Larry Crowe/The Associated PressAssemble a buffet of make-it-yourself sliders for your Super Bowl party, so you can get out of the kitchen and enjoy the game.
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When you think about the greatregional traditions of America, a fewfoods come tomind, including, sure-ly, some from Green Bay (cheese?)and Pittsburgh (Heinz ketchup?).But I’m originally from Texas.
And because Dallas is hosting theSuper Bowl— on Sunday, when theGreen Bay Packers play the Pitts-burgh Steelers — my mind is onTexan regional traditions. Andwhat’s a more traditional SuperBowl party dish than chili? It’s a one-pot dish that you can keep simmer-ing all day — plus, it feeds a wholebunch of people. And we’re talkingTexas chili — so you don’t usebeans. So chili it is. Easy.Except, I found, getting a recipe
for Texas chili — no beans— is notnearly so easy.I was planning on reaching formy
dad’s recipe, from a collection he’dprinted out from a vintage-1990 com-puter and boundwith a plastic book-report-style cover and given to meand my sister the Christmas beforehe died. He liked the chili made pop-ular byWick Fowler— a newspapercolumnist fromAustin who took topprize in the Terlingua InternationalChili Championship in 1970. (It’s abig one in Texas, held each yearnear Big Bend, and Fowler latermarketed a grocery store kit, calledWick Fowler’s Two-Alarm Chili.)But then I thought, it’s been a
while — do people still use WickFowler’s recipe? I took to the forumwhere I knew I could find thebiggest number of Texans I trust inone spot: Facebook.“So Texans,” I wrote. “I’m think-
ing about writing a quick story aboutTexas chili ahead of the Super Bowlin Dallas. I know, NOBEANS.Whatelse? Do people still do the WickFowler thing?”Quick story, my foot. The con-
versation turned into 20-plus com-ments, with my mother insisting“NO BEANS” (yes, she used allcaps) and my brother (born inTexas but now living in North Car-olina) saying “Chili without beans isjust meat stew.”One friend, originally from El
Paso, suggested that a lot of Texanslike their chili with venison. Anoth-er, who grew up in Houston, had
Joe BonwichSt. Louis Post-Dispatch
Erin Chase has budget mealsdown to a science.The wife and mother from Day-
ton, Ohio, began making $5 mealsfor her family of four during thedepths of the economic downturn.
Her strategies and recipes turnedinto a website, 5dollardinners.com; adinner cookbook published in 2009;and a recently released follow-up,“The $5 DinnerMomBreakfast andLunch Cookbook,” (St. Martin’sGriffin, $14.99). Along the way, thefamily of four turned into a family offive.Getting full-meal prices down to
$5 takes planning, time and a lot ofdiscipline. Chase says that all of hercalculated meal prices are based onpurchases she made at supermar-kets in Dayton, and many of the in-
gredient prices are quite low be-cause she found ways to combinecoupons with sales.She adds that even if you don’t
have the time or organizationalskills to shop, coupon andmeal-planstrategically, you can still achievesignificant savings by putting an em-phasis on the strategies that appealto you most.“If you don’t like to coupon, then
aggressively meal-plan,” she says.
Mom shows how to eat on a budget
Spillingthe beansabout trueTexas chili
Smart shopping andmeal-planning can keepdinner cost to about $5
SEE CHEAP 2B
SEE CHILI, 6B
Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-DispatchPork, potatoes and broccoli serve as a healthy meal for under $10.
Sliders score atSuper Bowl parties
Alison Ladman | For The Associated Press
Super Bowl party food is all about big, comfy flavor — and ease. Because on the day of thebig game, you want to spend your time in front of the tube, not the stove.Sliders are great because they can be served as appetizers or entrees. And assembling a
buffet of make-it-yourself sliders allows your guests to tailor the sandwiches to their liking.
Start with a basic roll that goes well with everything. Din-ner rolls are a good size and French rolls are perfect for justabout any sandwich. If you don’t find what you want in thebread aisle, try the bakery section or the freezer aisle; therewill be several options available. You could also cut downa baguette into slider-sized pieces.We’ve listed several fillings for slider sandwiches. These
are all hot fillings, so consider rounding out the selectionwith some deli meats such as salami, turkey breast andham, as well as a selection of cheeses and condiments. Sim-ply set all the fillings out on the table and let your guestsassemble and eat at will.
SEE SLIDERS, 2B
Meat-only prevails inthe Lone Star State, butthe choice is up to you
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this comment: “No beans? :-(” Someone else, from Austin,said to use equal parts groundbeef and chopped brisket andto totally forget about beans.Who knew there’d be such
a debate — from Texans, noless! I thought I’d been livingin New York too long. So Icalled someone else who’salso been living in New Yorka long time— but has done amuch better job of keeping upwith Texan food culture thanI: Lisa Fain. She writes theHomesick Texan blog and isthe author of the forthcoming“Homesick Texan” cook-book, due out in September.I asked her whether the no-
beans thing was becauseTexas is such a big cattle-rais-ing region. She shocked mewith her answer: “The thingabout no beans goes back tothe original source of wherethey think Texas chili camefrom: The Canary Islands.”It evolved from immigrants
from the Canary Islands?That’s what Fain says — and,to be fair, lots of other peopledo, too. The Canary Islanderssettled in San Antonio, andthey did not make chili, butrather a beef stew.“From there Texas chili
evolved,” Fain told me. “Inthe chuck wagon days, theywould make chili bricks —dehydrated.” No beans. Andthen there were the San An-tonio chili queens— yes, thatis what they were really called— who would sell chili in thesquare in San Antonio. No.No beans.Fain’s family doesn’t use
beans. She grew up in Hous-ton, and remembers wjen awoman from Idaho broughtchili to a function at church— with beans. The horror!“Something was ingrained inme that chili with beans wasYankee chili,” she said. Butthen she tasted it. “And I waslike, ‘Oh, this isn’t so bad!”These days, when Fain
serves chili, she’ll put out apot of beans, “in case.”Even Renee Moore, the
president of the board of di-rectors of the Chili Apprecia-tion Society International,which runs the Terlingua In-ternational Chili Champi-onship, says this of beans:“Most folks I know do putthem in their home recipes.”But, she says, “in competi-
tion chili, we are judgingmeatand gravy; this does not in-clude beans. In fact, there’san old saying “If you knowchili, you know chili has nobeans.”Tell that to my cousins.
They grew up in California,but had plenty of Texas fami-ly traditions. Their dad—mygreat uncle — used to makechili for Christmas Eve sup-per, and it includes beans and(gasp!) pork.“It may not be an original
Texas recipe,” saysmy cousinKay Schrudder. “But he wasa Texan at heart.”Beans, no beans. Beef, no
beef. Pork?Well, if you’re oneof the many fans who wishthe Jets were playing thisweekend, I’ve got a greatrecipe that uses pork: GreenChili. (Get it? Gang Green?)It’s originally from Denver.“There are so many chili
traditions,” says Fain, theHomesick Texan. “If youcome from Cincinnati —you’re probably going to putbeans it it, and that’s fine —that’s your style of chili.”No — you don’t have to be
a Texan at heart to make chilifor the Super Bowl, even if it’shosted in Dallas. But it does-n’t hurt.Beans or no beans? That’s
up to you.
Wick Fowler’sTwo-Alarm ChiliYou can use half the amount
of cayenne pepper for One-Alarm chili or omit it for FalseAlarm Chili.2 pounds ground beef1 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pep-per
8 tablespoons Gebhardt’s chilipowder (or substitute anoth-er brand)
2 teaspoons ground cumin1 (8-ounce can) tomato sauce2 (8-ounce cans) water1 1/2 tablespoons dried onion1 teaspoon paprika2 teaspoons salt4 teaspoons masa harinamixed with water to form asmooth pasteBrownmeat. Add cayenne,
chili powder, cumin, tomatosauce, water, onion, paprikaand salt. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2hours. Skim fat off the top.Add masa harina paste. Stirand cook 1/2 hour more.Serves 4 to 6.
All-Bean
Vegetarian ChiliDespite my mother’s firm be-
lief that Texas chili has nobeans, she makes a great ver-sion of all-bean chili, perfect forthe vegetarians at your party.1 green pepper1 red pepper1 onion2 cans black beans2 cans pinto beans1 can whole tomatoes1 small package frozen whitecorn
2 tablespoons chili powder1 1/2 teaspoons cuminFresh cilantro, choppedDice peppers and onions
and saute in oil until sweated,about 5 minutes. Add cuminand cilantro and stir. Drainbeans and add to the pot. Addtomatoes and corn. Simmerfor about 20minutes. Taste forspices (you may need more!).Serves about 8.
Denver Green ChiliAdapted from Kris Burns of
Nyack, who served it with a tipof the hat to Denver at a bookclub discussion of “On theRoad” by Jack Kerouac. Jetsfans might like it because it’s“Gang Green.”1 1/2 pounds tomatillos2 poblano chiles2 jalapeno chiles4 cups chicken stock2 tablespoons olive or veg-etable oil
6-8 pound pork shoulder, cutinto 1-2 inch cubes (you canask your butcher to do this)
1 yellow onion, diced3 cloves garlic1 tablespoon flour2 teaspoons cumin1 teaspoons oregano2 tablespoons cilantroSaltPepperPreheat broiler to 400.
Roast the tomatillos andchiles on a sheet pan on thetop rack, turning occasional-ly, until skin has blackened.Peel the tomatillos and peel,seed and stem the chilies andplace everything in a blender.Add stock and puree untilsmooth. Set aside.In a Dutch oven or large
stock pot over medium highheat, add cooking oil andbrown pork in batches andset aside.Saute onions in the same
pan and add garlic after a fewminutes. Sprinkle in flour andcumin and stir.Add tomatillo-stock mix-
ture to the onions. Add porkand oregano and cook on lowheat for two hours.Taste for salt and pepper.
Add cilantro.Serve with rice, beans and
tortillas.Serves 8 to 12.
Davis FamilyChristmas ChiliMarvin Davis, my great-un-
cle, started making this for hisfamily’s Christmas Eve dinnersometime in the early 1970s,says his daughter, Kay Schrud-der. Leftovers were planned forChristmas breakfast andserved over scrambled eggs.”Marvin Davis, who died in2001, worked from taste andmemory when he made it, butcousin Jeff Davis got his fa-ther’s recipe on paper one year.2 tablespoons vegetable oil1/2 pound pork stew meat1/2 pound beef stew meat1 pound ground beef3 strips bacon, cut into chunks1 onion1 green pepper2-3 cloves garlic, put through apress
2 bay leaves3 cloves
Ground pepper (to taste)Salt (to taste)1/2 teaspoon oregano2 to 3 dried red chili peppers2-3 tablespoons brown sugar2 tablespoons molasses12 ounces beer1 can chicken broth2 cans diced tomatoes1 to 2 cans chili beans (redbeans in a mildly spicy sauce)
Monterrey Jack cheese1 limeHeat vegetable oil medium
high heat in a large pot untilshimmering. Sear pork, beefstew andgroundbeef in batch-es. Add bacon render fat.Saute onion, green pepper andgarlic in bacon fat. Adddrained meat back to the pan,and add bay leaves, cloves,salt, pepper, oregano, chilipeppers, brown sugar andmo-lasses. Stir, then add beer,broth and tomatoes.Simmer 1-2 hours. Add
beans in last 15 minutes. Addgrated cheese and lime justbefore serving.Serves 8 to 12.
FROM PAGE ONE6B Wednesday, February 2, 2011 The Journal News WP LoHud.com
CHILI: Regional recipes include beans, beef and porkCONTINUED FROM 1B
