Some of my favorite things about fall are... pumpkins. I love them, and I LOVE pumpkin ice cream (and pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars... you name it). Sugar cookies, molasses cookies, candy, dressing up the kids, fall leaves, fun and spooky decorations, etc. I really like the crisp air, though not too cold! For some reason my personal thermostat has me cold all the time, which is quite unusual for me. Soups are a thing I enjoy as well, and it is kind of weird to eat Taco Soup when it is 90 degrees outside (though I do anyway), so it feels more "right," now that it is a little chilly. Speaking of, for our activity this weekend, we are having a chili cook off and so I am going to make some (to make sure we have enough). I am not a chili-lover alone, I like it on potatoes, with chips, etc. Well last night I decided to make kind of a weird chili, since I am making this for others and they are not going to know it is mine, I thought hmm.... I am going to try something different. I really liked it! So I decided to share with you the recipe. It seems like a lot of work, but its not too bad, and the flavor really did pay off. I am a 'mild' person and I am not sure if the heat was cause of the peppers I used (on accident- I knew I had either Serrano or jalapenos, I just was not sure which... turns out it was the Serranos...), cause it was way spicier than I typically like, however it was good enough to keep me eating it. So please, if you like chili and want to try something new, try this recipe. Just make sure you put in the right peppers/amount of peppers to your liking :)
Ed's Chicago Cocoa Chili
(found on http://www.recipezaar.com/, which I LOVE... they even do nutritional values on there)
Ed Heller (also found on http://www.edheller.com/) is the chef and he has additional tips, etc that I am not going to type out... This is what he wrote, so it looks long and drawn out, but really, it is not hard.
SERVES 10 -20 , 6 1/2 quarts
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef (you can actually use any ground meat combination — turkey, chicken, Italian sausage, or use frozen )
1 medium yellow sweet onion, chopped or diced (vidalia, oso, etc.)
1 sweet bell pepper, chopped or diced (any color)
2 stalks celery, chopped or diced
1 carrot, chopped or diced
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced or chopped (remove the seeds and membrane from one pepper, use other types of hot peppers if you dare!)
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (Dei Fratelli brand is very consistent)
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
4-8 garlic cloves, smashed silly
salt and pepper, a few shakes here and there can't hurt
1/4 cup prepared sweet-and-sour mix (pick up a bottle of Mr. & Mrs. T's sweet-and-sour mix from your grocery store liquor aisle) *** this is non-alcoholic (like a margarita mix, and found with them).
1/8 cup orange juice
1/8 cup lime juice
1/8 cup lemon juice
1-2 ounce dark chocolate (70% dark preferred)
THE KILLER COCOA CHILI SPICE MIX
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
2 teaspoons Mexican chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried cilantro
1/2 cup brown sugar (leave this separate if you want to adjust the sweetness of your chili)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
Directions
1. Assemble the spice mix into an airtight container ahead of time. Most of these ingredients are approximate. Seasonings must be to taste; you're shooting for the perfect SWEET,SALTY,SPICY combo.
2. CHOP ALL THE VEGGIES UP BEFORE YOU START ANYTHING ELSE. (If you want to save some time: instead of the onion and bell pepper, you can use a bag of frozen "seasoning mix", which includes onions, bell peppers and sometimes small amounts of carrots and celery. you can find this in most frozen veggie aisles.).
3. Inside a BIG, DEEP, REALLY DEEP cast iron pot (about 7 qt), on HIGH HEAT, BROWN THE GROUND MEAT to about medium rare (You do not need to completely brown the meat, because it will continue to cook in the pot).
4. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
5. Drain off or use the ladle to take out the excess fat, but leave some of it in the pot to fry the vegetables. If there is not enough fat left over, add a little peanut, or canola oil at this time.
6. Push the meat to one side to make space to fry the vegetables and Reduce the heat to MEDIUM/HIGH.
7. On the empty side of the skillet, add the onions and the jalapenos, then add all the rest of the vegetables.
8. SAUTE/FRY the veggies for a few minutes.
9. Season the veggies lightly with salt and pepper. Try to get the veggies on the bottom of the pan, and the meat on top of the veggies. This way the meat doesn't burn and the veggies get cooked. If you're freaking out about this, just take the meat out first (put it in a bowl), add the veggies to the bottom of the skillet, then add the meat back on top. I'm just trying to keep this a ONE-POT cooking experience.
10. Make a little space on the bottom of the pan.
11. Add the tomato paste (don't worry if you can't get the entire contents of the can out).
12. Cook the paste for a minute, then mix everything in the pot together.
13. Add the crushed tomatoes.
14. Season the tomatoes with a little salt.
15. Stir in the KILLER COCOA CHILI SPICE MIX.
16. Keep stirring, keep a very slow boil or a simmer.
17. Add Lemon juice, Lime juice, Orange juice, and Sweet & Sour Mix.
18. Also add the dark chocolate pieces. Let the heat from the chili melt the chocolate and then.
19. STIR STIR STIR.
20. Taste it (something not right? Fix it!).
21. If it's too hot or salty, add a little more brown sugar.
22. If it's not salty enough, add a little more salt,'ya silly!
23. Not hot enough for ya?.
24. Add more hot peppers, or a splash of Tabasco hot sauce.
25. Set the heat to LOW.
26. Partially cover and simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
27. TURN OFF THE HEAT.
28. Congratulations!
You now have the best chili on the planet.
You can keep this chili covered in the pot for hours.
Serve with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and Frito's corn chips or cornbread.
STORING THE CHILI:.
I like to put the chili in those Ziploc disposable/reusable containers.
You can refrigerate or freeze the chili in them really easy.
The chili reheats very well in the microwave.
Refrigerated chili is probably good for a week.
Frozen chili is probably good for months.
The chili defrosts in about 2 days if moved from freezer to refrigerator.
AWESOME CHILI DOGS!
Use all-beef hot dogs like Vienna Beef, Klement's or Nathan's.
Other hot dogs do not deserve this chili.
NO BEANS? WHAT GIVES?.
As a big fan of chili, I've discovered that it's origins do not include beans.
"Anyone who knows beans about chili, knows that chili ain't got no beans!".
Beans were added later, probably because beans are cheaper than meat or out of sheer confusion between chili and baked beans. But BEANS ARE FREAKIN GASSY!
I don't like gassy chili, and I'd hope you don't either.
If you REALLY MUST HAVE BEANS, you can add a can of them to this recipe, it won't hurt the chili.
You can also substitute those soybean crumbles for the meat, which works very well with this recipe, but then remember to make sure you add some type of oil to fry the veggies.
You can check my website, http://www.edheller.com , for any updates or additions to this recipe. There is also a printable PDF version there.
Here is what I did different- I accidentally used Serrano peppers and knowing that this was a possibility, I removed all the seeds. I chopped everything vegetable up with my food chopper (pampered chef), so it was not chunky. I am a dope and forgot the garlic. I love garlic, so that is unfortunate. I used 91/9 ground beef. And I did add beans. This is for a large group of people and I wanted to stretch it as far as possible, plus I have a case of kidney beans, so I added two cans. Really, not too many compared to the amount this chili makes, so they are just an accent. I went to the store to buy the sweet and sour and I am a DOPE and forgot to buy the chocolate, so I used some unsweetened baking chocolate. Maybe it would be better with the good stuff.
I just have to say though, that I am pretty picky and did not expect to actually like this chili. I pretty much knew Jody would like it and I just wanted to watch reactions and hear what people in my ward have to say about it. I just could not stop eating my bowl (but no more... it was hot... but keep in mind, too much mild salsa is hot to me, so I am a big wimp). The flavor is good enough to just keep tasting it (the hot does not come at first).
The Pumpkin Patch, this year
Not very cooperative...
Classic Sydney expression...
Could they actually look at me at the same time (and have smiles, not dirty looks)?
Finding the perfect pumpkin (only to have mom make him put it back).
Another Classic Sydney look.
