The 2012-13 Chili Club Season Highlights

As you know, we are super serious about our chili around here. So serious, we have a Chili Club, where we rotate houses and eat each others chili. Oh, and as a refresher, we have some rules.

1st RULE: You do not talk about CHILI CLUB (my imaginary internet friends don't count)

2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about CHILI CLUB.

3rd RULE: If someone says "stop", goes limp, or taps out, the meal is over.

4th RULE: Only one cook to a night.

5th RULE: One bite at a time.

6th RULE: No soups, no sauces.

7th RULE: Meals will go on as long as they have to.

8th RULE: If this is your first night at CHILI CLUB, you HAVE to eat.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, it is time to put Chili Club on hold until next season. We'll get together at some BBQ's and start thinking about the 2013-14 season. 

Before we move on, I thought it would only be appropriate to do a Chili Club season in review. Let's just start this off by saying, every cook brought their vision of chili to the table, they were all mouth watering and a whole lot of chili was eaten!

Now onto the chilis. 

I kicked off the season by throwing a curveball with this Non Traditional Pork Butt Chili, I am a big fan of the unique flavors to this chili and have made it multiple times. 

Next up,

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Chili Club: True Texas Chili

Ignore the cell phone pictures, this True Texas Chili was bursting with spicy, delicious flavors and if you are a chili lover like me...you need to try this recipe. It was made by a Texan, so it's clearly legit...filled with chunks of beef...no beans, no tomatoes. Not to go on, but the flavors really came together in this and it was awesome. According to Chef Janie, the key to this chili, is the final step in the recipe, with the brown sugar and vinegar.

I of course love all of the different chili's I've tried at chili club, but I also really like seeing what everyone offers up as garnishes. Along with sour cream, we squeezed in some lime to offset the heat, and had tortillas and fritos as options.

For all of you chili lovers, below is a recap of all of our chili club recipes...from Jersey City to Seattle. I can't wait to keep adding to this list!

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Chili Club: Non Traditional Pork Butt Chili

Fall is here, and Chili Club is back!

1st RULE: You do not talk about CHILI CLUB (my imaginary internet friends don't count)

2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about CHILI CLUB.

3rd RULE: If someone says "stop", goes limp, or taps out, the meal is over.

4th RULE: Only one cook to a night.

5th RULE: One bite at a time.

6th RULE: No soups, no sauces.

7th RULE: Meals will go on as long as they have to.

8th RULE: If this is your first night at CHILI CLUB, you HAVE to eat.

Chili Club has officially relocated to Seattle, we'll definitely miss the delicious chili from Amanda & Dennis, but I do think the new crew has a lot to offer. If anything at all, it's a club taken seriously...membership is up to ten and as you saw above, rules were created. These will come in very helpful when you're looking to create a chili club of your own. I know you want to.

Now onto the chili. I made the chili this time around and went with a non-traditional style.

My brother sent me this recipe, it's pork butt based, cooks long and slow, and I absolutely

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Grove Pointe Chili Club

Before our move to Seattle, we had to have our final Grove Pointe Chili Club Meeting. And it was another success, the chili was devoured! I'm sad to see Chili club end, but we definitely got some great recipes and had some good times. 

Anyone else tempted to dunk their head into this pot of chili?

Amanda was the cook this time around, and she made a true Texas chili with no beans. It had a nice kick, a heck of a lot of beef shoulder, lots garlic cloves and overall great flavors. 

Doesn't Amanda have nice chili bowls? She bought them just for Chili Club and they were perfect. 

Between Amanda's Beef Chili, Dennis' 8 Alarm Chili and my Beer Chili we have quite the arsenal of chilis to choose from. I know what I'll be making when I need to warm up on a cold and rainy day in Seattle.  

Who wants to start a Seattle Chili Club? 

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New Logo & Grove Pointe Chili Club

A new year and a new logo, I'm excited! A friend surprised me by emailing me a new banner and some new logos for Facebook, Twitter & Google+. Don't worry, I wasn't offended that she didn't think my crooked chalkboard art was good enough, and I was absolutely thrilled with what she sent. Thank you Allison!

Now onto the Grove Pointe Chili Club. You might remember at our last meeting Dennis wowed us with some labor intensive 8 Alarm Chili. It was absolutely delicious, but I was looking for something I could make on a weeknight, you know for those days you just sit at your desk and get a sudden craving for chili. Thanks to Sommer over at A Spicy Perspective I found the answer with her chili. I present you with a giant vat of Beer Chili!

Yes, I know that's a lot of chili, so much there is evidence that it was overflowing down the sides of my 6-3/4 quart dutch oven, but I was feeding 7 and in my mind you can never have too much chili. Chili is ALWAYS good leftover and who doesn't love some nachos with the leftovers? 

As Sommer said "Great chili is like a really good friend...loads of intrigue, substance and a little spice" and this chili is spot on. The flavors all really came together nicely and it had just the right amount of kick. The original recipe calls for it to simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, which makes it doable on a weeknight in my book. On the other hand if you have the time, definitely cook it longer as the flavors will come together even better. I let this one simmer for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. 

Before I leave you with my adapted version of the chili recipe, I'm going to give you a teaser of the savory Jalepeno Cornbread Whoopie Pies with Bacon Chive Goat Cheese filling that Dennis brought (he always has to show me up), this recipe will be coming soon to KMW. You're not on a New Year's diet are you?

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