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Friday, November 22, 2002God bless the Internet.
Christina accused me of being a bit obsessed with the whole chili thing. Whatever. It's just nice to have a project that doesn't involve html layout. And what else am I gonna talk about on the blog – Bollywood musicals?
I posted a message to the Good Eats Fan Page message board, asking for approximate heating times for chili from refrigerated to hot in a crock pot. I got a really terrific answer from someone who only identified herself as "Kirsten." Not only did she answer my question completely, but she also gave me some great prep tips on made-ahead chili. Rather than repeat them, I'm just going to include them here.
Pretty cool, huh? Of course, I read this after dumping the chili into the crock pot for overnight storage, so then I had to decant it a second time into another bowl and wash the crock. This is gonna be some well-traveled chili. I also brought in the secret weapon: three loaves of beer bread, with a fourth baking in the bread machine this morning. I'll go back to the apartment at lunch and pick up the chili and that last loaf. Between two batches of chili and five loaves of beer bread, I've been through ten bottles of beer this week without drinking any. By the way: the cheese soup trick rocks. The flavor is fine, but it gives the chili a wonderful consistency. Of course, it adds tons of fat too, but I'm pretty sure no one asked for heart-friendly chili. Thursday, November 21, 2002Your comments are appreciated -- keep 'em coming.
Nicholas: Given that I'm using good-sized chunks stew beef instead of ground beef in the chili, I don't think it would be much good on hot dogs. Spaghetti would work fine though.
I hadn't thought of adding the soup to the test batch, because I was kind of counting on using the test batch in case my full batch doesn't quite fill the crock pot. (The terms of the contest are that we must each supply a "standard crock pot's worth" of chili.) Christina was hanging around the office today and kind of spilled the beans (get it? beans! ) about the cheese in the chili to Heather and Trent, but I have since sworn them to secrecy. I bawled poor Christina out for letting the (potential) secret ingredient slip, but since they're not competing and I trust them to keep quiet, I think the secret's still safe. Tonight: I cook. Wednesday, November 20, 2002Damn you Nathan!
Now see, right up until the point that Nathan suggested his secret ingredient, I had a game plan. I made a test batch, it was good. I was all set to go with a tested recipe. And now I think I could make it better, but it's not a tested recipe.
I know that office chili contests are won or lost not by who technically made the best pot of chili, but by whose chili the judges actually remember. And Nathan's right: that cheddar cheese soup could give my chili the je ne sais quoi (or rather, les juges ne savent pas ce qui) to win. The dilemma! Add to this the fact that I do have cheddar cheese soup in my pantry. So -- who's got an opinion? Do I take the advice and possibly win a prize on my first "real" batch o' chili, or play it safe and risk an ordinary bowl that won't be noticed by the judges, but that I know is a passable dish? Tuesday, November 19, 2002It's all about the cumin
Geoffrey was right to mention cumin. Other than what was already in the chili powder (1 tablespoon) and the salsa, I added a fat teaspoon of ground cumin to the pot last night. Mmmmm. Cumin.
Good news for Amy
Amy says she likes chili but she doesn't like beans. Here's the kicker: real chili doesn't have beans. Neither does mine.
The chili contest at work has two categories for competition: with beans and without. My super-secret recipe is pretty complicated but it basically consists of seared stew beef, habanero salsa, tomato paste, garlic, onions, chiles, and beer. Oh yeah, and crushed corn chips to thicken. Monday, November 18, 2002Hey, that wasn't so hard.
The test batch of chili came out pretty well. I hear tell chili is best when left to cool and then reheated, so we'll see what happens when Christina and I have it for dinner tomorrow night. Then I'll make the "real" batch on Wednesday or Thursday night for the contest on Friday. I don't think this is award-winning chili, but it's a break from the usual, it's cooking, and I won't have a ton of leftovers.
Iron gullet chef
Today I signed up for the company chili cook-off.
I've never made chili in my life. Tonight's the test batch. Pray for me. Brrrr?
The local temperature today is 55 ºF. It's sunny and clear with a nice breeze. Gorgeous, in fact.
So why are people dressed for the Iditarod? It's Florida – at the first hint of chilly weather everyone breaks out the wooly sweaters and earmuffs. |
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