Chili?

The Autumn weather brings to mind winter and lots of good ole' home cooking. This is the time of year to bring out the soup and bean pots. Why not combine the two and make a lovely batch of home-made chili?

Many people don't know that 'chile' refers to the actual pod of the pepper plant while the word 'chili' to the concoction of meat, tomatoes and chile powder. Chili is actually, for those in the know, meat (not ground beef) cooked with a varieties of tomatoes & tomato sauce and chili powder. The ingredients of chile powder are basic but vary widely between the chili aficionados. Often the winners of the International Chili Cook Off keep their ingredients secret.

Many people think of chili with beans and I will admit, I'm a lover of this, but if you have ever attended a chili cook off you will know that official chili does not include beans. This is pure speculation on my part, but I would like to suggest that the addition of beans to a pot of chili was an attempt to 'stretch' the available meat. Personally, I like it best this way because of the different textures that beans provide in a pot of chili.

Now, besides the change in seasons, I'll bet that you are wondering why I bring all of this information to the blogger page. Well, as chance will have it, Omaha, Nebraska was the site for the International Chili Cook Off on October 5-7th and it was fantastic. Seeing and watching all these lovers of a pretty basic dish that has been 'stretched' to include many facts and myths was an absolute joy.

While checking out the International Chili Cook Off web site I visited their myth & fact section. Did you know that Jesse James loved chili in fact after visiting Fort Worth the James brothers had this to say "anyplace that has a chili joint like this just oughta' be treated better." This is after they declined to rob the local bank. O.K. I don't know if that is really true but it sure would be fun to believe it.

If you have the time, I would like to recommend that you visit the web-site International Chili Cook Off and take the time to read up on the facts about chili. If you are looking for a good recipe, there are several that look interesting. Have fun!