Foodie Friday: Chili and Cornbread

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With the temperatures dropping, there’s nothing quite like coming inside on a cold Fall day to dig into a big bowl of thick, meaty chili con carne and a side of straight-from-the-oven cornbread. This is a recipe that is sure to please- it’s deep, flavourful, and has just the right blend of heat and meat. But let me give credit where credit is due- this chili recipe is a combination of the fantastic steak chili recipe posted at Gen X Finance a few months back and my own constantly evolving recipe. Call it a “creative re-imagining”, if you will. You’ll note that I took out the beans because, frankly, beans don’t belong in chili. I also prefer to cook my chili in a slow cooker and let it simmer in the crock pot all day, although you could easily do this recipe in a large pot or dutch oven as well.

Kick Ass Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb hot Italian sausage, removed from casing

3 lb stewing beef, cut into small cubes

1 large onion (sweet or Vidalia)

1 green pepper, chopped

1 poblano pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (and seeds removed, if desired)

1 head garlic, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

4 T Worcestershire sauce

2 T liquid smoke

1 bay leaf

1 oz bittersweet baker’s chocolate, chopped

3 T Chili powder

1 T Cumin

1 T Kosher salt

1 t Cayenne pepper

1 t Coriander

1 t Black pepper

Frank’s Red Hot, to taste

Method:

Cut the beef into small cubes and remove sausage from its casing. Chop the onion, peppers, and garlic and everything together in a large bowl. Add Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke and mix everything together very well. Refrigerate and let marinate for at least a few hours.

Take your meat and veggie mixture and brown it in batches over a medium-high heat. Don’t overcrowd your pan! Even with my BFS (Big F*@(in’ Skillet), it took 3 batches. Add each batch to your slow cooker when browned.

Add crushed and diced tomatoes to the slow cooker and mix well. At this point you can adjust the consistency a little- add the crushed tomatoes slowly until you reach the thickness you like. If you want to make it a little less thick, slowly add more crushed tomatoes or another liquid like a dark beer or beef stock.

Add all spices, the bay leaf, and chocolate and mix well. Taste and adjust as necessary, but keep in mind the flavours will intensify as the chili simmers. Add a few dashes of Frank’s for a bit more kick.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours. For even better results, cook for at least 4 hours on low, refrigerate overnight, and then reheat on low for another 4 hours the next day prior to serving.

I like to serve chili with a sprinkling of cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

Equally Kick Ass Cornbread

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

Method:

Mix the cornmeal and milk in a small bowl so the cornmeal can soak while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder and sugar.

Mix the egg and oil together well and stir into the cornmeal and milk mixture.

Add the cornmeal mixture to the flour mixture and stir until moistened and blended.

Pour batter into a lightly greased 9-inch square pan. Bake for ~25 minutes at 400F, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Serve warm.