Chili today, hot tamali.

It is now Summertime which is a good time to fire up the Chili pot.

It would be understatement to say that I like my chili. Down through the years, I have made hundreds of batches and have cooked in four major cook-offs.
Chili is an entree, a side-dish and a condiment. If you should ever want to master the art of Chili making, a good way to start is to buy a Carol Shelby's Chili Kit. Not only does it have all of the basic ingredients right in the bag, it has printed instructions enclosed. Once you make the first batch, you should be on your way to Chili Nirvana.

Some of the things that should be learned are,

1. There is a packet of Chili Powder enclosed and contrary to conventional thinking, you really can't use too much Chili Powder. The only limitation is the salt content in the powder.

2. Shelby advises using a cheap cut of beef such as Chuck or Round and hand cutting the meat into pieces that are "the size of your little toe". You should also trim off some of the fat, some because the fat provides flavor and keeps the meat from turning into Chili flavored Jerky.

3. As you should know by now, plain old GP flour is used to thicken gravy. To thicken the Chili, Shelby provides a packet of Masa Harina in the kit. Masa Harina is the flour that is used to make

corn tortillas and imparts a better Tex/Mex flavor then GP wheat flour.
4. There is also a small packet of Cayenne Pepper enclosed in the kit. I find the whole packet to be too much Cayenne so I found, through trial & error, that half a packet is about right for this Cleveland boy. You should now be ready to castoff your chili training wheels and go where the bold cooks go and become a citizen of the Chili Nation.
One last thing, chili should be hot and spicy. Spicy, by all means, yes. Hot, yes, but not too hot. After shoveling a spoonful into your face the stuff should be hot and spicy enough to make a swig of cold beer your next thought. But not so hot that fire blows out of your ears.

Cornbread

I think that a really good accompaniment for Chili is cornbread. The best cornbread that I have made, so far, is made from a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix. I follow the directions on the box with the following exceptions.
1. I don't use any liquid, at all. Instead, I use a can of cream-style corn. Add most of the corn and mix it in. Don't put the whole can in at first, you don't want the batter too soupy. You may well use it all but the liquid varies from can to can and brand to brand.
2. I add half of a small can of Diced Green Chilies. A whole can could work, but start with a half can for starters.

Oh yah. Don't forget the beer. Good beer. Mexican is apropos. Budweiser is not.
ABB.