National Chili Day

Hi – Tim Bice here. It’s a cool and rainy day here in sunny south Florida so in honor of National Chili Day, my wife Karin and I decided to whip up a batch of chili! And we’d like to share it with you.

First I wanted to tell you a bit about how my mother taught me to cook.

When I got to driving age my mom found she needed a bit more to do with her time so she went to and took French cooking lessons in Fond du Lac with Madame Kuney. Honestly, that is how she referred to herself! Every week mom came home with an assignment and she had my sister and I assist her so we would learn to cook.

As with everything mom did – cooking was a creative experience and she didn’t always follow the recipe. So we learned to cook by taste and a wing and a prayer.

When I make chili I don’t really use a recipe either – I just kind of wing it and throw in this and that until it tastes just right.

For those of us less freestyle folks, I have included a list of the ingredients I like to use and a rough set of directions.

Tim’s Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground sirloin
• 1 pound tenderloin steak cut in small cubes
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 cup button mushrooms
• 1 can black beans (drained, not rinsed)
• 2 ears sweet corn sliced off cob
• Tabasco to taste
• ¼ cup Cuervo Gold tequila
• Cumin to taste
• Chili powder to taste
• Nutmeg grated to taste
• Cinnamon to taste
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can Rotel Original
• 1 can chili beans

So now I’m on my way to the grocery store to pick up some supplies and then we’ll start cookin’…

As you can see I’ve gone shopping and the good stuff is ready to go!!! I start off by slicing the tenderloin into small cubes.

Next, we chop up the veggie’s – 1 onion, 1 cup mushrooms and 3 fresh jalapeno pepper’s. I like to saute the veggies right in the big pot with butter and olive oil. (Tip – the oil keeps the butter from burning.) Then set them aside to brown the meat in all of that yummy veggie goodness. And of course, being from Wisconsin I use more butter.

And don’t forget to put the pot of corn on to boil so we can get that cooked and sliced off the cob when we are ready to assemble.

Once the meat is browned – I like to let it get quite crispy and let it burn a bit on the bottom of the pan as this adds extra flavor – it is time to put it all together. This is the best part because it requires lots of tasting!!!

Now add the following ingredients: 1 can tomato sauce, some tomato paste, 1 can Rotel Original, 1 can black beans, 1 can chili beans, 2 ears sweet corn sliced off the cob and of course all those delicious sautéed veggie’s.

Now for the tasting part… We add all of those beautiful spices – cumin, chili powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon – to the mixture and stir well. And we cannot and will not forget to add the Cuervo Gold!!! One for the pot and one for the chef as Julia Child used to say. My mom loved her!

Now stir again, and add more spices until it is your very own super yummy, then cover and simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally. Flavors develop the longer it cooks. Mashing some of the beans will make the mixture nice and thick.

Serve with chopped onion, sour cream, and grated Mexican 4 cheese mix on the side. When we had chili as kids my mother always served it with buttered rye toast. Give it a try – it is delicious and very Wisconsin. Don’t forget the hot sauce!!!

Thanks for celebrating National Chili day with us! Karin and I hope you enjoy your chili as much as we enjoyed ours. And as always – Keep on Quackin’!!!

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