Chili con Bourgie

Chili is a food of cooking lore. Days are spent with giant pots simmering away on the stove. Women and men don their American flag aprons and head to the county fair for endless chili cook-offs. Secret recipes are de riguer. I've never really understood what all of the hullabaloo was about. Sure I love chili as much as the next girl, but I would be hard-pressed to mention a food that can be consumed in a bowl that I would wait hours, even days to consume.

Even an impatient bourgie loves chili, though there's nothing too bourgie about this chili. This chili, adapted from Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures (I know, I think title is lame myself) was good. Rib-sticking and belly warming with just a touch of heat from ancho chile powder, the chili was a solid 7 on a 10 point scale. Simmered, for just about an hour, and made with ground beef, the chili was relatively quick and equally as simple.

One final question remains, to bean or not to bean...I say, "Bean!" What is a chili without beans? Meat soup. So in this case I opted for the kidney bean. The bean is a thing of beauty, smooth, soft, some would say almost buttery. A perfect orb of protein. I know that you have your chili purists who would say that bean interferes with the perfection of the chile and the beef. But those people would also be the same folks with their American flag aprons. And to those people I throw down my apron and proclaim, "Bean me up, Scotty!" If you would like the recipe for Chili con Carne with Beans, go to the Daily Specials page.