Whoa… I guess I need to ease myself back into this. I’ve had an amazing month, both back at home in New York and in Italy (Milan and Rome). We ate some amazing meals… sadly no pictures, but that’s OK. If any of you are planning to go to Milan any time soon, I recommend the Sadler. Amazing. That’s all I can say about it… just plain amazing.
Now, completely changing gears, on to the chili. People seem to be very serious about chili. Opinions are strong, although it seems as though it can go either way: meaty or meatless, beans or no beans, the way that one was raised and where that raising occurs can affect drastically the way one views what is basically like a stew: a recipe invented to use up veggies and meat left in the icebox.
I wasn’t raised with chili, so I don’t have any strong opinions on either of these issues. I’ve tried all kinds of chili, meatless, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, with or without beans and other vegetables, and I’ve come to a conclusion: I simply don’t care that much! I want flavours that go well togethe, and I want heat all the way through, both on the tip of the tongue with the addition of cayenne and black pepper, and in the back of the throat from hot chiles. Other than that, I’m willing to try anything.
When butternut squash went on sale, I grabbed one and then browsed epicurious, finally coming across this recipe. I didn’t have swiss chard, but I had spinach, and since I didn’t want to run out to the store again, I used that instead. I also hiked up the hotness factor quite a bit, but use your judgment if you try it. I like chili that blows my head off.
What was born was a relatively quick chili, considering that chili is meant to be slow-cooked all day, and an interesting mix of flavours.
Plus it keeps in the freezer. A definite plus for me.