A bowl of chili to warm up chilly afternoons

By Metro Creative

Chili may not be an ideal dish on sizzling summer afternoons, but when the temperatures dip and fall and winter settles in, few dishes stick to your ribs better than chili. Perhaps no dish is more suited for the colder months than a good bowl of chili, and the following recipe for “McIlhenny Chili for the Marines” from Eula Mae Dore’s “Eula Mae’s Cajun Kitchen” (Harvard Common Press) can be just the thing to warm up a winter afternoon.

McIlhenny Chili for the Marines

Makes about 6 servings

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 pounds lean beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 cup chopped yellow onions

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons Tabasco brand pepper sauce

3 cups water

1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles, drained

Hot cooked long grain rice

Chopped onions for garnish

Shredded cheddar cheese for garnish

Sour cream for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook, stirring often, until browned well. Transfer the beef to a platter and set aside.

2. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt, and Tabasco and cook for 1 minute. Add the water and chiles and bring to a boil. Return the beef to the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the beef is very tender, about 11/2 hours.

3. Serve hot over rice and garnish with onions, cheese and sour cream.