Food Fare

ChiliCompiled by Joanne M. Anderson

It’s HOT like popular, and it’s HOT like tasty!

About the only sure thing about chili is that it did not originate in Mexico, and it’s not common to find it served there. Texas cowboys and San Antonio cooks are likely the early chili makers. Ranch hands who moved cattle a couple centuries ago needed a good, hot meal. Trail cooks pounded dried beef, fat, chile peppers and seasonings together, storing them in “bricks”, then adding boiling water along the trail.

Trail cooks are rumored to have planted peppers, onions and herbs in mesquite patches, where cattle won’t graze, to use later along the trail routes for this belly-warming stew. Along the way beans were added, then tomatoes, and then chicken with white beans.

White Bean Chicken Chili

• 1 tablespoon olive oil • 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves • 1 large onion, chopped • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 5¼ cups chicken broth • 3 15-oz. cans cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained • 2 4-oz cans chopped green chiles • 1 Tbl. dried oregano • 1 tsp. ground cumin • 2 pinches cayenne pepper • ½ cup shredded cheese

Heat olive oil and cook chicken, onion and garlic, about 3 min. per side until browned. Cut chicken in pieces, return to pan and add broth, beans, chiles, oregano, cumin and cayenne pepper. Simmer 30-45 min. until chicken is fully cooked. Season with salt and garnish is bowls with cheese.

Adventurous Additives for Chili

• Coffee • Beer • Soy crumbles in place of meat • Honey • Wine • Squeeze of lime • Smoked paprika for a kick • Apples • Shot of bourbon • Thicken with cornmeal • Can of pumpkin • BBQ sauce • Unsweetened cocoa powder or espresso • Liquid smoke • Pineapple

Cincinnati Chili Lowdown:

Bowl: chili in a bowl Two-way: chili and spaghetti Three-way: chili, spaghetti and cheese Four-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese and onions Five-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, onions and beans Four-way bean: chili, spaghetti, cheese, and beans (beans substituted for the onions)