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

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

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