Mucking With Chili

Tonight, Cam and I are going to a chili cookoff. Last year we took home the coveted "Chili that looks the most like DCPS cafeteria chili" award, so even though it was indisputably delicious, we decided to take a different tack this time.

We've been having so much fun with cooking, and cooking together, that Cam proposed a "chili" way, way out of the box. We've got a pot of something pretty incredible-smelling simmering on the stove. Cam calls it Middle Eastern Lamb Chili, and we're hoping it'll taste good. He dug up a recipe for Cincinnati style chili, which uses a paste of spices, including cinnamon and allspice already, then boosted its ME credentials with some cloves, cumin and harissa. We subbed in chickpeas for kidney, lamb for ground beef, and we'll serve it with Greek yogurt and fresh mint chiffonade.

I meant to take pictures, of course -- browning bits of meat, finely chopped habanero, spices prepped in a cute little bowl -- but nope. You'll just have to trust that it smells great and you can see how it looks simmering in its dark green Le Creuset home. I'll let you know how it tastes!