Cooking is Better than Potpourri
Nov 7th, 2009 by Alex
I am one of nine participants in my office’s chili cook-off this coming Tuesday, contending for nothing more than bragging rights. I decided to go off-reservation a bit by utilizing a recipe I’ve never tried before. I wanted to allow the flavors to meld for a few days, so I started this morning.
A mixture of tomatoes, ground beef, spicy sausage, onions, bacon, beans — because I’m not a chili purist — and a few other other not-so-secret ingredients have been simmering in the Dutch oven for the past couple hours.
None of the ingredients were hard to locate. The preparation was easy enough, but took a bit of time. My largest skillet can only handle a pound of meat at a time, so there were several rounds of cooking, draining, and reloading. The recipe makes just about 7 quarts. My Dutch oven has a 7 quart capacity, which meant I had to keep an eye on it and shift the contents periodically to prevent it all from bubbling over.
With only a few minor modifications to the recipe, it turned out pretty well. I don’t know if it will win, but I think people will enjoy it. It’s sweet with a unique woodsy flavor. It’s a firm “medium” on the spice scale, but it’s the sort that grows in intensity the more you have. With eight other batches to sample, it should be approachable to most of the judges and my fellow coworkers. It’s perfectly fine solo, but would also be well suited over rice or tortillas.
The house smells amazing.
There must have been something in the air this weekend, I made a veggie chili Friday night. Maybe it was just the fact that the air has been so cold that made it feel right.
Yesterday morning, upon return from the farmer’s market, I was greeted by the smell of chili spices as I walked in the door. Good olfactory vibes.