Then I started watching the Master Chef competition, and one of the hurdles the contestants had to clear was a taste test to determine all the ingredients in a pot of chili con carne. Yeehaw! It was a serendipitous moment, so I really paid close attention. One of the ingredients that nearly all the contestants got right was cumin. Cumin? I'd never heard of it. To the best of my memory it wasn't a spice that my mother ever used, so it wasn't in my kitchen. Well, there was an easy remedy for that. The next time I went to the dollar store I bought a jar of cumin, and the next time I made chili I opened it. As soon as I took a whiff, EUREKA! That was the allusive ingredient that was always missing from my chili. That batch turned out to be the best pot of chili con carne that I ever made.
I never make my chili the same way twice, so please consider this recipe a general guide.
CHILI CON CARNE
1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 medium size onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Ranch Style Beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 small can diced green chili peppers
1 small can (6 oz) tomato paste
3 tablespoons red chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
Brown ground beef and onions in a small stock pot. Once meat is browned all the way through add tomatoes, Ranch Style Beans, kidney beans, green chilies and tomato paste. Stir all ingredients thoroughly until tomato paste is smooth. Add seasonings and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If desired, serve each bowl of chili topped with chopped onions, chives or cheddar cheese. Corn bread makes a nice side dish, or drop a piece of cornbread in the bottom of the bowl and serve the chili over the top.
We had to open a restaurant before we found cumin; we also discovered it has a kick so be careful. An elderly man (about my age now) came in soon after we opened, sat down and ate a bowl of chili. After finishing we talked for a few minutes and he listed ever ingredient in our chili and proceeded to list what it was missing. Seemed he was writing a western cuisine cookbook and because our café was locally famous he wanted to include us. To make this long story short we finally got it right and our Chili made it into his cookbook. And we sold hundreds of our own cookbooks in the five years we owned the business. Christmas Eve is always Chili and Chicken Noodle night at our place.
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