Jack Kerouac, as Sal Paradise once said: "I like too many things and get all confused and hung-up running from one falling star to another till i drop. This is the night, what it does to you. I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion." And I think that's a rather apt description of my blog over the years, and perhaps the most perfect description of me in general that I've ever read. So that's what this blog is, a collection of the falling stars that are beckoning me at any time.

21 January 2009

Confessions of a Chili Anarchist


I'm making chili for dinner tomorrow. For me it's a two day process to make chili. I take it seriously, also I make really hot chili. We're talking the Guatamalan Insanity Pepper, need to drink a melted candle, go on a spirit quest hot. (Or at least a first test indicates that tomorrow's batch will fit this description.)

While I was wprking on the day one preparations, it occurred to me that I have never had an actual recipe for Chili, it's just pure chili anarchy. Not anarchy really, because I do actually have a method which doesn't really vary, but the ingredient percentages vary wildly. I've never had a bad batch though, just usually too many days worth of left-overs.

The BonjourMiette Chili Method:

approximate ingredients:
-Dark Red Kidney Beans (highest bean concentration)
-Black Beans (like 1 can)
-Great Northern Beans (like 1 can, these don't always make it in)
-Can of crushed tomatoes (the decently big size can)
-can of corn (sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't)
-can of chopped green chilies
-peppers (couple of fresh jalepenos, fresnos, serranos, habeneros, and thai chilies if they're around and looking good, de-seeded and chopped up into wee bits)
-1 bottle of beer
-1 tube of gimme lean faux sausage
cayenne pepper
cumin
chili powder
cinnamon
cilantro

the method: This is a slow cooker method.

Day one:
mix crushed tomatoes, beans (rinsed), corn, chopped green chilies, and all the peppers in the slow cooker. Sprinkle in all the spices (except cinnamon) in a guesstimate of what will be good. Cook on low for a couple hours. Taste and adjust seasonings. Cool and put in fridge over-night to allow heat the develop and flavours to meld.

Day two:

Take inner part of slow cooker out of fridge, but back in base and turn on (low for 10 hours setting) tear the tube of faux sausage into chunks and put into chili. Pour bottle of beer in. add a wee bit of cinnamon. Let cook all day.

Serve with cheddar cheese shreds, crackers and sour cream.

Wax for tongue optional =)

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