MOST AMERICANS think
the wonderful rich, beefy
and beany dish we call chili
came from some _ other
country.

THE FRUGAL GOURMET

Mexico, perhaps, or Spain. Not
so. | am afraid that both Mexico
and Spain refuse to have anything
io do with what we call good old
American chili.

One Mexican dictionary goes so
far as to scornfully describe chili
as “ta detestable food with a false
Mexican name sold in the United
States from Texas to New York
City."" Hey, warch that! The rest
of the country loves chili too.

The best chili is homemade and
the following recipes will help you
become a chili expert. ©

RED CHILI CON CARNE
(Serves 2)

This recipe comes from the
Southwest indians around Santa
Fe, where this kind of chili has
been popular for many genera-
tions, The title of the dish simply
refers to chili cnoked with meat.
THE CHILI

Prepare a double batch of
Blended Red Chile Pods (recipe
below).

THE MEAT

3 tablespoons cooking oi} or
shortening

2 pounds stew beef, cut into “:-
inch cubes .

4 tablessoons flour

2 cans (8 Gunces each) tomato
sauce (optional)

Heat a Dutch oven or heavy
kettle and addi the oil or shorten-
ing. Brown the meat well.

Stir in the flour, being careful
to coat the meai well. Add i’%
cups water, stirriag carefully until
the mixture thickens.

Creme fraiche ideal for h

inquisitive
Coo

ers

ANNE
GARDINER

WILSGi:

All-American chili

Add the Blended Red Chile
Pods and the optional tomato
sauce. Cover and simmer for 1
hour or until the meat is very
tender.

That is the basic dish. It can be
served with beans or just as it is.
You might try serving this over
cornbread for a very delicious
meal.

BLENDED RED CHILE PODS
7-8 whole dried chile pois, seeded
and de-veined
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt

Choose the dried chiles for your
dish. They range in ‘‘heat’’ from
mild.to very hot, so ask your
merchant to point the way.
Prepare the chiles by slitting or
cracking them open and removing
the seeds and veins. The seeds and
veins are what make the chiles
hot, so you should clean the pep-
pers according to how hot you
wish them to be.

Place the chile skins in a bowl
and add enough hot tap water to
cover. Allow them to sit for !
hour, then drain, reserving the
liquid.

Place the pepper skins in a
blender and add enough of the
water to bring the total amount in
your machine to | pint. Add the
garlic, oregano and salt.

Biend until thick and smooth.
CALIFORNIA CHILI
(Serves 4)

This one has to be different. If
it came from California it is
unusual end probably has sprouts
in it, or at least avocado.

Try this. No avocado, but
chicken and a very mild chili
sauce from a jar. It is really a
great dish, although ene should
not confuse it with the old-line
chili cookers’ product.

1 pound kidney beans, soaked,
cooked and drained

1 chicken, cut up and browned (I
do this in a 400°F oven)

3 tablespoons clive oil

4 cloves garlic, sticed

3 yellow onions, peeled ard chop-
ped

1 teaspoown whole cumin seeds

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and
chopped

2 cups chili sauce (ketchup section
of supermarket)

4 tomatoes, chopped

2 green sweet bell peppers, seeded
and chopped

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 exp red wine

Salt to taste

Cook the beans and brown the
chicken. Heat a large frying pan
and add the oil.

CREME FRAICHE is a
fermented miJk product
with a luxurious texture and
a flavor that intrigues the
taste buds.

Creme fraiche can be used 10
finish sauces, as a topping for
steamed Christmas pudding or
savory dishes, and mixed with
pureed vegetables as a superb
make-ahead casseraie. And as an
advantage over sour cream, it
doesn't curdie when cooked.

Creme fraiche, which originated
in France, can often be purchased
in specialty stores. But ii's also
easy to make, by fermenting
whipping cream with buttermilk
or sour cream. Recipe books show
many variations, but here are the

Saute the garlic, onions, cumin
seeds and jalapeno peppers until
the onions are clear. Add all to a
heavy pot and bring to a simmer.
Cook for | hour.

CINCINNATI CHILI

(Serves a small neighborhood if
you use the pasta and condiments.
For your family it will serve 8-10
persons.)

This is certainly an interesting
dish, though a bit unusual. The
Story goes that a young chef from
Macedonia arrived in Cincinnati
and opened a chili stand. He add-
ed more spices, as per his
background, and Cincinnati chili
was born,

Note that this recipe calls for
some sweet spices such as cin-
namon and allspice, and cocoa.
Some recipes also call for nutmeg.

The method of serving is a bit
unusuai too. The chili is normally
not made with beans. Se when
you order Cincinnati chili you get
a bow! of meat and spices. When
you order it ‘two-way’ the sauce
comes on a pile of spaghetti.
When you order it ‘‘three-way”’
you get spaghetti topped with chili
and grated Cheddar cheese.

A ‘‘four-way"’ adds chopped
yellow onions and a ‘‘five-way’’
adds the fifth ingredient, beans.
2 tablespoons peanut oi!
1 pound ean pork,
ground
1 pound kamburger
4 yellow onions, peeled and chop-
ped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely
chopped
{ tablespoon whole cumin seeds
4 tablespoons hot chili powder,
commercial
3 whole bay leaves
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
4 tablespoons coccea powder
2 tabiespoons Worcestershire
sauce
4 tablespoons white vinegar
1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes,
pureed
1 tablespoon oreganc
2 pounds kidney beans, soaked
and ccoked
Salt to taste

Heat a 12-quart heavy stockpot
and add the oif. Saute the pork,
hamburger, onions, garlic, cumin
seeds, chili powder and bay leaves
until the meat is barely browned
and the onions clear. Drain the fat
and discard.

Add the remaining ingredients,
including the beans, and bring to
a simmer. Cook, covered, for 1%
hours or until the beans are very
tender. You may need to add

coarsely

basic steps.

Whisk together equal parts of
fresh whipping cream and sour
tream. Cover and let stand in a
warm place 2 to 18 hours, or un-
ul thick. Temperatures 86 to 90°F
(27-32°C) are ideal, but as house-
hold temperatures are cooter,
fermenting may take longer. Once
thickened, creme fraiche stores
well in the refrigerator for three
weeks.

Buttermilk makes the mast in-
tense version of creme fraiche, as
it retains the same nutiy essences
that flavor butter. Use two cups
(500 mL) of whipping cream and
one tablespoon buttermilk (15
mi), Shake well in a covered jar
to mix.

Making vour own creme fraiche

NEWS phoio Paul McGrath

Both Spain and Mexico are scoznful of chili dishes - the
etymology of the word ‘chili’ can be traced te Aztec origins.

water to the dish as it cooks.
19-ALARM CHILI
(Serves 18)

Everybody knows there is no
such thing as a 49-alarm_ fire.
However, this recipe from the
Chicago Fire Department might
actually require 19 alarms.

If you do not know what ¢ No.
10 can is, figure on just under a
gallon.

Na. 10 can tomato purce

1 No. 16 can whole pecied
tomatoes, chopped

6 powads good ground beer

1 large yeliow onion, pecled and
chopped

Y2 cup commercial chili powder,
or more to taste
3 tablespoons
leaves

whele oregano

basically means recycling these
bacterial cultures on your kitchen
counter, When these prolific
one-celied organisms find
themselves in a new rich milky
eavironment, they digest lactose,
the sugar in milk. The byproduct
of this process is lactic acid, which
slowly and gently coagulates the
mitk proteins. As the pracess con-
tinues, the cream thickens and its
flavor takes on tart but delicate
overtones.

As soon as the creme fraicne
has thickened, it sheuld be
refrigerated. The thickening con-
tinues sfowly and the Mavor inten-
sifies a3 it stands. ff left in the
warnith too long, molds begin to
form,

Because

mitk are

proteins

Salt and pepper to taste

1 No. 10 can red kidney beans,
drained

TOPPINGS

Cheddur cheese, grated

Sour cream

Yellow onions, pected and diced

In a large pot bring the tomato
puree and whole tomatoes to a
slow boii. While this is heating,
brown the ground heef with
chopped onion. Add this to the
tomato mixture.

Add chili powder and simmer
for 1 hour. Add oregano, salt and
pepper to taste aud simmer 15
minutes. Add kidney beans and
simmer 30 minutes.

Serve in a bowl with Cheddar
cheese on top and a dollop of
sour cream placed in the center.

iday cooking

diluied by the high fat content of
whipping cream (approximately
33%), creme fraiche can be heated
with litte danger of curdling.
Substitute it for sour cream in rec-
ipes which have a tendency to
separate when cooked.

Creme fraiche enhances
vegetables such as broccoli, car-
rots, green beans, and cauliflower.
Bach makes a flavorful puree. Use
about two pounds (! kg) of the
fresh vegetable, cut, cooked and
put threugh the food processor.
Mix the puree with one cup of
creme fraiche, and the seasonings
of your choice. Dot with butter
and refrigerate. Bake at 350°F
(180°C) for 28 minutes or until
the puree is steaming hot,