chicken chili bliss

As I type this blog post, I am indulging in what could seriously be the "best" red chicken chili recipe I have ever tasted, and possibly the best chili I have ever had. I'm sure you purest chili lovers won't agree. You'll say, where's the beef or the competition chili lovers will say, but there's beans in there! I don't care... this is hands-down the most deliciously smoky, perfectly-palate balanced, meaty, rich and slightly spicy chili recipe and I'm glad I found you in my October 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

This recipe isn't one of those, open your cans of crushed tomatoes and dump all of the stuff in the pot kind of recipes. This is labor-intensive and worth every bit of time spent in the kitchen. Trust me, 'cause a foodie never lies about something quite as serious as good eats.

In the recipe it suggests making cornbread croutons and I don't think I'll ever eat chili at home without them ever again. It was seriously a hallelujah moment at my first bite! The tiny bites of salty, sweet cornbread goodness complimented this chili so perfectly. So, make your favorite cornbread (mine is slightly sweet), once the cornbread is cooled, cut the bread into 3/4" inch pieces, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

The recipe also suggests making chili nachos with the leftovers and you can surely bet that I have already purchased the ingredients needed to make them too!

I should also mention that the recipe calls for red kidney beans. While my husband and I will eat a red kidney bean there are other beans that we prefer much more, so instead of kidneys I replaced them with a can of pinto beans.

Thank you Lucinda Scala Quinn from Mad Hungry for creating this amazing dish and to Martha for publishing it in her magazine!