Chili Your Way

Nothing beats a big bowl of chili on a cold winter"s day.What's perfect is that you can tailor it to everyone's tastes as long as it has that touch of heat.It's an easy as well as fun dish to whip up.Everyone loves chili in any form. Jennifer Steinhauser explored both the dish and it's history in today'New York Times Dining issue.Chili really has an interesting past.It is sort of a combination of both the Old World and the New.Part of it stems from the balmy Canary Islands, off the coast of Spain.Islanders went from there to Spanish Colonial Texas of the 1700s.They made a cooked stew of beef seasoned with cumin and garlic.The indigenous tribes of the area also had a chili precursor in the form of bison meat stewed with wild onions.Add to that the Mexican chilis, a huge part of the Aztec diet for millennia before the European settlements came.Chili powder was used in the mix , subbing in at time for the cumin the Canary Islanders used liberally, a Berber influence from Arabic Spain. Americans got their first taste of it,in San Antonio where chili queens sold bowls in the town's plazas and then later at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.Chili powder then became mass produced around 1900' enabling home chefs of any nationality a chance to make this easy stew. Now chili has many variations and recipes.There are vegan ones,along with turkey and chicken ones.Ms Steinhauser uses dark turkey meat in hers ,giving it a gamier ,richer flavor.Most award winning chili recipes have beef in them ,staying true to the original chili con carne recipe.This is a mix of bacon and chuck although you can use bison or venison too.Ancho chilis are added for the perfect fire along with cumin.There are chili recipes that include beans such as red kidney beans and pinto beans.This gives any chili a creamier texture.Ms Steinhauser also includes The recipe for what's called "A Big Bowl of Red" , a Tigua Indian recipe.This has round steak cut into cubes mixed with masa harina, a Mexican version of polenta added to the chili while cooking.Also certain ethnic groups Like the Greeks add their spin with adding a dash of cinnamon and cloves creating Cincinnati style chili.Ms Steinhuaser adds both dark chocolate and coffee, creating an almost mole style of sauce. consistency depends on it's cook and the amount of liquid added.Some chili masters do fast boils too ,cooking it quickly to steam off the liquid while others prefer a slow cooked pot with less liquids. this last can take up to three hours.The best chili is a thick meaty kind that you can almost eat with a fork.What to serve with it.Some swear by Saltines and Oysterettes ,others love chili over a bed of corn chips,creating a Frito pie. To be honest the best bet is polenta ,followed by rice.Both allow the chili to shine while adding their own subtle flavors. Chili is the perfect antedote to a blast of winter. It is hearty and hot, no matter how it's made. it's a comforting bowl of spices ,and beans, meat and tomatoes, the right combo for a satisfying meal.