Things That Go in Your Mouth

[Mongrel]

After meaning to do so for ages, I finally made this recipe which was passed along by a friend who has since disappeared.

It's one of those crazy stories - I got the recipe by way of an internet friend who got it from a roommate who got it from his grandmother. It's good (and has proven itself by consistently winning work cookoffs and such).

Be forewarned, this is real Texas chili - it can be spicy and it'll fill you up way faster than you expect!
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound ground beef
12 ounces chorizo sausage, casing removed, cut into 1/2 cubes
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 (14.5 oz) cans beef broth
2 (14.5 oz) cans whole tomatoes, drained
1/2 (12 oz) can Coca-Cola
1/2 (12 oz) can beer (your choice here, doesn't have a huge impact what you use, just make sure it's not too shitty)
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
3 bay leaves
2-4 green jalapenos, slit lengthwise 3 times each (alternately, 1 habanero and 1 jalapeno)
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
Salt and pepper, to taste


Directions:

Place oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Brown the sirloin in
batches. Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
Add ground beef, chorizo and onions to the pot and brown. Make sure to break up the meat.
Return sirloin to the pot and stir in remaining ingredients, except for garnishes.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for 3-5 hours (longer is better). Stir occasionally, breaking up tomatoes.
Before serving, discard cinnamon stick and bay leaves (and habanero if you used it, don't want someone biting into that!).
Garnish with cheese and sour cream, if desired.

Seriously though that chili is amazing. I usually eat it with some kind of carbohydrates, be it rice, pasta, or a baked potato. The longer you let it reduce the richer the flavors become and the less 'sharp' the spices are.

The only time I've tasted better has been some savant tier guy at a cookoff once. There are a bunch of modifications that you can make that've been tested by internet friends if you're interested in those, but I snipped them in interests of space.

Merry Christmas!

Whatever you think of the background claims or whatever your opinion of what constitutes "real" chili, make this shit if you like chili. Goddamn is it ever good.

[Thad]

I tried to find the picture of Kazz and the Meat Man but I couldn't. I know it's around here somewhere...

[Silversong]

I'm going to try to make lilac simple syrup tonight! Also lilac sugar. Maybe lilac ice cream? (Lilacs are in bloom.)

[Yoji]

I was just thinking of putting our ice cream maker to use for a change and taking a stab at making something with lavender. All the hipster places near me seem to be doing it, and at the very least I'll end up with sugary glop and a new flower to (maybe) grow outside.

[nosimpleway]

Straight-up lavender can be overwhelmingly perfumey and floral. Try honey with lavender or something like that first, probably.

[Rico]

Whatever you think of the background claims or whatever your opinion of what constitutes "real" chili, make this santorum if you like chili. Goddamn is it ever good.

Can confirm.

[Grath]

Halloumi is really interesting - it's a cheese from Cypress that has a super high melting point, so you can grill it and it won't melt. I just grilled some to like, golden brown grill marks with the grill at 300-350. Would be interesting to add like, cubes of this stuff on a shish kebab skewer or a cheese-inside-patty cheeseburger that won't make a horrid mess on your grill.

[Silversong]

I learned last night not to order prawns in a fancy restaurant, because they will look like terrifying sea-bugs with legs instead of the little curly things in cocktail sauce. (They were still tasty I just kept freaking out every time I tried to eat.)

I swear I am only one traumatic event away from being a vegetarian.

[Yoji]

Wait, you're telling me they aren't terrifying sea-bugs?

[Mongrel]

xkcd

That probably wouldn't be weird either, if spiders had any meat on 'em.

[beatbandito]

do you know people that pick up lobsters off the floor and eat them? they should not do that

[Brantly B.]

There is exactly one part of a lobster that does not taste like food poisoning.

[nosimpleway]

Lobsters were considered garbage food until the invention of refrigeration made them a delicacy inland.

The secret is: they're still garbage food.

[Mongrel]

Well, to be fair, most regional cuisines started as garbage food.

I've always had this suspicion that in a cultural vacuum, and where money is no object, people invariably gravitate to something like meat-and-potatoes (or a close analogue) as the "highest" form of cuisine. i.e. well-made and using the "best" ingredients but incredibly staid and unimaginative.

[Grath]

Hooray tasty stuff - I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner tonight, except it was a (grilled cheese) sandwich instead of a grilled (cheese sandwich).

[Blossom]

Ooooh. What's that cheese?

[François]

Oh shit I just had the words "poutine" and "wrap" collide in my head. I'mma make it happen right away and report back. I mean it's gotta be one of those things that sounds like a better idea than it really is (assuming poutine has ever been associated with a good idea in the first place), but I can't rest until it has either satisfied or disappointed me.

[Mongrel]

oh no

[Büge]

You could put it in a roti and call it "Not your usual routine".

Eh? Ehhhh?

[nosimpleway]

I dunno if french fries specifically would work all that well, but I could see fried potatoes and cheese curds in... like, a crepe, maybe? With the brown sauce on top. Not a sandwich wrap, more of an eat-with-a-fork thing.