Oh It's Chili Outside!

I happened across this month's Fine Cooking magazine. Anyone that knows me knows that I am a magazine junkie. Anyway, I hadn't bought this magazine in quite a while and as I was thumbing through the pages, I was impressed by the recipes in this issue. They have a great article on Indian cuisine with yummy looking recipes and they have a great article on how to make gnocchi. Gnocchi is another guilty pleasure of mine and I order it out whenever I see it on a menu. The instructions look easy, so I will probably try my hand at it this week and let you all know how it goes. The chili recipe I got from the Fine Cooking website. Their website requires that you be a member to get any of their recipes, which I find a little odd. The chili recipe was one of their freebies. I made it for lunch and it turned out great! I think it would be great at a Super Bowl party. I would serve it with a lot of garnishes, like grated cheese, chopped onions, slices of lime, diced jalapeno, crushed tortilla chips and chopped olives. A couple of changes I think I would make next time would be: try a chopped jalapeno instead of chipotle and substitute bison for ground beef.

Beef & Black Bean Chili with Chipotle( Fine Cooking Website)

3 15ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes (I prefer Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes)

1 medium chipotle plus 2 Tablespoons adobo sauce

2 Tablespoon EVOO

1 pound ground sirloin

Kosher Salt

1 large red onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 lime juiced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Freshly ground black pepper

1 ripe avocado, cut into a medium dice

Put one third of the beans into the bowl of a food processor, along with the tomatoes and their juices, chipotle and adobo sauce. Process until smooth and set aside.

Heat the oil in a 5 to 6 quart Dutch oven or heavy duty pot over medium high heat until its shimmering hot, about 2 minutes. Add the beef, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook, using a wooden spoon to break up meat, until it loses its raw color, about 3 minutes. Transfer the beef to a large plate using a slotted spoon. Add half of the onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until it begins to brown and soften, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add the chili powder and cumin and cook for 20 seconds. Add the remaining black beans, the pureed bean mixture, and the beef to the pot and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add half the lime juice, half of the cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. If the chili is thicker than you like, it may be thinned with water.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the remaining lime juice and onion with the avocado. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve the chili topped with the avocado mixture and remaining cilantro.

Serves 4