Skyline Chili

So, apparently, there is this chain of chili take-out restaurants based in Ohio called Skyline Chili. I've never visited one nor tried their product. But there seems to be some kind of deep love bordering on obsession for those chili aficionados who feel that their chili is the best chili out there. Again...I've got no opinion on that. Having never had it.

But I had a a "copy cat" recipe (see examples here or here) for Skyline chili passed on to me over the weekend, and I decided to give it a try. It's a meat-heavy based chili. Not a lot in there in terms of vegetables, so it's very different from my own chili recipe. But it's a real interesting chili. I think that it can be used more as a sauce or a topping, but it tasted pretty damned good in the bowl itself as well. It's also a really easy recipe that is requires very little prep work, and it cooks up much faster than other chili's I've made in the past. So here goes:

Copycat Skyline Chili

Ingredients

• 2 lbs lean ground beef - I used 93/7
• 1 large yellow onion - diced
• 2 cans (15 oz) tomato sauce - I used Hunts
• 1 cup beef broth
• 2 cloves garlic - crushed and diced fine
• 3 tbsp chili powder
• 1 pinch (about 1/2 tsp) cinnamon powder
• 1 pinch red cayenne pepper powder
• Salt and pepper to taste - you won't need much salt
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tbsp white vinegar

 - Add the ground beef and diced onion to a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat until the meat is browned. Drain off excess liquid and add the brown mixture to a stock pot.

 - Add the rest of the ingredients (tomato sauce, broth, garlic, chili powder, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, Worcestershire and vinegar) and bring to a quick boil.  Reduce heat to low and saute uncovered for an hour and a half.

That's it. Easy peasy you know the drill.  It really couldn't be easier. We served it over some rice with some shredded sharp cheddar cheese, tortilla chips and some home-made guacamole. The cinnamon, vinegar and Worcestershire lent it a truly unique flavor. I've never tasted a chili that tasted quite like this.

I don't think it quite surpassed my own personal chili recipe, but it was damned tasty. And Gia loved it, and that's what matters the most.

Cheers!

The things you do for Love

Here's the dilemma. One of my favorite meals is homemade chili. And, not bragging here, I make a fucking fantastic chili. But Gia generally doesn't enjoy chili. She will eat the fuck out of mine, because she knows it's the best around (okay...that might be bragging a bit). But if she had her druthers, she would rather pass on chili all together.  A positions I am firmly against, by the way.

But I wanted to make chili this weekend, and I also wanted to make something that Gia was really gonna love. So...

GIA'S FAVORITE CHILI RECIPE

I did it. I concocted a chili that had Gia sobbing for more. Or she would have been sobbing had we not been so full. I'm not sure any of that makes sense. Let's move on.

I decided to go all green and white for this batch of chili.  No red whatsoever.  Tomatillos instead of tomatoes. Green sweet peppers, celery, limes, cilantro and green chilies. White onions, chicken meat and white beans.  Here's how you do it:

Ingredients

2 pounds ground chicken
1 pound chicken sausage - removed from casing
1 pound dried small white beans
1 large can (24 oz) tomatillos - drained and shredded
4 large sweet Italian peppers (light green, looks like a big chili)
4 green chili peppers
2 large white Spanish onions
8 celery stalks
6 limes
1 beer - lager
1 or 2 batches of cilantro - just the leaves...chopped
1.5 tbsp white pepper
1.5 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp kosher salt

You can use any kind of chicken meat you want in any combination.  I thought that shredded or pulled chicken would go nicely with this recipe.  Maybe next time.  But I chose ground chicken meat and some chicken sausage out of the casing for this batch.  Also you can use fresh tomatillos if you can find them.  I went to three specialty markets this morning looking for fresh tomatillos and I was shit out of luck.  So I went with the canned variety.  Worked fine.  Also, I love me some cilantro.  So I used an entire bunch in the chili and some more in the rice.  Because cilantro = big fucking win!

Preparation

1. Soak the beans either overnight in cold water or do a quick soak per the instructions on the bag.  Cook soaked beans in an appropriate amount of water for an hour and a half or until almost tender.
2. Dice the onions, celery and peppers and saute in a large stock pot with a little vegetable oil until the onions are translucent.
3. Add the tomatillos (I ripped them apart by hand.  Grrr!), spices, cilantro, the juice from four (4) of the limes and the beer and heat until a slow boil occurs.  Reduce heat and cover.
4. Brown the ground chicken and the sausage meat (removed from the casing), drain and add to stock pot with all the vegetables.
5. Simmer for about an hour and a half on low heat. 
   
6. Add the cooked beans to the stock pot and simmer for another half of an hour on low heat.

That's it.  I served it over basmati rice that I prepared with lime zest, salt, white pepper and more fresh cilantro.  Surrounded the bowl with white corn nacho chips and added a generous dollop of sour cream in the center.  Cut the remaining two limes into wedges if anyone wanted more tang.  The resulting dish was tangy, meaty and delicious!  Gia absolutely flipped for it.  So I assume I will be making it again at some point. 

Looking for a photo of it?   Keep waiting.  I'm still waiting for that mind-activated camera.  Sigh.  Here is a picture of a bunch of tomatillos instead.  Because you may have been wondering what the fuck a tomatillo is.

They look like little green tomatos!

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day.  Like walking in the rain and the snow, when there's no where to go and you're feeling like a part of you is dying!

Band-Aid Chili

My Dad was a huge fan of chili. Chili, beer and good times. He liked them all. Over the years he perfected his recipe for chili that we came to call "Band-Aid Chili". There's a story behind that as well, but I'll save that for another time.

Dad passed away in 2003, but I've tried to keep up his tradition of bringing the family over what he called a "big pot of red". This weekend would have been his birthday. So my Mom called me and asked me to make some chili so she could ask her kids and grand kids to together so that we could all enjoy a big pot of red.

I think Dad would approve.

Band-Aid Chili

First off, the recipe below is bullshit. Every time my father made this chili and every time I have made it, it has come out differently. Different veggies, more or less meat, more or less spice. It all comes out to a different chili. So the recipe below is pretty much a guideline more than anything else. The chili I am making this weekend has 8 different kinds of peppers, for example. And more meat to veggie ratio. And black beans. I hardly ever use beans, but I'm using 'em this weekend. So take the recipe with a grain of salt. Or a pinch of cumin. Whatever you prefer. - Earl

Ingredients
1 ½ pounds ground sirloin
1 pound ground Italian sausage (sweet or hot or both)
1 large can peeled Italian tomatoes (not sure of the size, but the big can)
1 small can tomato paste (not sure of the size, but the smallest one)
1 bottle beer (user’s choice, but make sure you save some for the cook)
2-3 red, orange or yellow peppers diced (I like to mix it up for the colors)
2 green peppers diced
2 large onions diced
6 celery stalks diced
I large handful of jalapeno or similarly spicy peppers seeded and diced.
2 ½ tablespoons ground chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon salt

- Add tomatoes (you can slice them up if you like, but include all the juice in the can), tomato paste, beer and spices to large pot on low-medium heat.

- Brown beef and sausage in large pan. Drain and add to pot.

- Sauté onions, celery and peppers in a little vegetable oil until onions are a little translucent. Add to pot.

- Bring to a slow boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 4-5 hours (or until the tomatoes break down) covered, stirring occasionally.

- Serve with sour cream, grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, tortilla chips and hot sauce for an additional kick. It doesn't need to be served over rice, but if that's what you are into then I'm not gonna stop ya.

Enjoy!

Awesome Day

Had the most fun evah today! I made my very special, very delicious chili (Kat - did I ever give you my recipe?) and invited a bunch of family and friends over to Gia's house for a Sunday afternoon dinner. It was da bomb, yo!

Many, many beers. Football. Baseball (Mets suck! Whooooooo-hoooooooo!). Lots o' chips and dips. And chili...my chili. The best damn chili on the planet.

I rock.

Gia rocks.

We all fucking rock!

Hope your Sunday was just as fun.