Happiness ... in my absence Lilli made a pot of chili.
it was pretty good but overherbed and underspiced, and
I figured the recipe had to have come from one of the
froufrou magazines. Turns out it was the one quoted
below with more garlic and onions and without the
coriander. Also twice the beans called for - even so
for a chili with beans it was weak in that department,
with here a bean, there a bean, not everywhere a bean
bean, which makes me think that the original would have
been a real please-all-please-none. I added a bunch of
hot pepper and found it quite palatable, the perfect
food for a day when it was 101 outside (91 inside) (not
kidding even about my happiness).

Surprise (not) ... Lilli had this urge for corn
products, so we went to the store and got a pound of
cornmeal for about a buck; then she got distracted and
picked up a 1/2 lb box of Jiffy mix as well for 59c. I
figured, goody, taste test, but I was pretty certain
which way it would turn out. As it transpired, what she
really wanted was corn on the cob but forgot that,
even though we went through the produce section, and I
got 2 lb of Washington Bings @1.49 (mixed bag but on
the whole above average). Result of Jiffy muffin mix
vs. Albers recipe from the box (blind test) - the Jiffy
were salty and bad-textured and terrible. The made from
scratch were underdone, so she put them back in the
oven for 3 min, which made them overdone. These were
less salty and less terrible but almost as bad-textured.
I figure 1 or 2 fewer minutes might have made them okay.

Sadness ... I find she's has thrown away my hoisin sauce
and my sriracha sauce, not knowing what to do with them.
True, we seldom make anything that requires either, but
we had some of those 1.99 boneless loin chops to turn
into party food, and I could have used them; instead I
had to cobble together a sweetish garlic sauce that was
adequate to the task but would have been a bunch better
with a dab of hoisin.

Here's the chili recipe, found after modest sleuthing. Lilli
used more garlic and more onion and omitted the coriander.
She used 90% lean, doubled the beans, and substituted chicken
broth for beef. I'd have used 80% lean tops, halved the thyme
and oregano, doubled or tripled the cumin and garlic, doubled
the tomato paste and onion, and omitted the beans, sugar, and
diced tomatoes. I might or might not have used the coriander.

Beef Chili with Beans
Categories: stews, celebrity, Mexican, Chicagoan, Michigander
Serves: 8

3 Tb vegetable oil
3 lb ground beef chuck
2 lg onions, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tb ancho chile powder
3 Tb pasilla chile powder
3 Tb ground cumin
2 Tb ground coriander
1 Tb sugar
2 ts chopped thyme
2 ts chopped oregano
1 ts black pepper
1 ts cayenne pepper
3 c low-sodium beef broth
15 oz cn pinto beans
14 oz cn diced tomatoes in juice
5 chipotle chiles in adobo, seeded and finely chopped
1 c tomato sauce
1/4 c tomato paste
1 Tb cider vinegar
juice of 1 lime
salt

In a large, heavy pot or a medium enameled cast-iron
casserole, heat the oil. Add half of the ground beef
and cook over high heat, breaking it up with a wooden
spoon, until browned, about 5 min; transfer to a bowl
with a slotted spoon. Brown the remaining beef.
Return the first batch of browned beef to the pot.

Add the onions and pepper to the pot and cook over
moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the
onions are translucent, about 8 min. Add the garlic,
chile powders, cumin, coriander, sugar, thyme, oregano,
black pepper and cayenne and cook for 10 min, stirring
occasionally.

Stir in the beef broth, pinto beans, tomatoes and
juice, chipotles, tomato sauce, tomato paste and
the vinegar. Simmer the chili over low heat for
90 min, stirring occasionally. Add the lime juice,
season with salt and serve.

The chili can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Grant Achatz, Food and Wine magazine, December 2006
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