Pink of Perfection

I really don’t care much for football, but since I caught 20 minutes of a game a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been craving chili and cornbread. It must be Pavlovian or something. This meal is hearty and wholesome in a nice country way, and it’ll have non-game fans smiling. Then again, I ate this while watching Antonia’s Line, so what do I know?

Chili
Serves 8

This chili is pretty mild (according to my Texas taste buds), so I would serve it with diced jalapenos for people who want to spice it up, as well as grated cheddar cheese, scallions, and sliced avocado.

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 large yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 14.5 oz can beef broth
1/3 cup chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (the ones with jalapenos would be good here!)
2 15.5 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
brown rice, to serve

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven over moderate heat, cook ground beef, breaking up large pieces with a spoon, until it’s no longer pink. Add the onion and cook until it is translucent. Throw in the garlic and cook for a minute or so. Stir in the broth, scrapping up any brown bits on the bottom of your pot. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, and tomatoes with their their lovely juices. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low and cover, simmering for about 10 minutes. Add the beans and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for another 10 minutes. Serve over brown rice with all the aforementioned fixins.

Cornbread
Serves 8

This cornbread isn’t particularly sweet, so you could add more sugar if that’s how you like yours, but made this way it really comes to life with sweet cream butter and clover honey.

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup milk (I made mine with 2% and you never would have known)
2 large eggs

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8″ square baking pan. In a medium bowl, stir flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder until combined. Then, in a small bowl, whisk together milk and eggs until they’re frothy. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. The batter will be lumpy, and that’s exactly as it should be. Pour the mixture into your pan and bake until the top is golden brown, about 20 or 25 minutes. Eat with chili. Cheer!