Chilly Chili

We are now over a month into winter and it is definitely cold here. Sunday night, the temperature was 19 degrees below zero! I'm not a big fan of that kind of cold. We have warmed up to the high 20s finally, which feels almost balmy. Because I love comfort food, this is my favorite season to cook. It's cozy and inviting. There are days when I never leave my house, except to maybe play with the kids outside. Instead, I like to curl up on my couch and go through cookbooks. My most recent purchase was the Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook . This restaurant is located in the lower east side neighborhood of Manhattan. When my mom, Sarah, and Julie visited a while back, we walked quite a distance to get to this place and it was definitely worthwhile. Nearly two years later, I can remember what everyone ordered. My favorite was their award winning pancakes with maple butter, which Julie ordered. The restaurant has been featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and luckily for all of us, they just released their cookbook. I purchased it for my mom for Christmas and then decided I needed a copy as well. I recently made an adaptation of their chili recipe. I only adapted it because I had already bought ingredients that didn't match up with the recipe exactly. The Clinton St recipe calls for ground turkey, chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, red bell pepper, and chipotle. Instead, I used ground beef, beef stock, whole tomatoes, and added chili beans in addition to the kidney beans. The recipe could easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable stock, more tomatoes, corn, and more bean variety, such as black beans. It's pretty spicy and warmed us all up after an afternoon of sledding. Enjoy!

Chilly Chili, adapted from Clinton St. Baking Co.

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1lb ground beef
2 cups beef stock
1 28oz can whole plum tomatoes
2 cans chili beans, with ranchero sauce
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 T chili powder
1/2 T garlic powder
1/2 T dried oregano
1/2 T cumin
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
2 shakes tabasco
1/2 T kosher salt
1/4 T black pepper

Method: Brown meat, until nearly cooked through, drain the fat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the vegetables and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add spices, stock, tomatoes (which I crush a little by hand), and beans. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on medium low for an hour.