It's Good To Be Back
Sometimes, when it comes to cooking, you've just got to get back to your roots. You know, your man roots. One week it's Pad Thai, the next, you've got nothing. So, somehow, someway, you've got to get back in the game.
Now, I have no idea what my roots and chili have anything to do with each other, but creating a chili from scratch is where I went next. I'd been wanting to eat chili for a while, and instead of using ground beef, I wanted to try some steak. It just seemed like the man-thing to do.
So, I fired up the grill and got to burning some steaks. Literally. For some reason I couldn't keep the temperature down on the grill, so it was constantly exceeding 500 degrees Fahrenheit. I kept the cooking time down but still managed to char one of the sides. The meat did not dry up, though, and for the most part, the steak still tasted very good. Helping matters was the salt and pepper that I put on the steaks while they were sizzling away.
For the several minutes in between flipping steaks, I spent some time cutting up garden fresh onions, green bell pepper and red chili pepper. That along with tomatoes and kidney beans would round out the vegetable part of the meal.
The recipe I was using to build this chili from scratch included chili powder, crushed red pepper, minced garlic, and cumin.
After having thrown the onions, bell peppers and a red chili pepper into a pot to cook, I added in a can of stewed tomatoes. They proved insufficient, so I quickly cut up three tomatoes (also fresh from the garden) to add to the pot. Two cans of kidney beans also went in and then the meat, after giving the chunks a thin layer of butter.
It was supposed to sit and simmer for about an hour and a half, but as is normally the case when I cook, people were getting hungry so total simmering time was closer to an hour. It still could have used another 15 minutes at least, but I went ahead and called it.
For the final twenty-five minutes of the simmering, corn bread from a mix was a last minute baking entry. It probably could have stood another five minutes baking, too, but when the wolves start to gather and circle, you do what you gotta do.
As it is, I think it all turned out just fine. Good flavor, though maybe a little too much chili powder for my taste, and plenty spicy. It probably could have stood another can of beans, and maybe some bacon. Just because you can hardly go wrong with bacon.
I added some shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits and sour cream to mine.
As luck would have it, it was a hit with everyone. I guess they could tell it was eat up or shut up.
For your listening pleasure, I provide you a little bit of theme music that seems to go with this chili's attitude.
Enjoy!
About This Post
Grandpa Gotta Cook is an ongoing cooking/eating series now in conjunction with Food Fight Friday. Anyone who would like to participate is welcome to. Just talk about food, be sure to use the #fff tag, and post sometime on Friday. All images by Glen Anthony Albrethsen using an iPhone 6s.