Do your food cravings change in the fall? Mine do. The season ushers in cooler temperatures, changing leaves, and gathering around a fire pit with family in the chill of the evening. Oh, and chili is a great dish for tailgating, too. When that first taste of fall arrives, so does my craving for chili, more specifically, my husband’s version.
Interesting tidbits about this iconic American dish:
- Americans consumed 118 million pounds of chili last year.
- Chili did not originate in Mexico, but rather, in San Antonio, Texas in the 1800s.
- About 200 chili cook-offs are held each year.
- The fourth Thursday in February is recognized as National Chili Day, fitting since that is one of the coldest months of the year. (I could never wait until February to sample chili in our kitchen.)
- October is National Chili Month (Yay!!!).
Enough chili trivia. Let’s talk chili recipes, and they tend to be vastly different depending on where you live. For example, I worked at WKRC-TV in Cincinnati for a couple of years. I hadn’t been there but a few days before hearing about their style of chili. Skyline, Gold Star, and Dixie Chili restaurants are icons there. Their unique flavor is a result of the Mediterranean-spiced meat sauce, which is used for topping hot dogs and pasta. The sauce contains cinammon, cloves, allspice, and unsweetened baking chocolate. WAIT! Don’t diss that combination just yet.
Meanwhile, real Texas chili has no beans. There’s a saying in Texas, “If you know beans about chili, you know chili ain’t got no beans.”
Before I share my favorite chili recipe with you, let’s talk for a second about how you can serve it. I live in Columbus, Georgia, you know, Way Down Yonder on the Chattahoochee. Down here, the Scramble Dog is King.
More than 100 years ago, Dinglewood Pharmacy was founded. They don’t just fill your prescriptions; they have a real, honest-to-goodness soda fountain, which has become a favorite lunch spot of families from around here. That is where the Scramble Dog was born.
What is it? A toasted bun, a cut-up weiner, topped with chili, oyster crackers, and maybe cheese, pickles, and a dollop of sour cream. That choice is up to you. They serve about 600 a week. They were requested for President Carter’s inauguration and for wedding receptions in Saudi Arabia and Italy. So, yeah, scramble dogs are a pretty big deal here, there, and yonder. And they used to be served by Lieutenant Stevens, for 68 years, with a big smile. A man who was loved by all and knew generations of family members by name. Lieutenant left us last year, but the Scramble Dog at Dinglewoods still draws a big crowd every single day.
Whether you make chili just for a good bowl of chili, served on a hotdog with mustard and cole slaw for a chili slaw dog, or go full tilt with a Scramble Dog, cheers to fall and chili!
Bobby’s Chili ingredients:
1 & 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
3 cans light red and 3 cans dark red kidney beans
1 cup water
Spices: 2 Tbls. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. red pepper, 1 Tbls. cumin, 1/4 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. ground dry mustard, 3/4 tsp. cinammon, 1 oz. of unsweetened chocolate baking squares.
Brown ground beef and stir in remaining ingredients in an 8 qt. stockpot. It freezes well in the event you have leftovers.
Simmer for at least 2 hours.
*Like many chili and soup recipes, this will taste even better reheated. Emeril Lagasse always referred to that as “getting happy.”
*You will not really taste the cinammon and baking chocolate; they serve to enrich the chili’s flavor.
*Add more water as needed.
Is it chilly enough in your neighborhood yet for a big pot of chili? Try this recipe and let me know what you think. If you have a favorite chili recipe to share, please let me know, [email protected], or check in on our Facebook page.
Happy eating!
