22 October 2006

The smell of victory

So do you know who just you are dealing with here?

Yes, yes, people, after much preparation, sweat and hours of hard cooking, I am victorious.

I won the first annual church parking lot chili cook-off, reigning over 11 other fine chilis, including one made by *snicker* Mr Stapler, who put up a mighty fight but could not prevail. Which pissed him off because he is the most competitive person on earth. Too bad he's not the best cook on earth. I am! HA!

My prize? $55, which is slightly more than the cost of the ingredients because I was a lazy bad cook and used canned beans.

The recipe? A slightly modified version of this Epicurious recipe. I left out the chicken, used about 1 tsp instead of 1 Tbsp of hot sauce, added 2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika (my favorite ingredient) and my super-secret ingredient, 1/2 a dark chocolate bar (about 2 oz).

Sounds weird, huh? It didn't taste like chocolate. I just took a hint from the Mole Negro of Oaxaca, knowing how chocolate adds a deep, mysterious flavor to that legendary sauce.

Even though I roasted my own chiles, I think it is a waste of time and suggest the canned Ortegas. Blasphemy? I don't think anyone would ever know the diff.

Even though it was vegetarian, the full cup of sour cream renders it high-fat, so it isn't for the diet-conscious. But that's why it won, dear readers. No low fat recipe ever won anything that was judged by a popular vote.

Finally, new links are up at Linkateria. Enjoy.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

My secret ingredient for chili has always been...chocolate. And a little cinnamon. Yep, that does the trick! Hip Hip Hooray for Red Stapler Cooking!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the win! I can't wait to try this!

Lady M said...

Congratulations!

Having spent too many years eating meals out of plastic bags in the car in the way to rehearsals, I don't think I'll ever win a cooking contents. But at least I can root for frients who do!

billygean.co.uk said...

hhehe thanks for making me smile

Anonymous said...

Yum. I so would have loved to have judged that one...

Anonymous said...

I swear my last word verification was mmmmm

I'm not kidding.

super des said...

Congrats!

Just goes to show you... chocolate makes everything better.

Lynnea said...

Congrats! And thanks for the tip. I never would have thought to put chocolate in chili. Ok never is a long time, perhaps after years of trying recipes in authentic Mexican and South American cookbooks and many many iterations of just not quite there in the satisfaction department until one day, maybe when the stars aligned I might have had a fleeting idea of chocolate. But really, this way is so much better!

meno said...

That looks good. And congratulations on your glorious victory.

Anonymous said...

Anything with a creamy base gets my vote! Congratulations!

MrsFortune said...

Oh my god I am soooooooooo impressed!!!

My secret ingredient for chili is the cash I use to buy it at the store because I can't cook it to save my life.

Suzanne said...

Mmmm... sounds delicious. Congrats.

Girlplustwo said...

you ARE queen. the chili queen. brava.

Chicky Chicky Baby said...

Congratulations on your much deserved win. I just told my husband about this recipe and I think we'll be preparing this recipe this weekend. He spent some time in Oaxaca and he absolutely loves their mole sauce.

Now I'm thinking I shouldn't have told him and just surprised him with this. Shoot. Your recipe could have gotten me brownie points. :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations.
I always pictured you as a champion of something. Now I know what it is..

Anonymous said...

That is awesome that your vegetarian chili beat the other eleven. I looked at the recipe, and I would have never thought to put half a stick of butter in chili, either. Congratulations!

Piece of Work said...

Awesome. I have never won anything in my life. But now I may have to enter a chili contest and use your secret.

I thank you in advance.

Anonymous said...

Oh, YUM. I'll have to attempt your recipe ASAP (or maybe I should say ASAJINH, As Soon As Jef Is Not Home, since he feels that spices of any kind are EVIL). I feel certain that using canned beans is at least as crucial to the prizewinning magic as your other crafty additions/substitutions :> Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

I really won the contest. In my own head, I won and I tell you, victory is sweet!

Back to top