Chili with Cinnamon & Cocoa
(Serves 8)

2 T oil
2 large onions (diced)
3 med.garlic cloves (minced or crushed)
2 lb. ground beef
2 lb. ground pork
1/3 C chili powder
3 T ground cumin
3 T dried oregano
3 T unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. cayenne (see sidebar)
4 C tomato juice
3 C beef broth
Salt to taste
32 oz. kidney beans (rinsed and drained) *

In a skillet, sauté onion in oil till soft. Add garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Set aside.

In a large, heavy pot, brown beef and pork, breaking up any clumps. Add onion mixture, along with all other ingredients, except the beans.  Simmer, uncovered, over a low heat for 1 hour.  Add the beans and simmer 15 more minutes till they are heated through. Serve.

* Stir in 2 T cornmeal before adding the beans if you want to thicken the chili.

Tips & Glossary: Tex-Mex

Hot, hot, hot!  For many that’s the pleasure of Tex-Mex food. But if you’re sensitive to throat-burning, eye-popping peppers, then turn down the heat. Just reduce the peppers in these dishes. 

• Avocado: use only ripe avocados with dark purplish-brown skins. If you have any unused avocado (why would you? But say you do…), rub the flesh with lemon juice to keep it from browning.

• Chili Powder: dried ground chili peppers typically mixed with cumin, garlic powder, and oregano.  You can make your own blend, adding cinnamon, cloves, coriander, paprika, and nutmeg.  Briefly heat dried peppers in a skillet to release flavors, then grind them into powder.

• Chili Pepper: any small hot pepper, as opposed to larger, milder bell peppers; includes, cayenne (red), chipotle (smoke-dried jalapeños), habanero, jalapeño, paprika, poblano, serrano, and tabasco.

• Chorizo: a cured Spanish sausage, deep red in color due to the use of dried smoked paprika peppers.

• Coriander:  also known as cilantro and Mexican or Chinese parsley. Both fresh leaves and dried ground seeds are used in Mexican, Mid-East, Asian, and Indian cuisines.

• Cumin: an aromatic kin to theparsley and carrot plant; an important ingredient in chili powder.  Used especially in Indian curries, but also in Mexican, Thai and Asian dishes.  It has an earthy, peppery flavor.

• Enchilada:  made using corn tortillas, dipped in a sauce, filled and rolled up.  They are placed in a casserole dish, topped with sauce and cheese, then baked.

• Quesadilla: (kay-sa-dee-ya), literally, “little cheese thing.” In Tex-Mex cooking it has come to mean a sort of grilled cheese sandwich, using two tortillas filled primarily with cheese, grilled in a skillet or griddle, then cut into wedges.