Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Dear Frank,

On the side, on the side Not to worry, I meant: on the side...

No, really, do you serve this in a bowl or on a plate? Obviously if in a bowl, it stands on it's own. But if on a plate, what do you serve with it? I was assuming it would be a plate of chili, beans ON THE SIDE along with cornbread or corn or flour tortillas and maybe some other salsa/relish or veggie. How do you serve it? Surely standing on it's own in a burrito too?

The last time I was in TX (sw of Dallas), I ate at a couple of those great old roadhouse diners in the smaller towns. The locals took me to treat me to "real TX food" and it was always a big platter with a bunch of stuff on the side of the meat (brisket and BBQ) and it always included some cowboy type beans plus other stuff. All of it was fabulous but I didn't have chili so I wonder if that is how it is served too.

Great news on your girls. You are in for a big change and lots of fun!

Jeez, I put my head down for a few hours and 'chili wars' breaks out. "How do you serve it?" "What goes with it?" "Will you hold my hand while I ..." PUHLEESE! IT'S CHILI, FOLKS, AND THAT MEANS BEER AND A SPOON!

Now, back to more important things (me) - as Frank's instructions were a slight bit intuitive (as a chili recipe ought to be) I went way out on a limb and internalized the remaining beer - was this too far fetched?

As there was no place in the recipe telling me when to put the water in, I hesitantly added it as a deglazing agent and pot rinser as the need arose. My hesitation arose when I stopped to reflect upon what fish do in water and the realization that perfectly good beer awaited on standby. Nonetheless, in it went.

As it was only -17C (that's 0 Farenheit for you southeners) I grilled the Anaheims and steak on the Weber. (Rain in January? - where does EB reside?) Mr. Bailey and Mr. Starbuck reconciled their differences while this unrelenting grilling continued.

This amalgamation is residing in the 'fridge as we type and the show down will commence tomorow evening - y'all please standby , even EB with the parasol. Frank????

We had chili, ah er I mean Meat and Bean Stew for dinner. We even put this Meat and Bean Stew over spagetti noodles.

WW, I'm just south of the border, in North Idaho.

eb

Where do I start???

Leena, round here, chili is topped with a few fresh onions and a side dish of good ol' saltines. Many times a little grated cheese is on top, but this recipe has cheese in it so it really adds very little. This brew is pretty substantial and is served in a bowl, you could probably eat it with a fork, but a spoon is the prefered weapon.

Wino, glad to see Buck, & Baily reconciled, how does Bud fit into this "love triangle?" I await your report!!!

Lynn, I have a flight booked to confiscate and destroy that awful concoction you produced.

B&B rightly serve in a supervisory roll while the Brew Brothers contribute their souls to the stew and are reunited with their kin at the table and the subsequent smacking of the lips. By the way, I assume I made the right decision re: the water???

P.S. Thoroughly agree with your sentiments re: CI posted elsewhere. Well said!

Wino,

Your water decision was good and proper...I expect a full chili report...also, this is a good topper for enchiladas, or other worthy dishes that do not involve pasta...

That crap they make in Cincinatti is used for that...hehehe...

GREAT CHILI!

I made 1/2 quantity. The change in flavor from before and after finishing with the cheese is REMARKABLE! Both are delicious but the cheese is preferred for the changes it makes to texture and taste. I was concerned, prior to the addition of cheese, that it was too watery. However, worship at the altar of Bull requires we do many things on faith. The additon of cheeese added just the right amoung of thickening. The addition of diced onions was followed and earned more praise. The addition of the lime was not as big a wow. My preference would be 4x the garlic All my wife kept repeatinging between bites was, "Great!" There is no finer compliment.

While flattered, I must warn you that the last folks I read about that worshiped a golden calf had a less than glowing outcome...

Glad to add to your dining pleasure...BTW this weather down here is simply miserable...63* this AM../.expected to only warm to 74...if it keeps this kind of miseable crap up I'm gonna have to find a jacket or something...

The chili gets better & better with each passing day.

If I'd like to serve it on Super Bowl Sunday, making it Thursday night would be a good idea?

A very good idea...