If you are a fan of “This Is Us”, the television phenomenon, you may have seen the episode leading up to this week’s Finale after the Super Bowl. Last week, Jack and Rebecca were all prepared for Super Bowl Sunday. I don’t know how emotionally prepared this particular far is for this Sunday’s angst-awaited edition. (I took an online test that confirmed I am not at all ready…you can take it here to see if you are…https://www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson/this-is-us-jacks-death-episode-help?utm_term=.eyx3R0W36&quiz_result=120404407_357414158#.ysgG9w3Gq)
But I digress. Jack and Rebecca were abandoned by their teen-aged Kate, Kevin and Randall who went off
in various directions to see the Super Bowl elsewhere. That left Jack and Rebecca with a large batch of Chili con Carne. Lucky them! Forget the billions of Chicken Wings that will be sacrificed on the altar of Pro Football, big bowls of Chili make perfect sense for this Sunday. And I think I have a perfect chili recipe. This recipe is no all-day affair. You will be in and out of the kitchen in a half hour. That’s it. Then the pot sits on the stove for another hour. You can easily double or triple the recipe so can make a big batch this weekend and ladle it out all next week.
When I came across a recipe for Bourbon Chili, I was intrigued. But the original recipe included the cardinal sin that true chili makers just won’t stand for. The recipe was chock-a-block full of beans–both black beans and garbanzo beans. Now if you’ve looked at my previous chili recipe at http://chewingthefat.us.com/2011/12/texas-beef-brisket-chili-with-butternut.html, you may remember the phrase “If you know beans about chili, you know chili has no beans.” So I set out to make my own bowl of Bourbon Chili minus the b
One of my favorite vegetarian chilis comes from a place called “The Village Cheese Shop” (11 Main St., Southampton NY). This particular chili is memorable for its large pieces of vegetables in every serving. Every element is recognizable. Big chunks of tomatoes and green peppers combined with onions in a very large dice make this chili a standout. So I wanted to do the same thing with mine. I also enlarged the number of sweet peppers to 4, one of every color–green, red, orange, and yellow. The ‘sleeves’ of 3 bell peppers that seem to be ubiquitous in supermarkets, were augmented with one big, beautiful green bell pepper. For the tomatoes, I used Red Pak canned whole tomatoes that I sliced in half so they retained their shape through the cooking process. Whole canned tomatoes are almost always superior to the cut-up variety. The latter can contain bits and pieces of tomatoes of unknown origin. Aside from giving my Bourbon Chili more chunks, it also makes a better chili.
Monte – How much chipotle pepper powder do you recommend, or would you suggest "to taste"?
Thank you for writing and thank you for pointing out a dreadful omission in the recipe. I have now amended it to read
2 tbsp. chipotle chili powder. As I am a great lover of chillies, I think your suggestion of 'to taste' is likely a great idea for those among us who are non-heat seekers.
Thanks for the update! I happen to be making the chili right now. When do you add the cooked beef back to the mixture? Thanks!
You should put it in when you add the tomatoes. I can't believe how badly I wrote this recipe. Please forgive me and may I thank you for your help. I have altered the recipe to make up for my omission.
No problem at all! I've tried to write down recipes before, and I've found it to be more of a challenge than I would expect. When you're cooking, you tend to do things automatically so it's easy to forget a step or two. I just really appreciate how quickly you've responded to my questions. Thanks! The chili smells DELICIOUS! Can't wait to taste it.
And I can't wait to hear if you liked it! MM
Wow! The chili was delicious. The bourbon imparted a nice depth of flavor, and I really loved the variety of peppers in the dish. I reduced the amount of chili powder, chipotle pepper powder, and cayenne, to suit my "tender" palate. I served it with homemade cornbread. Mmm-mmm. This one will go in my repeater file. Thanks for the recipe!
So very pleased you liked it! I think it's a winner and now that you've helped me sort out the recipe, everyone will be able to make it perfectly. All best and thank you for taking the time to comment. Monte