Food In The Fort

Hellfire and Brimstone Chili

Leo | June 10, 2008

Leo is a godless heathen, while Catherine is just a plain heathen but we live in Fort Wayne, Indiana which is nicknamed The City Of Churches. It’s true. You can’t go more than a half mile in any direction downtown without running into a church or overhearing some pious pontiff haranguing the flock about the sorry state of the place where they’ll be spending their afterlife. So we thought it only appropriate to name one of the hottest chili recipes we’ve ever tasted here at Food In The Fort after that mythical lake of fire.

This is truly a collaborative recipe. We made it last week when we suddenly decided that we absolutely had to have chili. Of course, last week was actually the first week of April. We’ve been too busy to write this up before now (something about buying a house…) but it is true that we had a sudden craving for chili, whatever month it was.

Leo concocted the basic recipe out of four or five of his favorites with the guiding philosophy that if a little is good, a lot must be better. By the time Catherine came home, the paint was peeling off the ceiling and god knows what sort of damage Leo had inflicted on his intestinal tract in the sampling. So Catherine felt that a little mediation was in order. Leo rambled on for quite some time about balancing PH levels, but in the end Catherine added the cocoa, sugar and extra cornstarch because they sounded good. Presto! The chili was nice and hot; just shy of necessitating a trip to the ER.

We couldn’t have been happier with this Rube Goldberg of a recipe. It goes great with the sun-dried tomato and jalapeño cornbread and gives sinners like us a little taste of what’s to come.

Hellfire and Brimstone Chili
Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
2 large onions, chopped
10-12 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (14 oz.) jar hot salsa (or medium, we won’t think badly of you)
2 (15 oz.) cans hot and spicy chili beans
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tsp. ground red pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. cocoa
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Preparation

In a large skillet, cook the ground beef and drain (we actually keep a little bit of the fat)
Toss everything in crockpot except cornstarch and water; cook on low about eight hours
Turn heat to high
Mix cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into chile
Cook uncovered an additional 15-20 minutes

About the author: I've only lived in Fort Wayne for slightly less than a year but have grown to love the city in this short time. We're very lucky to have such a diverse food culture that goes far beyond the typical fast food fare. As for cooking, I used to dread it but it's become one of my favorite activities to do with Catherine. There's something very relaxing about cooking and setting down to a nice meal together. Well, it would be relaxing if it weren't for the dog sticking his snout into everything but it's fun nonetheless. Read more from this author