Sunday, October 18, 2009

Chili Sunday



Blogger appears to be experiencing upload problems, so no Sunday funnies today.

We're having a few people over this afternoon for an annual celebration of football, friends, family, and Texas red chili. Here's W. Sam Oatman's tried-and-true recipe (as adapted by me) from the 1979 edition of the Texas Hill Country Cookbook:

3-3.25 pounds lean ground beef
6 oz. beer
3 oz. tomato paste
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
3 medium garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 Anaheim chili peppers
3 red chili peppers
2 jalapenos

In a large stew pot, put meat, beer, and two cups water. Simmer meat until light gray in color, then add tomato paste. Stir and simmer for a few minutes, then add spices, garlic, onion, and salt. Stir thoroughly and remove from heat.

Remove seeds and stems from chili pods and boil in a covered saucepan for with 3 cups of water for 15 minutes. Remove peppers and water to a blender and blend into a thick sauce. Ad sauce to meat and simmer 2 hours. Serves 4 to 6...

Last night, I lit a fire and watched Mutiny on the Bounty, the 1935 Best Picture winner starring Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh and Clark Gable (sans mustache) as Fletcher Christian. Talk about great story telling! Laughton is brilliant as the sadistic Bligh and Gable -- despite misgivings about the part -- gives a definitive performance as the conflicted first mate torn between duty and a desire to handle the Bounty's crew with a light hand. Don't miss this one!






Foxessa reviews The Harder They Come, the 1973 film starring Jimmy Cliff that brought reggae to the United States...

Sunday Gospel Time: Lee Williams & The Spiritual QCs sing "He Laid His Hands On Me":

10 comments:

Foxessa said...

Well, I don't exactly review THTC -- kinda late for that! :) I just talk about what I see in it now, as opposed to what I didn't see back in the day when I first watched it.

Your chili sounds just delicious.\

I feel exactly as though I have a cold -- the dust and junk from the cold wind blowing here all last week and today too. Your chili would be an excellent analgesic.

I suppose I could make some myself. But my head hurts and my throat's scratchy. Vaquero gets home in a couple of hours, and he feels the same way. We'll have to settle for split pea soup -- that include some of the ribs from the rack Greg Grandin gave us last month and I put in the freezer. We'll have something pasta later tonight.

Love, C.

K. said...

Oohh...split pea soup and ribs sounds like just what the doctor ordered for a scratchy throat! Have you ever had the split pea soup a Schilo's Deli in San Antonio? Not to be missed!

Roy said...

Files are uploading again. I tried this morning and got the same results you did. So I gave up and ate lunch, and when I got back to the computer Blogger uploaded my photos just fine. So all's well again.

Heh, heh! What other apps do you think they'll come up with for the iPhone?

BTW, that story of the mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty as portrayed in the novel and the movies based on it is a myth, created by authors Nordhoff and Hall to make a "romantic" story. In fact William Bligh was an exemplary officer and considered far more lenient and easy-going than other skippers in the British Navy. He went on to be a Vice Admiral and governor of New South Wales. Fletcher Christian and the others muntinied because they'd been screwing around with the native Tahitian women and wanted to jump ship and stay on the island. After Bligh had them brought back to the Bounty and set out again to bring the breadfruit trees they'd collected to Jamaica, Christian led the mutiny and sent Bligh off with 18 loyal crew in the lifeboats far from land. Christian and the mutineers returned to Tahiti in the Bounty, kidnapped Tahitian women with eight of the crew (of the 18 who mutinied with him) and six Tahitian men, and set sail, eventually landing on Pitcairn Island. Ironically, Christian and four of the muntineers were killed by the Tahitians when the Tahitians mutinied against the Europeans' rule of the community.

So as well-acted as the movie may have been, it was all hogwash. Fletcher Christian wasn't an idealist fighting against brutality, he was a horny guy who slipped his leash to satisfy the horniness. BNot exactly my candidate for a romantic lead!

K. said...

I believe that Bligh's tenure in New South Wales included oversight of the British and Irish convicts exiled to Australia. It's considered a model of forward-looking reform.

Clifton said...

I'm sorry you wasted a good pot of chilli on that Seahawk performance.

K. said...

They were pathetic -- just thoroughly thrashed by a much better team. Kurt Warner to Larry Fitzgerald are far too reminiscent of the bad old days of John Elway to Rod Smith, which I still have nightmares about. But who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints!

Scrumpy said...

I've been looking for a good chili recipe. If you swear by this one, I'm going to give it a shot in a couple of weeks. I'll report back with the results.

K. said...

I've been making it for over 20 years and haven't heard any complaints yet!

Anonymous said...

First af all I lked the video too much. I saw the film when I was a kid and here is Charles Laughton, a really treasure for cinema.
I feel proud about my country with the icons of Greek Orthodox Cathedral And only me I now how many yars i get this feeling about Greece. Today is a country with no culture.
So lng

K. said...

DMC: Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to visit Greece someday.