Review : All-American Chili Jan/Feb 2003

[melis104]

We had this tonight for dinner. It was fantastic!! The flavors were amazing. I had to add some cayenne to spice it up a bit since it wasn't all that hot especially for my BF. He had two bowls full so I guess he liked it too.

[Peggy]

Glad to hear this was a winner! I have it on the menu for Super Bowl Sunday. Go Raiders!!!:D

Peggy

[cindyloo]

I also have this on the menu! DH looked at the picture and was drooling!

[mandarin2j]

Made this last Sunday & have been using it for the occasional dinner since. I finished cooking it in the crockpot on low all day, rather than in a Dutch oven, and I really like the way it turned out. I found that I prefer a dollop of lowfat sour cream on top instead of the cheddar. It does lack the fire I thought it would have, but it's easy enough to shake some hot sauce on it after it's done. I'll definitely make this again!

[Julia1Pin]

This was really good and easy. I subbed and ancho chile for the jalapeno but otherwise pretty much stuck to the recipe (oh yah, I used Turkey Polska kielbasa instead of the sausage). Every review that I've read so far is right on, hardly any spiceness - but I was trying to make something that my MIL and nanny would eat, so it was fine (I just added more spice to my own bowl). This is a great comfort food that makes big portions. I'm going to freeze some to pull out when I don't want to cook.

[MinEaston]

I made a HUGE pot of this yesterday. Here's a hint if you want it to be spicy: buy "extra-hot chili powder" from an Indian market.

Thankfully I had had some experience with the chili powder before because even though I doubled the rest of the ingredients, I actually used less than what was called for. It's nice and hot and may need a bed of brown rice and light sour cream to tone it down for me (DH likes it when his eyes water).

We'll see what my colleagues at work think, I'm entering it into a Superbowl Chili Cook-Off we have this Friday :-)

[MaryH]

I made it tonight and forgot that some of the cans of tomatoes I used had chilis in them. My SIL said that parts of it were not spicy and others were. (All in all on my hotness scale, which is higher than most people's, it rated about a 6. But that' sbecause of the tomatoes I used.)

[brendat4]

I made this early last week and thought it was really good and quite easy to make. My DD (age 2) even ate a bowl of it herself! I didn't think it was overly spicy, but I am a spice wimp to begin with. The leftovers the next day were even better (like the article says) and the flavors and spice were more intense--in a good way. DH is on his crazy "no-carbs" diet so he only took a spoonful but he did like it a lot too--thought it needed more spice but this is coming from a guy who eats those little dried red peppers for Chinese food in each bite of food and LIKES it!

I froze some of the chili (it makes A LOT) and pulled it out for when my parents were over on Sunday. They really liked it too. This is definitely a make-again, keeper recipe for me.

[colleency]

I wonder if I did something wrong. The beans weren't done nearly enough. They were a little too crisp for me. And I prefer a less liquid chili. But there sure is a lot. I think if I cook it down a little more it should solve both problems. I'm going to throw it in the crock pot.

[valchemist]

colleen,

did you start with dried beans? the recipe called for canned beans, not dried. I am only asking because I have never tasted a bean from a can that seemed "crisp."

val

[MaryH]

Originally posted by brendat4
I froze some of the chili (it makes A LOT) and pulled it out for when my parents were over on Sunday. They really liked it too. This is definitely a make-again, keeper recipe for me.

It's when I saw how much it made, that I called my SIL and told her to come over and bring her two teenage boys!!! (Only one of them came, they ate a lot, but I still sent stuff home with them AND had enough leftovers for the next two to three days. :D :cool:

[colleency]

No, they were from a can. They weren't crunchy, just crispy...a little too firm, maybe like a fresh raw pea? I possibly cooked it too low. I'm still not used to cooking on an electric stove. :(

[Terrytx]

We liked this alot. Not that I would really call this chili, at least not what we are used to, but the flavor was very good. I'd do it again.

[MinEaston]

Well, my extra spicy chili turned out to not be so spicy, at least according to the judges at work. We won 2nd place in the chili cook-off this past Friday. I ended up not putting beans in it at all, and am glad to have loads of it in the freezer for future consumption. Two thumbs up!

[muriel3002]

What everyone else said! This is a great recipe and the ratio of meat, tomatoes and beans was just perfect, too. I used the Merlot and was really surprised at the depth it added to the taste.

I used regular turkey sausage as I could only find Sweet Italian turkey sausage, no hot. And I didn't have a jalapeno, so that was out too.

This is definitely a KEEPER recipe.

[Kismet]

I hate to be the dissenter on this recipe, but I'm going to anyway! :D I made the chili last night and re-heated it today. I thought it was ok but not great. I really didn't like the sweetness of it. I prefer my chili spicier and more savory. Perhaps it would be better with less brown sugar. I did think that the combo of meats was very good, and there was just the right amount of meat and beans, so I may have to try again with less sugar.

[colleency]

Ok. I kept this in the fridge Saturday. Today I put it in the crockpot on low (with a spoon under the lid to let it cook down). I put it in at around 10:30 and I took it out at 7:00. It was a little extra brown on top, but it was really good!

I'm not sure if I'll make it again, because it took so long to get to the spot where I liked it, but I sure am enjoying now. (Really right now...I'm eating it while I type this.)

[Peggy]

Yummy chili!!! Made this on Friday morning, before we left town for the weekend. Had it for dinner tonight while we watched the Super Bowl. Let's just say the chili met our expectations; the Raiders did not!;)

Peggy

[lsdesign]

As much as DH and I like things spicy I backed way off on account of the kids. I used all of the chili powder, cumin, etc. I would have liked to use ancho chili powder instead of store brand but the kidlets ate it right up. One thing that really helped I thing was using a can of the roasted organic crushed tomatoes I happened to have on hand with the regular diced. It did make a difference.

[Tizzylish]

I made this last week, I added two jalepenos and it was just the right heat for us. A definite repeater in our house. :D

[d_ferrero]

I'm wondering what we did wrong (or right)? we made this yesterday for the Super Bowl, and our version was super-spicy (and very good!). I couldn't find hot turkey italian sausage, so I bought my butcher's "lower fat spicy pork Italian sausage -- perhaps that made the difference. Looking forward to leftovers tonight on a baked potato. :)

[Gina O]

I made this on Saturday and served it on Sunday (after driving it to Tulsa).

I have always made chili the way my mom made chili with some minor variations. And, I have never really been super crazy about the chili I make.

Well, I am now. This was absolutely the best chili I have ever tasted. I loved all the tomatoes, the tiny hint of sweetness and the meat combination.

My only change was that I didn't want to go on an all out search for the sausage, so I just used what I had on hand, regular bulk sausage from my butcher and added some extra cayenne. I didn't have a bottle of merlot I was willing to part with, but found a 10 year old bottle of pinot noir on the wine rack that seemed to work just perfectly.

Neither Brian nor I found it to be overly spicy, we both added a little hot sauce. I like things a lot spicier than he does, so I won't change the recipe in the future. We can add hot sauce to taste individually.

This will be my chili recipe of choice for the future, and the cans of Brook's chili beans will be donated to the next food drive! Gina

[JackieO]

Originally posted by d_ferrero
I'm wondering what we did wrong (or right)? we made this yesterday for the Super Bowl, and our version was super-spicy (and very good!). I couldn't find hot turkey italian sausage, so I bought my butcher's "lower fat spicy pork Italian sausage -- perhaps that made the difference. Looking forward to leftovers tonight on a baked potato. :)

Oooohh...now I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow night! Chili leftovers atop a baked spud!

I made this recipe this afternoon -- used Turkey Store sweet Italian sausage, only used 1 T. of chili powder but added 1 T. of Penzey's adobo seasoning and 1 T. of Penzey' ground chipotle. Since I discovered that DS will clean his bowl if there are no visible hunks of tomato, I used crushed tomatoes instead of whole. (If there are chunks of things he doesn't like, he just picks the meat out of whatever is being served. :rolleyes: )While the dish was quite thick (last week's chili was very thin and although quite good, we all like thicker chili), tonight's version was an absolute HIT. DS said the chili was spicy and good, DH had thirds:o and started to sweat with the very first bowl (he's Norwegian), and I enjoyed my serving, too. This is a repeater for us.

[Ralph]

Another thumbs up here, too. Didn't make any changes to the recipe, but used hot turkey sausage & Penzey's medium hot chili powder, so it still had a pretty good kick!

[JLS]

Yum!!!! This was excellent!

I halved the recipe and used one TJ's jalapeno turkey sausage link. I am thinking that if I'd followed the recipe, and used half of the amount of the turkey sausauge it would have been out-of-this-world!
I loved the flavor the Merlot provided.

[Schmee]

Sounds great. Chili weather is definetely upon us. I will have to try it this week. JackieO -on top of a baked potato! YUUUUMM!:D

[JackieO]

Originally posted by Schmee
Sounds great. Chili weather is definetely upon us. I will have to try it this week. JackieO on top of a baked potato! YUUUUMM!:D
No kidding about the weather! I just made a batch of this on Sunday night -- and remembered AFTERWARD about the difference between crushed/diced tomatoes. (Guess who left the tomatoes in his bowl?) :rolleyes: Sunday's version turned out very hot, but I used a T. of regular chili powder, a T. of Penzey's chipotle powder and a T. of Penzey's ancho chili powder. I used lots of sour cream and grated cheese to turn down the heat, and served it with warm tortillas.

This is my favorite red chili.

[ReneeV]

I completely forgot about this recipe and how good it is! Thanks for reminding me. This will definitely appear in the fall rotation.

Renee

[swquilts]

Do you think I could brown the sausage the night before then put everything in the crockpot for the next day? We're having a chili cookoff next week.......

[Rae]

A quick question: How strong is the wine flavor in this chili?

I was thinking about making it this weekend for company, but know that one of my guests does not like the flavor of "cooked wine". Is the flavor of the wine distinctive?

[krissylou]

I don't know the actual answer to your question, as I made it without wine. (It was for a Super Bowl Sunday party and I discovered a bit too late that you can't buy alcohol in Massachusetts on Sundays. Oops. I could have driven to New Hampshire and gotten some, but I didn't care *that* much.)

But I can tell you that it's just fine without wine. Very yummy indeed. Although I think I'll try it again sometime with the wine and see how I like that.

[Vicanddi]

This is the best chili I have ever made! I have always made my standard crockpot chili, but no more! DH loved this, and immediately devoured 2 bowls. I really didn't make many changes, but used pinto beans instead of kidney beans. Absolutely wonderful, and terriffic with cornbread.

As far as the wine, I was a little worried about it myself, as we are not big wine drinkers, and I don't usually add wine to recipes. But, this time I did. It smelled strongly of the merlot for about an hour, and then it must of cooked off, because the smell went away, and I was left with a very flavorful chili. I would use the wine, even if you don't normally cook with wine...it worked for me!

[CindyWeightWatcher]

I've made this several times. The first few times
I used canned crushed tomatoes instead of whole tomatoes
that you then chop (as the recipe calls for). Anyway,
I'm just noting that there is a difference.

[CindyWeightWatcher]

Also, the wine flavor is not strong at all.

[aggie94]

After all the good reviews, and the mention of this recipe so many times on the "best recipes of 2003" threads, I had to try this. I halved the recipe, and it still made a lot - more than 4 servings, IMO. This was very good, but a little too tomatoey for my taste. I guess I'm used to traditional Texas chili (sans tomatoes and beans) -- I actually liked the beans in it, but there were too many chunks of tomatoes. Maybe less tomato, and crushed instead of diced, would suit my taste better.

I used Penzey's medium chili powder and a half a jalapeno, and the kick was perfect. I had planned to serve cornbread (Jiffy mix) alongside this, but I realized when I started to make it that I didn't have any eggs. :rolleyes: I also worried that the flavor of wine would be too much for me, but it seemed to cook off and leave a nice rich flavor. Two thumbs up from me. :)

[valchemist]

I made it too, after I had read all of the glowing reviews Eva mentioned. It was very good. DH and I both enjoyed it. Neither of us are wine drinkers and we were definitely able to taste the wine. But we were fine with that. Anyway, I would say it was a very good recipe and I might make it again someday, but for me it wouldn't have been in my top ten list for the year.

[purplefishy]

If I don't want to use wine in the chili, what substitution would be the best: cooking wine, beef broth, grape juice, or something else?

[SueK]

Originally posted by purplefishy
If I don't want to use wine in the chili, what substitution would be the best: cooking wine, beef broth, grape juice, or something else?

The first time I made this I was out of red wine so I used beef broth, and it still tasted fine.

[Gilgamesh37]

I tried this last week too, based on all the glowing reviews. I didn't want to use wine, so I used a bottle of winter porter (dark beer) that was hanging around from the holidays. I thought it was quite good, but DBF loved it--called me at work to say "I usually like what you make, but that chili is startlingly good. I hope you remember how you tweaked the recipe." :D

[colleency]

I made this with wine, and it tasted way too much like wine for DH and I. I made it again with grape juice, and it was great! We really liked it that way. It was sweet and spicy at the same time. I also left out the green peppers and chopped the tomatoes very fine.

[Lrimerman]

I recently made this chili with the wine, and it was too pronounced a flavor for DH and I and the kids. I will have to try the grape juice instead as mentioned.

Lisa

[aggie94]

Strange, because I was worried that the wine taste would be too strong for me (I don't like wine and am sensitive to the taste of alcohol), but I think 90 minutes cooked it off. I personally couldn't taste any wine in the chili, which I'm glad for.

[Vicanddi]

We don't drink wine, and I was worried about using it in the recipe. But, it seemed to cook off, and was not noticeable in the final result. Maybe those who still tasted the wine may have needed to cook it a little longer?

[angelamaria]

i also made this last night to have tonight. i used a zin for wine and fire roasted tomatoes (muir glen). i loved it! i am looking forward to seeing how the flavors have blended tonight.i really think the roasted tomatoes added to it although frankly i don't know why it couldn't just use diced or crushed tomatoes. i about gave myself carpal tunnel trying to chop them in the can with shears!

[kbucky]

I regularly make this with beer instead of wine, and without the sausage as well. It is our favorite chili recipe currently. We tend to use darker brews...

[colleency]

Originally posted by Vicanddi
Maybe those who still tasted the wine may have needed to cook it a little longer?

I don't think this is the case. The time that I made this that it tasted too much like wine, I had it cooking all day.

I think it may be that DH and I don't like the flavor that wine imparts. I didn't mean to say that it tasted of alcohol. It seemed to be a more complicated flavor than we prefer. The grape juice gave a simpler taste, if that makes any sense. We have noticed that we don't tend to like other recipes that are flavored with wine, either. Previous to about the last year, we never noticed because I only ever made very simple recipes.

[ellery]

Could someone please post the recipe? I tried the search engine and it's not feeling very accommodating today. ;)

thanks!

Leah

[shirleyj62]

All-American Chili
From Cooking Light


6 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground sirloin
1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 cups Merlot or other fruity red wine
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped
2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage, onion, and the next 4 ingredients (onion through jalapeño) to pan; cook 8 minutes or until sausage and beef are browned, stirring to crumble.
Add chili powder and the next 7 ingredients (chili powder through bay leaves), and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, tomatoes, and kidney beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaves. Sprinkle each serving with cheddar cheese.

Note: Like most chilis, this version tastes even better the next day.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups chili and 1 tablespoon cheese)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 375 (29% from fat); FAT 12g (sat 4.6g, mono 4.1g, poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 28.9g; CARB 33.7g; FIBER 8.2g; CHOL 59mg; IRON 5mg; SODIUM 969mg; CALC 165mg;

[mochadelsol]

All-American Chili

6oz hot turkey Italian sausage
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 pd. ground sirlon
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 tab. chili powder
2 tab. brown sugar
1 tab. ground cumin
3 tab. tomato paste
1 teas. dried oregano
1/2 teas. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teas. salt
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 cups Merlot or other fruity red wine
2 (28 oz) cans whole tomatoes undrained & coarsely chopped
2 (15 oz) cans kidney beans, drained
1/2 cup (2oz) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

1. Heat a large dutch oven over med-hi heat. Remove casing from sausage. Add sausage, onion, & the next 4 ingredients (onion through jalapeno) to pan; cook 8 min. or until sausage & beef are browned, stiring to crumble.

2. Add chili powder & the next 7 ingredients (chile powder through bay leaves), & cook for 1 min. stirring constantly. Stir in wine, tomatoes, & kidney beans, bring to a boil. Cover reduce heat, & simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Uncover & cook for 30 min. stirring occasionally, discard the bay leaves. Sprinkle each serving w/cheddar cheese. Yield: 8 servings

[shirleyj62]

I made this last night and made lots of changes:
1) substituted diced tomatoes with jalepenos
(instead of whole tomatoes and chopped jalepenos)
2) grape juice/beef broth
(instead of wine)
3) hot chili beans
(instead of kidney beans)
4) 1 Tbl brown sugar
(instead of 2 Tbl)
5) Hot italian sausage
(instead of hot turkey sausage)

I also cooked it for about an hour total time.

Even with the shortened cooking time and ingredient changes, it was still very good.

With these changes, it was very similar to my chili. Even though it was spicy, it had a slight sweet taste hiding in the background. My DH thought it was good and had several bowls.

It's a keeper.

Shirley

[mochadelsol]

oops now you have it twice. The first time I made this I kept to the recipe, the next time I played with it.
Instead of wine-beer, brown sugar-mexican choc., no turkey saus. I roasted the jal. w/seeds then chopped. We liked this both times.

[ellery]

Thanks! This does look yummy!

:)

Leah

[Frolickin]

We had this dish tonight.

I am a spicy chilli fan. I had read the reviews of this dish and was familiar with the ingredients. I subbed grape juice for the wine. Other than that, the dish was made exactly the same.

We both really enjoyed this. Indeed, it is sweet. If it were up to me, I would kick it up a bit, but my wife thought it was perfect as is. The recipe creates quite a bit. We packaged up a big container for the in-laws and still have enough for another meal ourselves.

We will have this again.

Fro.

[Middydd]

I always leave out the brown sugar.

[McSix]

Has anyone made this to cook in the crockpot all day? Success? Changes?

[imloulou]

I just wanted to bump this up to the top.

I have made it twice and it is DELICIOUS!! My kids love it...my husband loves it...I love it...It is officially a keeper! It makes great leftovers too.

I used a red wine (cabernet) and think it added a lot of depth to the chili...I dont think I would enjoy this as much without it.

I also used about a Tablespoon of a chopped up dried Ancho chile (http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyschilipeppers.html?id=hxuRWYmb) (shameless Penzey's plug) instead of the jalapeno because my kids don't like overwhelming heat. The ancho added a smokey taste that I really like.

[deniseannsc]

I'm another fan of the chili except for one change. I thought it was too sweet with the 2 Tbls of brown sugar. So I used one the next time. Still too sweet. No brown sugar is much better. I used Merlot wine too. It might have been the combination of Merlot and the sugar that made it too sweet. Other than that we all love it.