Fall = chili

My go-to chili when the weather turns colder is always my dad's recipe - it's easy, hearty and delicious (more on that in a later post). But I was intrigued when I saw a chili recipe on one of my new favorite blogs - Brown Eyed Baker - and decided to try it out - Hardcore Chili. Made it tonight and was very, very impressed. I usually make chili with ground beef, and this used blade steak (which I had never heard of but was easy to find at Crest). Now, I wasn't nearly as impressive as she is - I used canned beans (one can pinto, one can kidney) and did not go through roasting the chilis (used about a quarter cup of chili powder instead). The chili paste was excellent - loved the addition of the oregano and cocoa powder. Using beer to cook the beef added great flavor as well (I cooked the beef ahead of time to cut down on overall prep time tonight). Instead of cooking in a Dutch oven in the oven, I just simmered on the stovetop for two hours. Beef was so tender and flavors developed really nicely. I topped with sour cream and chopped cilantro. Delicious. This will definitely be a staple in the Page household this winter.