Oh yes. It’s that time of year again. It’s brisk. Downright cold, even (compared to the brutal, recently-passed summer). People go into hibernation mode. They crave warm, hearty foods. Enter: chili!
Now, I’ll tell you how I got there in a second. First, let me tell you about Dan and my history with chili. It’s pretty much our specialty dish. We would cook it almost much every time we met up at my family’s cabin in Lebanon Church (the halfway point between Harrisonburg and Arlington) when we were doing the long-distance thing while I was still in college. It warmed us many a cold night up there, ladled into bowls and topped with sour cream, and many a cool morning after, piled onto eggs. We perfected a recipe all our own, that involved ground beef, diced tomatoes, dark kidney beans, peppers (both bell and habanero), onions, a secret blend of southwestern spices, and our key ingredient: a little bit of cinnamon and brown sugar. We’d let that thing simmer for hours and it only got better the next day.
However, one thing we had never made was white chicken chili. So, for the sake of doing something new last night, I decided to make this. I loosely based it on this recipe, with some changes. I used corn instead of zucchini, completely disregarded the measurements for the spices because it seemed WAY too under-seasoned, added in a few extra seasonings like paprika and garlic powder (in addition to the fresh garlic already in there), didn’t rinse my beans (that stuff that coats them = starch + sodium. Starch + sodium = delicious), and replaced one of the three cups of chicken stock with a cup of this guy:
Now now, that’s a pretty pose, but we can’t see your branding. Look up a little bit.
There we go. Now the whole world can see you are the Heinnieweisse Weissebier Farmhouse Ale from Butternuts Beer and Ale in Garrattsville, NY (well, they can’t see the brewery info, but I looked it up). I chose this beer for two reasons: a) it was a flavorful but light-colored/bodied beer that seemed to fit the white-chicken-chili ethos, and b) you could buy individual cans of it from the Euro Mart on Wilson Blvd. that I stopped in at on my walk, so I wouldn’t have to carry a whole six-pack home.
Of course, I bought two cans: one to cook with, and one to sample while I was cooking. And I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed! This is the first beer I’ve ever had from a can that actually tasted as good as beer from bottles. I know canned beers are making a comeback nowadays, and with advances in canning technology and materials, there is supposed to be no difference in quality between cans and bottles, save for those that arise out of our own prejudices. But I have to say, either my prejudices must be awful strong or that claim is just not the truth. I’d previously tried another beer from this brewery, the Porkslap Pale Ale, which I ordered at GalaxyHut purely because of the funny name. Meh. I didn’t think it was very flavorful. My next experience with a canned craft brew was Old Chub, a Scotch ale from Oskar Blues. It was good, because come on, you can’t make a Scotch ale without it having flavor. But I just didn’t think it had the body or the heft of a bottled Scotch ale.
But this beer actually tasted comparable to a hefeweizen or farmhouse ale that comes from a bottle. It’s actually kind of an interesting taste: both hefeweizen AND farmhouse ale? Wheaty, yeasty, AND wild-saison-y tasting? Yes, please. I’d like another. And I’d like one for my chili too!
Oh. And of course. I forgot one other modification I made to the recipe. Dan’s aviator glasses are a requirement for chopping that onion that goes in there, as they cover a large proportion of my face and provide the best tear-guard I’ve found to date.
I have to say, this was a pretty good recipe. I let it simmer longer than usual, in an attempt to get it to boil down more, but then conceded to the fact that it’s not a thick, tomato-ey chili like we’re used to having. It’s more a soupy chili. And that’s OK. I also stirred a good amount of sour cream into my bowl, and topped it with crushed tortilla chips.
Blue corn all the way! Times these chips by about five (I’d already eaten some of it, and kept adding more as I went along).
Click here if you want a more printer-friendly version of the recipe. A warning: this will make A LOT of chili. We both had hearty portions, and the leftovers just barely fit into a very large container. But I’m betting this is easily freezable, and can be pulled out at a moment’s notice to warm your soul (and stomach) on a cold night and be enjoyed with a nice farmhouse ale.
Cheers!
I’m hoping it thickens up a bit in the fridge. I might have it for dinner again tomorrow night.
Try heating up an individual portion over the stove with a few pinches of flour (dissolved in a little water first) if it doesn’t, and you really want to try to make it thicker.
I will probably eat it again too after class tomorrow night…mmmmm.
If you still have too much left over, I volunteer to take some off your hands!
We’ll see how much of it is gone when I come back on Sunday 🙂