On This Cold Winter Night

I decided that food is just as important to our creative lives and much as design, so I wanted to pass along this recipe that I saw on Rachael Ray's show, by the way, I love that Rachael. This is a vegetarian recipe, but could simply be made to order for all meat lovers, which I am. This past week, we were eating a fruits & vegetables only diet, so I needed a little help from the vegetarian world. It's so delicious, so spicy, and seriously healthy. I'm not taking any credit for this, so hopefully, the Rachael Ray legal people will not hunt me down. You can find this on www.rachaelray.com, search black bean chili, or just read below.

Rachael Ray's Black Bean Chili

• 4 large poblano peppers
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cans black beans (15 ounces), drained of half their liquid
• 2 tablespoons chili powder (a large palmful)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin (about half a palmful)
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice (eyeball it)
• 1 bottle dark lager beer, such as Negro Modelo
• 1 can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes (15 ounce can or half a 28o ounce can)
• 2 cups beef or vegetable stock (use vegetable to make it vegetarian)
• Hot sauce, to taste
• 1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, for garnish

Preparation

Heat broiler to high.

Char the poblanos under the broiler so their skins blacken, 7-8 minutes. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand 10 minutes. Once the peppers have cooled enough to handle, peel and seed them, then roughly chop them up and set them aside.

Place a medium-size pot over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons EVOO, about two turns of the pan. Add the jalapeño, onion and garlic to the pan, and cook 6-7 minutes, until the veggies are tender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then add in the beer, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook a few minutes to reduce the liquid by half, then add the black beans and their liquid, the chopped poblanos, spices, crushed tomatoes and stock. Bring up to a bubble, then reduce the heat and simmer to thicken slightly, about 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper as needed.

Serve the chili up and pass around hot sauce, sour cream, and cilantro at the table to top it with.

Note: I didn't have any Mexican beer on hand, so I just used half a can more of vegetable stock, it tasted fine to me, but you could use apple cider or other substitutes, if you wanted. Let me know, if you make it. Warning: It's seriously spicy, which is perfect. However, if you can't handle the spice, use less jalapeno or poblano peppers. Enjoy, it's perfect for a cold, cold January. It would be perfect with some melba toast, tortilla chips, anything!