It’s that time of year again, when all I crave is comfort food. One pot, low and slow, hearty stews, soups and pasta-bakes. When meals I haven’t made for months start to appear in my kitchen again, and David gets really excited for dinner. (Like when I told him we were having chili for dinner, then an hour later heard him squeal “Oooh, I just remembered we’re having chili tonight!”) This may come as a shock, but he doesn’t show nearly as much enthusiasm for grain bowls.

It’s cold enough now that Bernie goes straight back to bed after her morning walk. (Who am I kidding, she always does that-but these days she snuggles deep under the covers for warmth). I pulled out all my cozy sweaters this weekend, swapped the flipflops for slippers, and may have even put the heat on for a few hours. In short, all signs point to “Fall is here!” and to me there is no better way to recognize that than with an appropriately warm and comforting meal. And extra points for spicy.

This is sort of a mash-up my 2 go-to chili recipes, from Williams Sonoma and Food & Wine. I know there are people with very strong opinions about chili, regarding meat, beans, rice, noodles, sweet, spicy, and so on. I am not one of those people. I think if you throw a bunch of protein and veggies in a pot and simmer it with spices for awhile, you’re bound to enjoy the outcome.

Smoky Spicy Chili

Recipe by Too Many SpoonsCourse: DinnerCuisine: Chili

Servings

6-8

servings

Cost

23

$

Total time

1

hour 

25

minutes

This is spicy. Feel free to scale down the chili powder to a few tablespoons, and use just 1 chipotle, if that’s more your speed.

Don’t worry about cutting up the vegetables ahead of time-you can do this between steps.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp canola oil, divided

• 2 lbs ground beef (turkey works too)

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 red bell pepper, diced

• 1 poblano pepper, diced

• 1/4 cup ancho chili powder

• 1 tbsp oregano

• 2 tbsp cumin

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo, minced, plus 1 tsp canning sauce

• 1 bottle dark Mexican beer, like Modelo Negra

• 28 oz canned tomato sauce

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1 can black beans

• 1 can kidney beans

• 2 tbsp cornmeal

Directions

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large dutch oven, saucepot, or deep saute pan over medium-high until shimmering.
• Cook the ground beef in the oil for 8-10 minutes, until mostly browned, stirring to break it into smaller clumps. Using a slotted spoon, remove the beef to a bowl, and set aside. If a lot of juices have accumulated in the pot, tip them out before adding the remaining 2 tbsp oil.
• Add the onion and garlic to the pot, stirring occasionally, and cook for 5 minutes, until soft and starting to take on color.
• Add the bell pepper and poblano, stir, and cook 5 more minutes, until softened.
• Add the beef back in to the vegetable mixture, then sprinkle in all the seasoning (chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, chipotles and sauce), give everything a good stir to coat the beef with the spices, and cook 2 more minutes.
• Slowly pour in the beer, mix gently, and let simmer 2 minutes.
• Add the tomato sauce and water, stir, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and let it cook for 45 minutes, partially covered. You’re going to have a lot of liquid, but don’t worry-it all works out in the end.
• Remove the (partial) lid, add the beans and cornmeal to the pot, stir well, then simmer 10 more minutes to let it all come together. We eat this served over rice, topped with cheese, tortilla chips, and lime.

Recipe Notes

• Adapted from the “Easy Turkey Chili” in the Food & Wine Staff Favorites cookbook, and the “Beef Chili with Masa Harina” from the Williams Sonoma cookbook.