The Great Chili Cookoff

I want to thank all of my friends and family that came out to support me with their votes at the Habitat for Humanity Chili Cookoff. I won first place in the people's choice category with my "Green Monster" Chili. With trophy finally in hand, I am happy to share my recipe with everyone. CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE



My entry was a white chicken chili that was full of roasted green chilies, grilled chicken, and northern white beans.I started my chili by roasting 2 pounds of assorted poblano, anaheim, jalapeno, and serrano chilies with tomatillos. You can adjust the heat of the chili by playing around with the types, and the quantities of each of the chilis that you use. Keep in mind that using fresh chiles in a recipe is not an exact science. The heat of a particular variety of chile can vary greatly based on where, and, when it was grown, and the time of the year.
I gave them a rub with vegetable oil and roasted them in a 375 degree oven until they looked like this....

After roasting, the chilis get placed into a plastic bag to make them "sweat". The skin of the pepper and the seeds are easily removed under cold running water after only a few minutes. I then chopped the peppers and the tomatillos and set them aside in the large stock pot that the chili will be put together in.

The base of the chili started with rendering down 1/2 a pound of diced bacon in a saute pan.

The crispy bacon bits are removed from the pan and set aside to be added back to the chili later. I then added 1 diced green pepper, 1 diced onion, and 6 diced celery stalks to the hot bacon drippings. This is a traditional Cajun style base for many recipes, otherwise known as the "holy trinity" of creole cooking. There is a definite extra depth of flavor that is added to the chili by cooking the vegetables in the bacon fat. Hey, I am trying to win a chili cookoff, not count calories! The vegetables are cooked until softened and added to the stock pot with the chopped chilies.

The next step was getting the chicken ready for the chili. Several pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts were butterflied and seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. The chicken was grilled over very high heat until well done. I was looking for good color and a little charring to add extra flavor to the chili. In this step you do not have to worry about the chicken getting too dry because its going to be diced and added to the chili.

The diced cooked chicken was added to the stock pot with several cans of northern white beans that had been rinsed and drained.

With all of the ingredients in the pot it was time to finish it by adding the liquid and dairy ingredients. For this large batch I added 2 quarts of chicken stock, 1 can of salsa verde, and two cans of green enchilada sauce. You will want to taste the mixture at this point to determine if it has enough chicken flavor. Depending on where it is at I usually add some additional instant chicken stock or bouillon cubes at this point to get the flavor where I want it. I then bring this mixture up to a simmer and add some additional dried seasonings. One teaspoon each of cumin, black pepper, and garlic powder are added to the pot along with a large tablespoon of dried oregano. At this point we can re-incorporate the bacon bits that we cooked earlier and move onto the step of adding the dairy ingredients. First one softened package of cream cheese is added to the pot. It is important to have the cream cheese soft enough so that it will easily mix into our chili mixture. The final ingredients are 1 cup of heavy cream, and one cup each of shredded sharp cheddar and monterrey-jack cheeses. The pot is given a final stir to incorporate and then the chili is brought to a simmer on low heat for at least an hour for the flavors to incorporate. The chili is great served with some accompaniments such as fresh cilantro, diced onions, shredded cheese, and sour cream. Feel free to email me if you would like a more detailed ingredient list and instructions for this recipe. Thanks again to everyone that voted!

Italian Beef Sandwiches

During my time in Chicago I was introduced to something that is as Chicago as the hotdog is but without the same notoriety. I am talking about the classic Italian beef sandwich. It can be found at corner hot dog huts and sandwich stands across the city. The first names that usually come to mind are Portillos or Al's #1 Italian Beef. Both of these companies have multiple locations across the Chicagoland area. The idea for the sandwich is quite simple really. It consists of very thinly sliced roast beef that is soaked in a rich beef stock that is heavily seasoned with Italian spices. The meat is piled high on fresh Italian buns. Toppings are optional and are limited to cheese and a choice of peppers (sweet bell or hot giardenara).

My choice cut of beef for this recipe is the eye of round roast. Its a little leaner than some of the other options and if you prepare it properly it makes great Italian Beef. For this recipe I started with a large 6-1/2 pound roast...I know thats big but hey its Superbowl Sunday!

How Is It Made???

First I rinse and trim the roast of any visible fat. Then the meat gets a light coating of vegetable oil followed by heavy doses of dried oregano, garlic powder, and pepper. I then sprinkle with a very light amount of salt. I give the roast a quick rub to distribute the spices evenly, and its ready for the oven.I put the roast on a rack and into a 475 degree oven for 7 minutes per pound, so 45 minutes total for this bad boy. After 45 minutes, I removed the roast from the rack and placed it in a pan with a few cups of good beef broth. I then insert my digital thermometer, wrap with foil, and return to the oven at 325 degrees. I watched the readout of my thermometer and pulled it out of the oven when it read 125 degrees in the center. I allowed the roast to rest on top of the stove under its foil tent for 30 minutes and the temperature continued to rise until it peaked at 142 degrees in the center, which is perfect for what we needed. The larger the cut of meat the more the temperature will tend to rise after pulling from the oven. I put the pan with the roast and broth into the fridge to chill until we were ready to eat. It is much easier to thinly slice meat once its given a chance to cool. In the meantime I prepared the sweet peppers by steaming green, yellow, and red bell pepper strips in a little bit of reserved beef broth.

C'mon...Lets Eat!

I removed the roast from the fridge and combined the juices from the pan with the juices from the peppers into a large pot and brought just to a boil. I then turned the heat to low. Meanwhile, its time to get out the heavy equipment. There is nothing like using a real meat slicer for when you need to finely shave meat. I have made this recipe by hand before, it just takes a little extra effort and a sharp knife. I thinly sliced the beef and added into the broth mixture to heat back up to temperature as well as soak up some of the flavors in the broth. A toasted Italian roll with provolone cheese is the perfect place to stack this creation. Pile the meat as high as you can and top it with some of the sweet peppers. Authentic Italian beef houses in Chicago will give you the option of having your bun dipped in the "gravy" or what we called the broth. We usually opt to serve the sandwich with a little cup of the broth on the side for dipping. This is big city comfort foot at its finest.