Lennie's Chili, Finally Written Down

Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 6 cloves garlic, minced (you can use less, of course)
• 8 mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 5 tablespoons chili powder, divided
• 2 (28 ounce) cans plum tomatoes, drained
• 2 (19 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (5 ounce) can tomato paste
• 4 teaspoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Recipe

• 1 first off, i have one thing to say about spices: i am not about to tell you how to season your chili; what you see here is what i do, but please adjust the spicing to suit your own tastes, whether you want to tone it down or spice it up.
• 2 also, for the past couple of years, i have been using penzeys medium-hot chili powder; if there's a penzeys store near you or you order over the internet from them, i highly recommend that blend.
• 3 to make the chili, you'll need a large heavy pot, like a dutch oven.
• 4 over medium-high heat, heat the oil in the pot and add the onion; saute for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic and mushrooms; saute for a couple more minutes.
• 5 next, crumble the beef into the pot and stir well--the idea here is not to completely brown the beef, just take away the raw colour.
• 6 while beef is cooking, sprinkle with 1 tbsp of the chili powder; stir well.
• 7 after the beef has lost the raw red colour, spoon out any fat should you feel you need to.
• 8 take one of the tins of drained tomatoes and dump into the pot, using a wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes into chunks.
• 9 take the other tin of drained tomatoes and squeeze the tomatoes with your hand, to crush them; add these crushed tomatoes to the pot and combine well.
• 10 stir in the well-drained kidney beans.
• 11 in a small bowl, using a fork or a small whisk, combine the brown sugar, flour and cocoa; set aside.
• 12 in a large measuring cup, stir together the tomato sauce and tomato paste, then stir or whisk in the cocoa mixture; when combined, add this mixture to the pot and stir well.
• 13 now add the remaining 4 tbsp chili powder, oregano, cumin (if using, sometimes i leave it out), salt and pepper; stir well.
• 14 let mixture start to bubble furiously, then turn the heat way down; after it's simmered for about 15 minutes, taste it; add more spices if you wish.
• 15 let chili simmer, uncovered, for at least one hour, stirring occasionally (longer is better; best is to make it the day before you want it and let it simmer some more on the second day).
• 16 if you find it is cooking down too much or getting too thick for your tastes (this is not a thin chili), add some water or, even better, beef broth; best is a slug of beer should you happen to have some (i often don't).
• 17 before serving, make sure you taste the chili and adjust the seasonings as required; i often find it needs more salt.
• 18 i serve this with sour cream on the table and usually some chopped raw green onion and shredded cheddar, plus a side of cornbread or cornbread muffins.