Chili Cook Off Winner In My House!

Hubby has earned the title Chili Master, after winning a very fiercely competitive contest at a friends house last weekend.

We have a regular chili recipe that is quite good. Posted it before here, but....hubby is Top Chef. I mean he's Rick Bayless, Tom Colicchio...hell he's Eric Ripert!

So I said to hubby, why not win this thing? You are Top Chef! Regular old Chili will not do! He fought me at first (he always does), but then he went to the grocery store and got inspired. He created his winning chili, but not without killing me first.

He bought hot chili peppers and blackened them in the kitchen on the stove and had me choking all the way in the bedroom. I almost pulled the plug but he headed out to the grill.

The party we attended was competitive. There were three judges, one of them a caterer, and the two others were our hosts and serious foodies. They were judging on consistency, taste, after taste, and aroma. They even wanted us to name our chili. We had heard a couple dropped out so we made both the old standard and new winning chilis and brought them over.

We named the old standard one "Chili Shrugged" (after Atlas Shrugged) and the new winner "Fear and Loathing in Las Chili". The other chilis were named with great creativity (Chili Vanilli was one, and the winning name HOMEWRECKER), it was really funny.

I started trying to buy the judges, flirt, you know play dirty. Everyone was having a swell time. Our hosts had salad, corn bread, cole slaw and beer and wine. We all waited while the judges sampled the chili. I brought in Chili Shrugged and curtsied (I was told this earned me five extra points), hey, I was raised right.

I noticed, that Chili #8, "Fear and Loathing in Las Chili", was the only bowl licked clean. I knew we won. The secret? Hubby used rib eye steak. YUM!

Hubby was so proud, he has never won anything for his cooking. He even thanked me for inspiring him. A fabulous evening and so darn fun.

Here's the recipe!

Fear and Loathing in Las Chili

4 Ribeye Steaks (Approximately 2” thick)

6 Habanero Chilis

6 Red Chilis

1 Large Yellow Onion

5 Cloves of Garlic

6 tablespoons of Chili Powder

1 Teaspoon of Cumin

1 Teaspoon of Oregano

1 Teaspoon of Paprika

1 Teaspoon of Sea Salt

1 Teaspoon Black Pepper

2 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

12 oz. Can of Tomato Paste

28 oz. Can of Peeled & Diced Tomatoes

24 oz. Spring Water

Grill steaks until medium rare and set aside.

Cut open peppers along one side, lengthwise, and remove seeds from peppers and flatten them. Grill them until they are blackened, but not dried out. Mince and set aside.

Chop the Onion

Mince the Garlic

Saute the Onion and Garlic in a skillet (cast-iron preferably) until the Onions are browned.

In a large pot, combine Onions, Garlic, Peppers , Tomato Paste, Water, Peeled-Diced Tomatoes, and all Spices and Brown Sugar.

Stir and Simmer.

While the base is simmering, trim the remaining fat from the Ribeyes, and cut the Steaks into ½” cubes and set aside.



Simmer the base until it cooks down to a thick sauce.

Add the meat and simmer until the meat is soft.



Serve HOT!