I make the chili powder?” every time I make chili.
Adam L Silverman
@cosima: is that Mexican restaraunt in Edingburgh still there? I know that when I lived in St. Andrews back in the early 90s I could get pretty much anything I needed to make chili and a few other Mexican/New Mexican dishes.
Adam L Silverman
@Hillary Rettig: unless Secretary Clinton starts posting vegan recipes at Ballom Juice, then I’m pretty sure this was for you.
cosima
@Adam L Silverman: We were in Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago (to see Hozier — fabulous!), and I did notice that little Mexican places have begun to pop up more there. We usually hit Edinburgh about every six months, sometimes more, but rarely. Lots to see & do in Scotland (still, after 7 years), and not a lot of free time given school & work schedules to juggle.
However, those places are more along the lines of Chipotle places — burritos done at a counter. Which is better than we have up here, but not worth seeking out. As for a proper Mexican restaurant, not sure about that, will have to do a google search.
I can find some spices easily (cumin, chili powder), other spices have to be ordered (expensive if I want a little, more reasonable if I’m willing to buy in bulk). The main problem here where I live (and it would not be as much of an issue in Edinburgh, I’m guessing) is the selection of out-of-the-norm veg/fruit. The exotic chilies/peppers/etc are difficult or impossible to find here, and certainly would require a long drive (we’re out Ballater way) to Aberdeen and some wishful thinking.
I do my best with what I’ve got access to, though, and we often have friends over to eat Mexican, but it’s not what I’d be able to cook up if in the US (or Edinburgh or Glasgow). Corn tortillas are definitely something that I’ll have to be making myself. BJ needs a corn tortilla thread! I’ve read recipes, but they require shortening, and that’s something that is a bit different here, if you can find it at all.
Mainly I’ve been busy raising children & working & moving around, and not been able to really get down to the business of finding all of the food items that I’d really like.
But I can (and do) make a mean carnitas & chili & fresh salsa (all of which are a revelation to Scots — the food here, not much to love about it).
Gravenstone
@Face: It’s not as if our planet is otherwise invisible to ETs. That’s the whole premise of SETI in the first place, finding radio (or other) transmissions from other stars. Our transmissions to date have simply been random and utterly disjointed. Frankly, that reflects the occupants of this orb better than any scientifically organized and directed transmission would.
Sandia Blanca
@Adam L Silverman: Thanks–that’s what I thought, but you have to admit that “oven-shaped” is an interesting concept!
Adam L Silverman
@cosima: Those weren’t there when I was living there. This was a real sit down restaurant. As I recall the food was pretty decent given that we were in Edinburgh, not Santa Fe. I can’t even remember where in Edinburgh it was to be honest. We went down for the day to an aikido seminar at Laurent Haquin’s dojo, which was at a really big recreational and sports complex in Edinburgh. I just checked the google and it was Viva Mexico:
http://www.viva-mexico.co.uk/
Though Miros’ Cantina looks like it would be good to:
http://www.miroscantinamexicana.com/
I found that the best food for dining out when I lived over there was either pub food, Indian or other ethnic restaurants – we had a couple of great Indian and Chinese restaurants in St. Andrews, or the real high end stuff. Like The Grange outside of St. Andrews on the road to Crail. As for eating at home – I did most of my cooking and a fair amount for my housemates. Day to day I found it was cheaper and easier to eat in a semi-assimilated style in terms of getting and affording groceries than trying to eat like an American. In a lot of ways I miss living over there. In some other ways, such as food, I don’t.
Adam L Silverman
@Sandia Blanca: Yes, yes it is.
cosima
@Adam L Silverman: thanks for the links. Some of the things on the menus looked delicious (some made me laugh — the authentic Mexican food with mash, for example).
I really could not survive here if I tried to eat like a Scot. I was pregnant when we first moved here, and lived almost exclusively on rice krispies and apples for the first month. Yesterday I saw someone eating blood pudding and it brought back horrible memories of eating out during that time (fancy restaurant + blood pudding at the next table = running out of the restaurant to avoid an incident). When we eat out I always order chicken breast or steak & ale pie. That’s it. For seven years of Scotland life. There is a fabulous Italian restaurant in Edinburgh now if you ever go back. On George St. So wonderful — good Italian food is not quite as rare here as Mexican, but close.
There’s a shop here (in our village) that actually — for some reason that is incomprehensible to me — makes an effort to stock the most obscure ingredients (it’s where I got my adzuki beans). The problem with shopping there is that they seem to hate all of their customers (not just Americans), and you can never be sure if they will re-stock something if it sells.
Ultimately, though, the trade-offs are well worth it. Basically a completely idyllic life. And if I’m really desperate for something that can be shipped without worry of breakage/leakage I ask my daughter (in Vermont) to send it, or my parents.
Adam L Silverman
@cosima: there’s a lot of good Italian good in Scotland. As you know there were a lot of Italian POWs stayed after WW II.
What village do you live in?
Billy K
@raven: Finally, a voice of reason.
Enjoy your beef and bean casserole, heathens.