A Kitchen in Queens

Recipes and Reviews from a little kitchen in a borough of nyc.
For some reason, Chili has been a common theme in my life for the past couple months. Beyond Cincinnati style Chili, I don’t feel like I’ve really eaten a lot of different kinds of chili, but lately, it’s been everywhere.  My Aunt Lynne had a big pot over Thanksgiving that we spent 3 days eating through. At the party in Colorado David made 2 kinds, one meat and one vegetarian.  And on “Top Chef” they had a Chili cook off in one of the most intense competitions they’ve done to date, making the chefs stay up all night cooking and then cook again the next day.   So, it’s no real surprise that making a pot has been on my mind. The biggest problem I have when I get it in my head that I want to cook something, is which recipe to use.  I sometimes spend hours looking for recipes that fit what I want, and this was no different. I even turned to facebook for a little help.  Unfortunately on there, most people either gave me Cincinnati Chili Recipes (I already have a great one) or they said, “it’s all in feeling it out”, which is just not how I cook.  I like to have a starting point and then I like to tailor it to fit my needs.  My needs for Chili?  Lots of meat, very few beans, and some serious HEAT.   I emailed myself probably 10 or so chili recipes to consider, and wrote “THIS ONE” next to about 4 of them, but it was the 1st one I sent myself (without anything written next to it) that ended up being my winner. It was simply called “Beef Chili” and it fit the bill.  I switched it up a bit.  Instead of a yellow pepper, I threw some red and green pepper in a food processor along with some Jalapeno pepper.  Rather than 3 tablespoons of straight Chili Powder, I did 2 tablespoons of Chili Powder and then added 2 tablespoons Chili 9000 seasoning that I got from Penzy’s Spices.  I told ya I like it hot! My grocery store had the chipotle peppers in adobo and although it was messy cutting em up, I knew it was going to be worth it.   I killed the pinto beans and used just a small amount of small white beans. And then I used fire roasted tomatoes, and threw in a little liquid smoke to give a little more flavor to the dish.  At Lynne’s we served hers over rice with oyster crackers and onions.  David’s we served with corn bread and hot sauce.  This doesn’t need a lot, but a few extra onions and some cheese never hurt anyone.  I learned that from Cincinnati Chili.  

For some reason, Chili has been a common theme in my life for the past couple months. Beyond Cincinnati style Chili, I don’t feel like I’ve really eaten a lot of different kinds of chili, but lately, it’s been everywhere.  My Aunt Lynne had a big pot over Thanksgiving that we spent 3 days eating through. At the party in Colorado David made 2 kinds, one meat and one vegetarian.  And on “Top Chef” they had a Chili cook off in one of the most intense competitions they’ve done to date, making the chefs stay up all night cooking and then cook again the next day.  

So, it’s no real surprise that making a pot has been on my mind. The biggest problem I have when I get it in my head that I want to cook something, is which recipe to use.  I sometimes spend hours looking for recipes that fit what I want, and this was no different. I even turned to facebook for a little help.  Unfortunately on there, most people either gave me Cincinnati Chili Recipes (I already have a great one) or they said, “it’s all in feeling it out”, which is just not how I cook.  I like to have a starting point and then I like to tailor it to fit my needs.  My needs for Chili?  Lots of meat, very few beans, and some serious HEAT.  

I emailed myself probably 10 or so chili recipes to consider, and wrote “THIS ONE” next to about 4 of them, but it was the 1st one I sent myself (without anything written next to it) that ended up being my winner. It was simply called “Beef Chili” and it fit the bill. 

I switched it up a bit.  Instead of a yellow pepper, I threw some red and green pepper in a food processor along with some Jalapeno pepper.  Rather than 3 tablespoons of straight Chili Powder, I did 2 tablespoons of Chili Powder and then added 2 tablespoons Chili 9000 seasoning that I got from Penzy’s Spices.  I told ya I like it hot!

My grocery store had the chipotle peppers in adobo and although it was messy cutting em up, I knew it was going to be worth it.  

I killed the pinto beans and used just a small amount of small white beans. And then I used fire roasted tomatoes, and threw in a little liquid smoke to give a little more flavor to the dish. 

At Lynne’s we served hers over rice with oyster crackers and onions.  David’s we served with corn bread and hot sauce.  This doesn’t need a lot, but a few extra onions and some cheese never hurt anyone.  I learned that from Cincinnati Chili.  

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