Sunday Fun-Day: Red Chicken Chili

Sunday, for me, is the one day every week that I usually try to get organized, both around the house and in the kitchen. I generally will use the lazy day to prepare at least a few things for use during the week; I’ll almost always make a stock (either vegetable or chicken) and some other dish appropriate for lunches at the office. I had every intention of having a Sunday Fun-Day yesterday, but I was short on time and resources so I was only able to make a pot of Red Chicken Chili.

I don’t know if this truly is an original ‘recipe’, as most chicken chili I’ve had or seen are made without tomatoes, but I will take credit for this particular concoction. One unique component of this dish is a chili powder that I make from a mix of random dried chilies that I picked up at Rayna Foods, a Mexican market on Penn Avenue in the Strip District. Otherwise, it’s a pretty standard chili; here’s how it was done:

• Sautee hunks of chicken in a hot pot with garlic, salt, pepper, and Chile powder. When the chicken is browned, toss in a bit of bittersweet chocolate; remove chicken from pot when chocolate has melted throughout chicken.
• In same pot, sauté onion, garlic and bell pepper (green, red and yellow), add more salt, pepper, and ground toasted cumin seeds (layering flavors usually makes great chili).
• After the onion and peppers are soft, add chicken back to pot. Add a little cinnamon and one small can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that have been rinsed with seeds removed.
• Add canned chopped peeled tomatoes and enough juice to braise the chicken in the pot
• Cook on medium to medium-low until the chili reaches the desired consistency.
• Add beans to chili while it is still piping hot (I used canned but I prefer dried & soaked)
  
• Always remember to taste and season before serving.
• Top with whatever floats your boat. We used some guacamole that I made earlier in the day but sour cream, cilantro and cheese would be great as well.
  

This is the second time I’ve made this chili; Carey and I both think it’s a tasty alternative to ground or cubed beef. One of my goals is to experiment with different chili recipes and ratios in the upcoming months; every good cook should have a blue-ribbon chili recipe in his or her back pocket! More to come on this in the future.