Diner-Style Chili & Beer Biscuits

On a chilly evening, what could be more welcome than a nice, hot bowl of chili?

In one of my recent posts, I mentioned that my mom, my sister & I lived with my grandparents the year I was three. I recall my mom making chili throughout my childhood, even in the heat of the Philippines! When we lived in Port Orchard, Mom would occasionally make dinner so Gramma could have a break, and chili was often on the menu on those days. We always had Premium Saltines with our chili.

Unfortunately, I've never been able to duplicate my mom's recipe for chili, which was pretty straightforward, no-frills, American diner-style chili, that was more soupy than stewy. Of course, it's been so many years since she cooked she doesn't remember how to make it.

In May of 1988, I had the rare opportunity to visit Port Orchard. I was living in Wisconsin at the time, and we drove from there to Gramma's house. Sadly, we lost both my dad and Grampa in February of 1987. By then, Gramma was in her eighties. and my Aunt Helen and her three daughters, Nina, Anna, and Amanda, now lived in the little green house with Gramma and took care of her. I was thrilled when Aunt Helen made, guess what! My mom's chili! for dinner one evening, complete with saltine crackers on the side. For whatever reason, I didn't manage to get the recipe.

Recently, I tried Coleen's Turkey and Black Bean Chili and discovered that the flavor is very similar to Mom's chili. Coleen's chili is thicker, but it's just so delicious! If you want a really yummy, easy to fix, no-fuss chili that is not too spicy for kids, Coleen's chili definitely fills the bill.

I especially LOVE Coleen's unique way of serving the chili, which reminds me of the Frito Pie so beloved in the Ozarks. We used to take DS to the Springfield, MO Zoo just to pig out on cardboard dishes of Frito pie.... Anyway, Coleen likes to eat her chili ladled over a bed of fresh greens and Fritos corn chips, topped with sliced grape tomatoes, chopped avocado, sour cream, and shredded cheese. This is HEAVEN-- even without the cheese and sour cream. It's a fun study in contrasts, a cool & hot, tangy & velvety, crunchy & chewy chili salad!

Below is my slight spin on Coleen's chili, which really goes back to basics. It is very quick to prep because all you have to do is chop an onion and some garlic and open a few cans. It does need a a couple of hours to simmer and mellow, but you can of course do other things while you're waiting. Instead of saltines, you may enjoy trying the beer biscuits below, which I find are absolutely perfect with chili (not that you need them if you serve the chili with Fritos, LOL!) A big plus is that this chili is actually a really good use for ground turkey (which in general I'm not crazy about)!

Diner-Style Chili Elsie

by DomesticMuse

2 lb. ground beef or ground turkey

1 T canola oil (more, as needed)

1 onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 T chili powder

2 t ground cumin

5 c. water

1 12 oz. can tomato paste

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with jalapenos

1 T sugar

1 t. salt

2 15 oz. cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 4 oz. can green chiles, chopped

1. Spray a heavy soup pot with non-stick spray. Add the oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the meat and brown well. Stir until most of the liquid thrown off by the meat has evaporated. If there is excess grease, drain it before proceeding.

2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the diced onion. Saute, stirring, until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, until the spices have a chance to really soak into the meat and onion mixture.

4. Add the remaining ingredients and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the chili to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer.

5. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours, or until chili is nice and thick. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

DS's plate:

When I met my friend Julia in grad school, I knew I had found a kindred spirit. Julia grew up in Peru, the birthplace of potatoes. She had me in stitches telling me about her first visit to Burger King in the U.S., where she requested a side of mayonnaise with her order. "What for?" the counter dweeb asked. "Why, for my fries, of course!!" Julia replied with offended hauteur, which quickly turned to mortification as she realized that ketchup is the preferred condiment for fries here.

I must confess to a penchant for mayo on my fries, too... but my absolute favorite thing to dip my fries into? Green Goddess dressing, no contest. I love the stuff. Since I am eating my chili sans cheese and sour cream, I was inspired to try a little GG on it. Oh, yeah-- total heaven in my bowl!! I LOVE IT!!

Here's my plate:

Yum-o!!

Here is a closer look at all the scrumptious goodies!

Bubba's Beer Biscuits are the easiest thing in the world to whip up, and are terrific with chili.

This is a completely unadulterated Paula Deen recipe. All I have done is cut it in half so it makes 6-8 biscuits instead of 12-16.

BTW, did any of y'all catch Kristen Wiig's Paula impersonation on SNL last week? I was cracking up as she was going on about all the "boo-ter" and "awl" in the food. Well, for sure don't leave out the boo-ter in the recipe below, or you will end up with brickettes instead of biscuits. NOT a good thing!

Bubba's Beer Biscuits by Paula Deen

2 c. Bisquick or other baking mix

1/4 c. sugar

1 T melted butter

6 fl. oz. beer (any kind will do)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray. In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Spoon it into the tins. Bake for 15-20 min.

These are not especially pretty, but are so easy and so good.

Buen provecho!

Chipotle Cheese-Fries Chili

I am so furious with Chase Bank right now I could just spit. I really need to get some work done, but I'm so mad, I can't concentrate. So I'll finish this post for the Chili Cook-Off Challenge, and I'll feel better, LOL!

Yes, it's time once more for Gloria's Chili Cookoff over at Foods and Flavors of San Antonio. This month has really flown by!


I recently watched DC and DS eagerly devour a plate full of greasy french fries covered with melted cheese goo and some chili, with apparent enjoyment. Perhaps it's because I lack the Y chromosome, but the charm of chili cheese fries simply eludes me. For one thing, the chili and cheese make the fries soggy. Then when you pick up a french fry to eat it, all the chili and cheese fall off, leaving you with a naked piece of sodden potato.

There really must be a better way to enjoy the tastes and textures of chili, cheese, and fries. So just for fun, I decided to create a recipe for

Chipotle-Cheese-Fries Chili
By DomesticMuse

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb. ground sirloin
1 lb. hot pork breakfast sausage
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
2 T chili powder
1 t. oregano
1 T dark brown sugar
1 t. salt
1/2 t, freshly ground black pepper
1 T ground cumin
2 t. chipotle chile powder

1/2 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
2 cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans
1 1 lb. bag frozen corn
5-6 c. V-8 juice
1/2 bag mini tater tots
1/2 lb. Velveeta, cut into 1/4 in." cubes

For serving:
sour cream
chopped scallions
crumbled bacon
finely shredded Mexican-blend cheese

First, brown the pork sausage and the ground sirloin. When well browned, remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add 2 T extra virgin olive oil and saute the onion, pepper, garlic, and serrano over medium heat.

Return the ground sirloin and sausage to the pot. Add the chili powder, chipotle chile powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and brown sugar. Cook together for 1-2 minutes. Then add the Rotel tomatoes, the Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, the chipotle peppers, the kidney beans, the corn, and the V-8 juice. Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered, for 1 1/2 -2 hrs., until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chili is just starting to cook:


Ready!!


About 3o minutes before serving the chili, preheat the oven to 450F. Spread the tater tots on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until browned and crisp.

Now it's time to build our chili masterpiece!

Put some of the hot tots in an individual serving bowl.

My velveeta cubes: You know, the Mexican-style Velveeta would have been really good here, but the Teeter didn't have it.

Put some of the cubed Velveeta on top of the tots.

Ladle some of the hot chili over the cheese and tater tots.
Then add some of this:

And some of this:

And some sour cream and some shredded Mex blend cheese.

Voila! Chili heaven!


I was amazed at how delcious this chili turned out to be! We really enjoyed the combination of flavors, from the smoky heat of the chipotles to the creaminess of the Velveeta to the earthy crunch of the potatoes. Yeah, I know Velveeta isn't real cheese. But some dishes just wouldn't be right without it! The melting factor is kind of critical here. Perhaps I should have called this "White Trash Chipotle-Cheese-Fries Chili." :)

Between the serranos, the chipotles in adobo, and the chipotle chile powder, this is some seriously spicy chili! The heat from the chili and the tater tots melts the Velveeta cubes, which blend right into the chili and, along with the sour cream, tame the spiciness perfectly. For maximum crunch, you could put the tater tots on top of the chili rather than underneath it.

To go with the chili, I made a very refreshing salad of julienned jicama and pineapple tidbits tossed with the juice of one fresh lime, salt, pepper, ancho chile powder, a litttle pineapple juice, and some olive oil. I'm crazy about the juicy crunchiness of jicama, so I was glad that DC and DS enjoyed the salad too. The anchopowder had an unfortunate effect on the color of the jicama, but it tasted good!


For dessert, I made homemade lavender and lemonade ice cream, but we ate dinner so late we didn't get around to dessert. I'll have to report on that another time.

!Buen provecho!

Calypso Chili! plus an award!

I'm just squeaking under the wire here for Gloria's marvelous Chili Cookoff over atFoods and Flavors of San Antonio.


Recently I was shopping with my BFF, Todd, at the Triangle's truly amazing gourmet store, A Southern Season, and found they have an amazing variety of dried beans in the "grocery" section. I've been interested in trying Calypso beans for a while now, ever since I read about them in Passionate Vegetarian. Lo and behold, there was a package of Red Calypso Beans at SS, so I snapped it up. Along with about $40 0f fine leaf tea-- but more about that in another post.

Calypso beans are an heirloom variety that most commonly come in black and white, but they also come in red and butterscotch. I found today that they maintain their distinctive coloring even when cooked.


I thought it would be fun to create a chili recipe using the Calypso beans, so even though this isn't strictly Tex-Mex cooking, here is my original recipe for this month's Chili Cookoff Challenge. My inspiration for this recipe was the delicious pot of borracho beans I made last week to go with Dee's fantastic Easy Sour Cream Enchiladas. Dee, they were incredible!!! We will be making your enchiladas often. My borracho beans were the perfect complement!

CALYPSO CHILI by DomesticMuse

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. calypso beans
2 dried guajillo chiles
2 lg. cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 14 oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
2 c. beer (I used Sierra Nevada Pale Ale)
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground sirloin
2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. dried oregano
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 lg. onion, chopped
1 fresh poblano, stemmed, seeded and diced
1/2 orange bell pepper
3 lg. garlic cloves, chopped
2 c. peach-pineapple salsa

Instructions:

Rinse the beans well and pick over to remove any debris.

Spray a large cooking pot with nonstick spray. Add the beans, dried guajillos, bay leaves, garlic, 2 t. salt and water to cover by 2 inches.

Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer until the beans are tender, aboutu 1 1/2 hrs.

Remove the guajillos from from the pot, remove the stems and discard, and place the chiles in a blender with enough of the cooking liquid to puree. Bltz to puree.

Pour the puree back into the bean pot. Rinse the residue out of the blender with a little water and add to the pot.

Add the fire roasted tomatoes, the tomato paste, and the beer to the beans. Simmer 5-10 minutes to let the flavors blend. Reduce to low heat.

Meanwhile, spray a large skillet with non-stick spray and add 2 T extra virgin olive oil. Heat over medium heat and add the ground sirloin and the ground pork.


Cook, stirring, until well-browned. Add 2t t. ground cumin, 1/2 t. dried oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Cook 1-2 more minutes to blend the flavors, then with a slotted spoon, lift the browned meat out of the pan and add to the bean pot
.

Pour off all but 2 T fat from the skillet. Add the chopped bacon, and fry slowly over medium heat, until browned. Remove the bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon and add to the bean pot. Add the onion to the skillet and cook in the bacon fat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the fresh chopped poblano and the sweet bell pepper to the skillet, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook, stirring, 2 more minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant.


Add the onions, peppers and garlic to the bean pot. Stir in the peach-pineapple salsa. Taste and add seasonings as needed.


You can see the pineapple pieces here:


Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese and chopped avocado. You also can't go wrong with some cornbread!



The Calypso Chili was really tasty. I was suprised at how flavorful it was, even though it was not spicy hot. For those who like chili but not heat, this could be the perfect dish!

I'd like to thank the ever-cool Girlichef, Heather, for sharing the Sisterhood Award
with me!

Heather is the greatest-- she always has a kind word or a funny story to offer! Heather was tremendously helpful in answering some chefly questions I had last month about my joust entry, so I owe her bigtime for that! (E.g., will ground nuts stick to scallops? And if they do, how do you keep them from burning?) Heather's blog, Girlichef is awesome, and big fun, so if you haven't ventured over there, do so post-haste!! She's showing how to make rootbeer floats from homemade rootbeer-- how cool is THAT???? Heather, thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing the Sisterhood award with me! You really made my week! And thanks to all of you for your support as I have been transitioning between homes. Food bloggers are the best, most creative, awesome, and wonderful people there are!

I know you have all been hearing this forever, but I am putting togetherthe EONA roundup and will announce winners soon... very soon!

Yours in culinary love,
DomesticMuse