Double-Beer, Triple-Bean Chili

Chili is something that my family loves, but we rarely ever make it the same way twice. We've made Chili Con Cacao, using raw cacao nibs; I doubled the meat (beef and buffalo), the beans, the peppers, and the cacao-derivatives with a Double-Double-Double Chili; Pumpkin Chili and Pumpkin Cornbread made an appearance during one of my pumpkin-obsessed Octobers; and my Chili al Diavolo took the title of 'Grand Champion' at our friends' 4th of July chili cook-off.

So, when we were planning Riley's 10th birthday camping trip to Half Moon Bay State Beach, I decided that a pot of steaming, gently-spiced chili was just the ticket to stave off the gloom that descends on California's central coast come June first. June gloom last year. June gloom this year. For his birthday camping trip last year, I made a pot of seafood chowder. One year I'd love for it to be warm enough to serve gazpacho!

Here's the version of chili that I made for the crew of twenty, serving it with some rounds of Trader Joe's cornbread. Yum. It's best to make this the day before you are going to serve it so that the flavors have time to develop.

2 pounds of 96/4 ground beef
2 onions, peeled and diced
2 red peppers, deseeded and diced
1/2 L chocolate stout (I used a Trader Joe's beer)
1 can organic black beans
1 can organic red kidney beans
1 can organic garbanzo beans
splash of olive oil
2 C fresh tomato sauce
1 bottle beer (I used a wheat beer)
paprika
cumin
ancho chili
smoked sea salt
flower pepper
unsulphered molasses
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder

Sauté onions in a splash of olive oil till softened and translucent. Add ground beef and cook through completely. Add the chocolate stout and cook till the liquid is almost completely absorbed. Stir in the peppers. Season with paprika, cumin, ancho chili, smoked sea salt, flower pepper. Add in the beans. Stir in tomatoes, molasses, soy sauce, the other bottle of beer, and cocoa powder. Simmer for 40 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, and a side of cornbread.

*Update 1/4/2013: I am linking this recipe to Kate Martinelli's Chili Linky Party.*

Comments

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy. Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t...

Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies #SundayFunday

Today the Sunday Funday group is celebrating childhood favorites. Thanks to Stacy of Food Lust People Love , Sue of Palatable Pastime , Rebekah of Making Miracles , and Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm for coordinating this low-stress group. Today Stacy is hosting and she's given us the following prompt: "Childhood favorites. Did you have a favorite dish growing up? It could be something your family cooked or a restaurant dish, even a Chef Boyardee canned good or packaged ingredients like Rice-a Roni or mac and cheese. Recreate THAT dish from SCRATCH for this event." Here's the #SundayFunday childhood favorites line-up... Chili Mac from A Day in the Life on the Farm Ham and Mushroom Breakfast Burritos from Making Miracles Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Homemade Wonder Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories K-Mart Sub Sandwiches from Palatable Pastime Kempakki Dosa from Sizzling Tastebuds Meat Chilly Fry...

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce...

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Search This Blog