Chili, Two Ways

Even though Portland's beautiful snow canceled the Chili Cook-Off I had scheduled for Sunday afternoon, my dad and I decided that we might as well use the ingredients we'd already bought and have a one-on-one Chili Cook-Off anyway. This turned out to be a pretty interesting exercise in the art of tweaking recipes. My dad has been making his famous chili for years, and he started out (roughly) with the Chili Con Carne with Tomatoes recipe from a Betty Crocker Cookbook published in the 1970's.

If you look closely, you'll see that this recipe calls for an adorable 2 teaspoons of chili powder, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and 1/8 teaspooon of paprika. I've never tried the recipe as written, but it sounds to me like you would end up with a pot of bland ground beef with tomatoes. My dad sticks to many of the components of this recipe, but with about 12 times as much of each spice (see recipe for Dad's Famous Chili below). When I first made my own chili while I was in Melbourne, I started from my dad's recipe but the ingredients available to me and some random impulses led to the end product being completely different (see recipe for Emily's Awesome Chili below). As you can see in the picture, both finished dishes look pretty darned similar, but the flavor profile is completely different.

Dad's Famous Chili
   1 pound ground beef
   2 medium onions (finely chopped, about a cup)
   1 green bell pepper (also finely chopped)
   4 serrano chiles
   1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes
   1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
   5 - 6 tablespoons chili powder (to taste)
   1 teaspoon salt
   1 tablespoon cayenne (to taste)
   4 tablespoons paprika (to taste)
   1 15-ounce can kidney beans

Combine the beef, onion, bell pepper, and chiles in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until the meat is browned. Drain off all of the liquid, (mostly it's fat) and combine the rest of the ingredients other than the beans. Simmer for a couple of hours covered. Add the beans just before serving and simmer until warmed through.

Serves 6-8.


Emily's Awesome Chili
   1 tablespoon olive oil
   2.5 medium onions (roughly chopped)
   2 medium green bell peppers (chopped)
   4 jalapeño peppers, minced
   2 serrano chiles, minced
   6 cloves garlic, minced
   500g extra-lean ground beef
   200g ground veal (or substitute extra-lean ground beef)
   5 tablespoons chili powder
   1/2 tablespoon hot paprika
   1/2 - 1 tablespoon cayenne
   2 teaspoons salt
   1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
   1 14-ounce can tomato puree
   1 14-ounce can whole tomatoes (crushed by hand)
   2 tablespoons tomato paste
   1 15-ounce can kidney beans

In a soup pot, heat the oil over high heat then add the onions, bell peppers, jalapeños, serranos, and garlic and sauté until very soft and starting to brown. Add the ground beef and ground veal and cook, stirring, until the meat begins to brown. Add the chili powder, paprika, cayenne, and salt and stir to thoroughly combine. Continue to cook over high heat until the meat is cooked through. Add the four types of canned tomatoes, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Remove the lid and simmer for an additional hour. Add the beans and simmer until heated through. This can be served right away but tastes even better the next day.

Serves 6-8.