The other day, I was talking to someone who has made a couple of my recipes and we got into a conversation about the variety of stuff I put up on the site. The discussion came around to approachability. The recipes they made were the more straightforward ones with less ingredients. The discussion reminded me of when I started cooking - actually, even as little as 10 years ago - when I would get a copy of Food & Wine or Saveur or Bon Appetit. The food all looked amazing, but damn, why were there 30 ingredients?!
As time went along, and I kept getting enticed by these amazing food photos and descriptions of the dishes, I decided to tackle one that had probably around 20 ingredients and many steps. I came to 2 conclusions: the dish was great and maybe, just maybe, all of these damn ingredients were necessary. As time went along, I tried more and more and they all were great. I don’t go out of my way to try and be complicated. I try to be detailed and I make something good and I share it with you. Do I expect everyone to go out and try to make a farcement in a mock bain-marie, or an invisible pie?! Hell naw...I can’t believe I convinced myself to make those, to be honest! But, if you don’t take any risks, do you ever progress or get comfortable outside of your comfort zone?
When we wrapped up our conversation, I let the person know that I would, in fact, have another approachable recipe coming up for National Chili Day and thanked them for their feedback. I hope that you all don’t get spooked by my more involved recipes. Please trust that every step and every ingredient has its place within the dish. With all that being said, who’s ready for my winter-spiced chili? It only has (checks notes) 16 different spices...maybe approachable isn’t my thing, lol.
Winter-spiced chili
Ok, you don’t have to use all of these spices. If you want, go ahead and use your favorite store bought mix. Just bump up the chili powder, add a little cinnamon and a splash of whiskey and you’ll get close to this recipe. I started this variation of my regular fall-style chili and it’s a nice kick in the pants in the middle of winter.
Spice mix
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp each of paprika, smoked paprika, dried oregano, dried cilantro
2 tsp cinnamon
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp each of cocoa powder, ground mustard, onion powder
1/2 tsp each of ancho chili powder, chili flakes, ground cardamom, ground coriander, and garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Chili
1 large white onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 large jalapeño peppers, minced (stems and seeds removed)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground chuck (80% lean)
1 tbsp tomato paste
Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of whiskey
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 cup of beef stock
2 cans of your favorite beans for chili, drained and rinsed
Bay leaf
Smoked cheddar cheese
Sour cream or Mexican crema
Combine the spice mix ingredients in a bowl and mix well. This mix makes ½ cup. You’ll only need half for this recipe, save the remainder for another batch of chili or double-up the chili recipe.
In a large pot, heat a tbsp of oil over medium heat and sauté the onion and peppers, with a pinch of salt, until softened.
Increase the heat to medium-high. Stir in the garlic until fragrant. Then, add in the beef in large chunks and season well with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Once the meat has nearly cooked through, stir in the tomato paste until well incorporated. Stir in a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and the whiskey and cook until it has nearly evaporated.
Stir in the tomatoes, beef stock, beans and bay leaf. Season with some more salt and pepper.
Bring the pot to a full boil. Then, lower the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, uncovered, for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
Serve with grated smoked cheddar cheese and sour cream of your choice.
______________________________ Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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