HOT IS COOL

Sad to say, but it appears to be chili soup weather again. I made this soup as a possible entry for a chili cook off that my friend Nancy and I are in on Sunday. I thought it was good, but maybe a bit spicy for those who don't love hot wings. Because I was stretching it for a crowd I added some chicken broth and beans. You can certainly leave those ingredients out and see how you like it as written. I used just one pound of meat with the bean,s you would probably need 2 pounds of meat if you don't add the beans. Ground chicken was hard to find in my supermarkets, so I settled for turkey.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

FOUR TO SIX SERVINGS

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing 1 to 2 pounds ground chicken or turkey 2 garlic cloves, chopped 2 celery ribs, finely chopped 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 carrot, finely chopped 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped Salt and freshly ground pepper 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 6 ounces beer (your favorite brew) 1/4 cup cayenne pepper hot sauce (I like Franks) one 15 oz can tomato sauce

Heat a medium Dutch oven or large skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil,
and the butter and melt together. Add the chicken and cook, breaking up
the meat, for 6 minutes. Add the garlic, celery, onion, carrot and jalapeño.
Season with salt, pepper, cumin and coriander, and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the beer and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Concentrate the flavor of the beer by reducing the mixture over medium
heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the hot sauce and the tomato sauce. Reduce
the heat to low and simmer the chili for 15 minutes.

I added 1 can of chicken broth and 1 can of white kidney beans drained and rinsed.

Did I mention that Nancy and I are the defending champs from last year's chili cookoff? We will be making the same recipe called Chili Ole'. We'll see if it's still a winner! Stay warm people.