New kind of Chili

Okay so this is another blog post about food, and yes the recipe came from my handy-dandy Joy of Cooking cookbook. This recipe though does not include pictures. What was I thinking letting my family eat before recording this for all the world to see? Shameless.

A friend of mine recently reminded me of chili pie. A simply scrumptious meal designed with a Frito crust, chili and cheese. I salivated over the mere thought. I had to have it. I looked up chili in my cookbook and found a new recipe. Or several new recipes actually. One kind of scared me. Not because it looked especially difficult, but because it would take forever to make and I usually forget about making anything for supper until..well until it is time to be eating it.

So I kept searching. And I was rewarded. I found a recipe with a lot less garlic, onions and jalapeno peppers. Not that I mind the spice of jalapenos, not at all. But I have two young girls who live here and they most decidedly do NOT like overly spicy food.

The recipe I found and read, I'm sure I read all of it, had no jalapenos at all. It did call for cayenne pepper which is normal to me. I mean you want a spicy chili, right? But it also called for 8 whole allspice, ground, and 8 whole cloves, ground.

I saved myself a small measure of headache and bought already ground allspice and cloves. I did however fail to realize I had no earthly idea how much allspice you got when you ground 8 whole allspice, or 8 whole cloves for that matter. So I guessed. And I think I guessed wrong.

It was a little heavy on the allspice and cloves. Sigh. Next time I'll try less. A lot less. I also need to use less cayenne pepper. Everyone else in the house thought it was a little on the spicy side. Remarks such as "I think my nose hairs are going to spontaneously combust!" were heard throughout the meal.

With a name like "Cincinnati Chili Cockaigne" I should have known better. I mean I'm not even really sure how you say the last word, much less what it is. Oh and I should have read further in the recipe. You see the recipe tells you to bring it to a boil, reduce and simmer for 2.5 hours. And then you are to refrigerate over night before reheating and eating. Uhm well sure, if your brain works that way.

I do have pictures, but not of the "spice"y chili. This is what my world looked like today. Don't you wish you were me?