What Makes A Good Chili?

Chili recipes are always up for debate. Like pasta sauce and French toast, how it's made is up to the individual home chef. Some add ground beef, others prefer lamb, A few home recipes calls for more beans than chilis. What's the best recipe to use? Stick with the basics and build from there.

That's what New York Times Food great Sam Sifton wrote about in today's Wednesday 's issue. Chili always causes a great debate. everyone has his or her own opinions on it He suggests starting with the bare bones of the recipe, using fellow co-writer Julia Moskin's chili formula. The most important ingredient is protein. Whatever you use, make sure it is high in fat and flavor. Use a quarter of a pound per person. What's the best meat? Mr. Sifton recommends chuck beef from the steer's shoulder,however short ribs and brisket are also good choices.A good idea is mixing cuts. Add stew meat to ground. Pork can also work as can lamb. You can go low calorie with chicken or turkey but remember that they can dry out. if this is the case, Mr, Sifton suggests a few strips of bacon to keep things juicy. Dark meat can also be used because its' got  fat too or you can use duck meat which is also rife with fat. Game meats such as venison, buffalo and even moose (!)along with marsh duck and pheasant. Vegans can add beans or fake beef crumbles as I do.Many Texans consider adding beans to be sacrilige but they can add more flavor and more protein

The next big debate are the chilis used. Mr. Sifton gives a entire list with their definitions. Most people, including myself, just use a heaping tablespoon or two of chili powder, an amalgam of dried chilis , paprika dried oregano and dried garlic. Authentic chilis use poblanos. These are big green peppers that are not too wild in their heat. Their color changes to red as they ripen. These are perfect for those who don;t want a five alarm bowl. For a sweeter and smokier mix try blending in ancho peppers. They can range from mild to medium hot, The pasilla pepper is a dark chocolate brown color of moderate pungency and brings a great deepness of flavor. Of course jalapeno brings spark to the table. Smoke and dry it and then transform into a chipotle. Chimayo is a New Mexican genus and its deep adobe red hue turns the chili the same rich brick color,Another suggestion from Mr. Sifton is also using chili powder along with the actual chilis themselves.  You can make your own powder . A good recipe is taken from Texas restaurateur Robb Walsh. It's toasting three ancho peppers in a pan, allow them to cool and add half a teaspoon of pan roasted cumin seeds. Garlic powder and dried oregano are also added. Everything is ground in a spice mill. An easier way is just add a heaping tablespoon of commercial chili powder to the mix

Chili is in the eye of the beholder. Stick with whatever works and whatever is delicious. It's the kind of recipe that c n be varied if you want  something new.

Lamb For Holy Week

This is the time when lamb reigns supreme.It's the most desired meat of the season, especially for both Easter, . Italians and Greeks along with the French make the most lamb dishes now, with either a roast leg of it or the entire animal. This tradition is taking on a new twist - the meat is organic and usually bred in the American Southwest - not New Zealand.

Most lamb now is organic. which is what most restaurant and home chefs both demand. Like any free range meat, the lambs are bred without any chemicals or hormone injections. The lambs are now raised (as basically they have been for centuries) in New Mexico.Most of the sheep are descended from the original ones the Spaniards brought to the area in the 1500s and the bloodlines are pure. The diets seem basically the same as they have for five hundred years too. These sheep eat wheat grass along with native snowberry and yarrow as opposed to the usual farm feed.

How does organic lamb taste? The meat is usually flavored with the greens that the animal has lived on. it gives it an herbal yet earthy taste, usually not associated with lamb. The meat itself is tender, perfect for grilling and braising. There's no need for marinading and there's always a guaranteed melt in your mouth quality about it.

The is the season for lamb. The organic kind is probably the best to serve . It is a new spin on a traditional Holy Week standard and a much improved version too.