On a Chilly Night in Autumn...

Chili nights of my childhood, always included an extra, smaller boiler on the stove; one with tomato soup for me because back then, though difficult to imagine now, I was a picky eater. Mother said she would not force the issue with chili, though she would with, for instance, vegetable soup or scrambled eggs. Chili was different somehow. And, somehow, I did, by early marriage, develop a taste for it. Maybe all those, "You don't know what you're missing," comments by everyone in the family kept nudging me toward the chili bowl for a taste from time to time.
The chili I make is essentially the same as Mother's chili decidedly minus the extra boiler of soup for dissenters  and often plus an optional assembly line for a stacked version whereby a bowl of rice is topped with the chili, then some shredded cheddar, snipped spring onions, a dollop of sour cream, and a circling of crushed corn chips. But these days, stacked or straight up, chili is a staple.

Mom's Chili

This is more or less as written in the Let's Cooking with Mom cookbook I prepared for each of my  children as they  headed to college . Mother never went by a "recipe" for chili, and by now each child has come up with their own signature spin, as well. Sounds like the recipe for an event: The Great Chili Cook off of 2010!



1 tsp. sugar                                1 tsp. salt
1 T. (+ or -) chili powder           one clover garlic, minced
1 bay leaf                                   1 lb. ground beef
1/8 tsp. paprika                         16 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper            16 oz. can chili beans
                        about half an onion, chopped

Sauté onions and garlic in small amount of oil. Brown ground beef, draining before adding to the onion mixture. Add spices, tomatoes and beans. (For a bigger pot of chili, just double amount of tomatoes and beans...adding seasonings to taste.) If you need to cook for a crowd, you could stretch the chili by cooking chunks of potatoes (added whenever you add tomatoes and beans) OR serve over rice with shredded cheese, chopped green onions, tortila chips, and sour cream available as toppings. The longer you let the chilli simmer over low heat, the better the flavors mix. Be sure there is enough liquid to keep the beans from scorching on the bottom of the pot. Stir from time to time.