Almost every community has one type of cook-off or another, and the most popular seems to be the chilli cook-off. And it's not hard to guess why, considering that almost every community has a unique "style" of chilli and every family has their own special recipe.
So why not pool the talents of your Home Maven friends and create a recipe that is sure to win the blue ribbon? This project will let your group experiment with different chilli recipes. Vote on your favourite and go into the chilli cook-off knowing your recipe has already gotten past one group of tough critics.
Step 1: Ingredients
Designate a couple members of the group to buy the basic ingredients you'll need to start:
30 mL (2 tablespoons) vegetable oil
900 grams (2 lbs.) of ground beef or ground turkey
75 mL (5 tablespoons) chilli powder
2 cans (850 grams/15 oz. each) chunky diced tomatoes-zesty chilli Style
2 cans (450 grams/8 oz. each) tomato sauce
This is enough for a large batch of chilli (8-10 servings), but how much you'll need to make depends on the size of your group. From these basic ingredients you can add all sorts of herbs, spices and other flavours.
If you want to make vegetarian chilli, replace the ground beef or turkey with a mixture of corn, beans, carrots, peppers and onions.
Step 2: Additional Ingredients
There are many, many ingredients that you can add to this basic chilli recipe. Before you go to the grocery store, as a group make a list of some of your favourite ingredients that you want to include in the recipes. Some ingredients to consider are
Onions
Corn
Beans
Carrots
Garlic
Mushrooms
Celery
Many different types of pepper, including bell, jalapeno, adobe and chipotle
Step 3: Additional Flavours
The "secrets" of secret recipes are hidden in the herbs, spices and oils that are added. The basic recipe has chilli powder, but so much more flavour can be added with other spices including
Cumin
Garlic powder
Black or white pepper
Sugar
Cayenne
Cinnamon
Ground cloves
Allspice
Chocolate
More flavours can be added by mixing in such liquid ingredients as cider, vinegar, beef broth, tomato juice, hot sauce, beer and Worcester sauce. And don't forget about freshly chopped herbs such as basil, oregano, parsley and cilantro.
There are so many choices, so let everyone decide which they want to experiment with, or which ingredients their recipe calls for. Make decisions about your additional ingredients and flavours, then head off to grocery store. Or for fresher ingredients, try the farmer's market.
Step 4: You'll Need a Bunch of Pots
Now it's time to get all the equipment together. You and your friends are going to cook the basic chilli in one big batch, then split it up and give everyone a chance to experiment. For that, you'll need many smaller pots. Ask everyone to bring their own, and plan to meet at the house with the largest kitchen and stovetop.
Step 5: Cooking
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add beef or turkey and cook until browned. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and chilli powder. Let cook for about 5 minutes, then split this large batch of chilli amongst all of your friends then let them add their own ingredients. Make sure everyone writes down exactly how much of each ingredient they use. You'll need to adjust the quantities of the added ingredients for the full recipe volume so you can recreate the favourite chilli later. Cover each pot, and cook on low heat for an hour and a half.
Step 6: Judging
To save on cleanup, use disposable bowls and spoons to dole out the chilli. Number each batch, then ask everyone to write down the number of their favourite chilli. Count the votes, and that's the chilli recipe you'll be using at the cookoff!
Step 7: Decorate Your Booth
Don't forget one last way to influence the judges at the next cook-off—a beautiful booth! Maybe your chilli could suggest the theme of your decorations, like "Texas" or "Spicy." Make sure you get to the competition early to get your booth ready.
Clean-up
Cooking chilli can be messy, so use Mr. Clean® Magic Eraser® Extra Power to clean your stovetop and Swiffer® WetJet® to get anything that might have spilled on the floor. And be sure to have plenty of Bounty® paper towels on hand. Clean your utensils, pots and pans with Dawn® Original Dish Detergent.
