Today I’m sayin’ howdy to y’all from Texas, where everything is bigger, especially the flavors! I did up some Texas Chili from page 302 of the Southwest section, knowing it would be served to the world’s toughest chili critic — my husband Jeff! You see Jeff fancies himself a chili connoisseur and he was dumbfounded by the concept of a chili without beans, but since he supports the Martha project, he was willing to endure a bean-free chili. His verdict? Best! Chili! Ever!
I needed to make a modification because I didn’t have dried chilies available, so I substituted sriracha sauce because it’s made from ground hot chilies; that likely why, as you can see from the picture, I wasn’t able to achieve as dark and rich a color to my chili. I’d like to try this recipe again with the dried chilies, so I can really get it right. But even so, the flavor profile was distinctive and complex: smooth, hot and mighty tasty! And although I sometimes complain about country living, it sure was nice to pick a jalapeño and send it straight from the tree to the pot. I also did up a nice cornbread and just crumbled it right into my dish to cool it off a bit and add another layer of texture. The best part? The tender chunks of top round steak — so much better than ground beef in my humble opinion!
Now I know that a lot of you don’t think of Martha when you think of a Texas Chili, but that’s the beauty of her epic American Food Cookbook…it takes you on a trip to unexpected places with unique flavors all their own! Thanks to Martha, I’m on a culinary journey across the nation and I can’t wait to figure out where I’m going next.
