Post Disco Chili

This weekend we had a disco themed party at our apartment. In the course of a few hours we took our cozy little 3 bedroom apartment and turned it into the likes of Studio 54! We had Tang, we had polyester, and we had Earth, Wind and Fire! Being the foodie that I am, I thought no decade party would be complete without quintessential 70’s party food. I had hoped to do fondue, but I envisioned that turning into a fire hazard pretty quick (especially with all the polyester!) so I opted for something a little less flammable. I quickly realized that buying food for a 70s party was pretty damn depressing. The only thing I bought that wasn’t processed or artificial in some way were oranges; and those only went into the punch that was made from powdered orange juice! Spray cheese was invented in the 1970s, so that make the cut. It turns out that spray cheese barely tastes like cheese and never had to be refrigerated. Hmmmm… suspicious. I did make a French Onion Dip from scratch (hooray) and pigs and a blanket for both the meat-eaters and vegetarians. We also had disco cupcakes, cheese-wurst (haha, don’t ask) and various crudités. To sum up, 1970s foods are terrifying and I was glad to be back in 2011 where at the stroke of midnight everything became organic and less carcinogenic!

I ended up sleeping till about noon on Sunday, or in decade terminology---1985. I drank so much vodka infused Tang the night before that I was up till the wee hours watching old episodes of Fat Albert on Netflix instant watch. That stuff is no joke; astronauts drink it! So anyways, I thought chili would be perfect for a Sunday meal. It’s a great one pot meal and since I spent most of my paycheck on spray cheeese and Tang, I thought a week-long leftover would work out nicely. Chili is also great because once you know how to make a basic recipe, you can customize it to your liking. If you feel like adding kidney instead of pinto beans, or using turkey instead of ground beef, it’s easy to swap ingredients out. I call this particular recipe Christmas Chili because of the festive green and red color combo. As I look at it bubbling away, I just want to bust out my collection of Nat King Cole Christmas tunes……only 9 months to go!

Christmas Chili

Olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper, diced

2 pounds of ground beef or bison, turkey, chicken…whatever*

2 T chili powder or to your liking

1 t paprika

1 t oregano

1 cup of beef broth

1 can of beans, drained 2 cans of diced tomatoes with juice

Optional---one roasted jalapeño, seeds removed and diced

*If you use ground beef, stick to the 85/15 or 90/10 meat to fat ratio. I once made the mistake of using 75/25, and I had a really unappetizing layer of grease that I had to skim off. Ick.

Heat 1 to 2 T of olive oil in a soup pot over medium high heat.

Add onions and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add diced bell pepper and sauté another 2 minutes. Add ground beef and break apart with spoon. When meat is crumbled, add chili powder, paprika, and oregano and cook meat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes or so.

Add beans, broth and 2 cans of tomatoes and bring chili to a boil. Turn heat down to a simmer and let cook for another 30 to 40 minutes. You want the liquid to be reduced and the flavors to mesh together.

Serve with cheese, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips. For added heat, I like to add a roasted jalapeño. Simply place the pepper under your broiler for a few minutes until is blackens. Remove and wait till it cools and then peel off outer blackened layer. Cut in half, remove seeds and stem (unless you want A LOT OF HEAT), and chop finely. Add to chili as the last step.