Friday, November 27, 2009

Texas chili, by way of San Francisco

Last weekend, the husband got it in his head that he wanted to make some chili. But he didn't want to make it with ground beef; he wanted to do it with big chunks of steak. We'd both heard this referred to as "Texas-style," although now that I've looked at so many recipes for chili, I'm not sure that's true. In any case, on Sunday, when I set out for my afternoon with the girls, I told him he should find a good recipe and we could make it together when I got home.

He found a couple of different recipes that we sort of combined, but we stayed true to the real essence of chili, or any kind of stew, which is to make it the way you like it, and fiddle with it until you get it right. And wouldn't you know it, the husband and I like our chili just the same way.

We browned some top sirloin in a dutch oven, then set it aside, and cooked the usual aromatics--onion, garlic, and celery--along with chili powder, cumin, and marjoram. Added the beef back to the pot, along with a hefty glug of red wine, and scraped up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Then came the tomatoes, a little can of green chilies, kidney beans, worchestershire sauce, a dash of hot sauce, salt and pepper, and we were good to go. It came together in under an hour and it looked like this.


In a perfect world, I would have had some sour cream to swirl on top, but instead I just garnished my chili with grated cheddar cheese and cilantro. As you're well aware, cilantro is one of the great dividers of the world, along with religion, politics, and eggplant. We are split in this house: I like it, although I don't do much with it besides toss it on top of things like chili verde to add a fresh finish. The husband wants nothing to do with it. He also doesn't care much for sour cream or grated cheese or garnishes in general; I've noticed that he quietly pushes them aside and just digs in to what's underneath. I can't rid myself of the need to garnish things, particularly soups and stews, but I understand his skepticism of what they really add to the dish.

What I like best with chili is cornbread, but I'd used the last of my cornmeal on some blueberry corn muffins the day before. We considered cooking up some rice, but in the interest of time and hunger opted for some plain crackers crumbled over the top. It was the perfect, lazy dinner after a cool and rainy day, and provided us with lots of leftovers, that last of which we ate today for lunch.

13 comments:

  1. I'm in your camp with the cilantro, and happily everyone in the fam is too except for the youngest - I'm working on her. That hearty chili looks like it tastes mighty fine with or without garnish :)

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  2. Sounds really good perfect for the chilly weather (i'm lame)... I am soaking some beans right now!

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  3. Wow, that chili looks so good. I love cilantro and include it in a lot of dishes. My sonat the age of 5 ask what it was and I replied "Flavor". He then informed me he didn't like flavor. Luckily he's now a convert.
    I spent a rainy Friday in San Francisco. What I would have given for a bowl of that chili.
    Pam

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  4. I enjoy cilantro myself. Fortunately my girlfriend does too, heh. The chili looks great!

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  5. Chili is so "comforting"! I enjoy a big bowl of chili and after all of the turkey....this would be a delicious and welcome change!

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  6. haha, I had to smile at the garnish vs. no garnish preferences. I think my boyfriend is the same; he'd be fine with just eating things as-is, but sometimes I'll throw an extra flourish on a dish and he just kind of looks at it like the RCA dog, with his head cocked to one side in confusion. "how do I om nom nom this?"

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  7. This looks so good, especially on a cold chilly day!

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  8. Never have made Texas chili, but I've always wanted to. So thanks for the recipe!
    Had to laugh at your garnish comments. I don't think I could have resisted putting a big glop of sour cream on top of that gorgeous bowl of chili. I like the cheddar idea, but really am not overly fond of cilentro.

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  9. Cheers to you and your delicious blog! Guess what I'm gonna make this week? Chili? I think I'll buy sirloin instead of ground beef (unless it's on sale) for something different.

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  10. Yum, I like chili made Texas-style with the chunks of beef rather than grounded up. My mouth was watering as you listed your ingredients and how you cooked them. ... And I'm on the Yes to Cilantro camp, but I know a lot of No on Cilantro people too.

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  11. my requirements for chili are beans and lots of spice. cilantro and some form of bread are fabulous additions, but i'm content as long as there are beans and spice.

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  12. Hm, looks like people are split on the cilantro front, just as I suspected! But I think we can all agree that a good bowl of chili hits the spot on a cold day.

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  13. I love that grouping -- eggplant, cilantro, politics and religion! It's true. You come down on any side of either of those and you risk stirring up a big commotion.

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