chili

my chili is never the same twice. i do tend to go light on the meat, and i always use as many varieties of chilies as i have on hand -- the more different chilies, the more depth of flavor. beyond that, it's basically just fistfuls of whatever i've got on hand. what i've tossed into the pot this time:

1 lb. ground beef
2 medium yellow onions
6 or 7 good-sized cloves of garlic
4 long twisty mild peppers i got from a chinese stand at the farmer's market -- two green which are very sweet, and two red which are more earthy
a handful of coarse sea salt
freshly ground black pepper, 25 or 30 grinds of the peppermill
a handful of dried mexican oregano, probably a couple of tablespoons' worth
cumin -- lots -- probably around 1/4 cup, freshly ground (i REALLY love cumin, i use so much i have to buy it in bulk)
dried chilies, seeds and veins removed and ground -- 2 ancho, 2 negro, 2 california, 2 new mexico, 2 cascabel, 2 chilhuacle negro, 2 guajillo, 6 de arbol
2 bay leaves
1/3 bottle nice chocolatey chianti
3 1/2 28-oz. cans of tomatoes

later, i will add beans. possibly black, possibly pinto, possibly kidney, possibly all three.

so far, it's tasting rather fabulous. there's an earthy note that i think comes from the twisty red peppers, and i'm not quite sure yet whether i like it, but it's not strong enough to be unpleasant. the chilhuacles negros (did i pluralize that properly?) were a surprise. i'd never used them before and they're quite a bit hotter than i expected, with a wonderful deep tobaccoey flavor -- they're probably also adding a slightly different note to the chili. i considered grinding up a couple of the dried chipotles or the chiles tepin, but was afraid that would add too much heat. right now, it's perfect to the taste, which means it might be slightly hotter than i'd prefer when i sit down with a whole bowl of it, but of course one can always cool that down with a dollop of sour cream and a cold beer.

note: when working with this many chilies -- especially when grinding them -- it's a good idea to wear plastic gloves and have plenty of ventilation. there was so much chile essence dispersed into the air that my whole face was stinging as it mixed with my sweat, and be careful not to inhale any of the dust, or you'll be really, really sorry. a quick solution to the hands and face burning -- wash your hands and face afterward with Cetaphil and cold water. the cold water prevents your pores from opening up and absorbing the capsaicin, and the Cetaphil has mineral oil in it, which helps to carry the hot stuff away. i suspect any soap or cleanser with a lot of fat in it would do as well. it doesn't completely dispel the heat, but it does get rid of most of it. (but i still wouldn't recommend rubbing your eyes for the rest of the day if you didn't wear gloves.)

in other food news, at the store this morning i picked up a hunk of buche des causses, which is a lovely goat cheese a little more solid than chevre with a flavor that's a little different but that i can't really describe with all these chiles on my tongue. i tasted it in the store, and immediately thought it would go spectacularly well with peaches, so i hit the produce department as well. perhaps for dessert tonight, or lunch tomorrow, i'll indulge myself in some of that.

one of my co-workers told me the other day that she's allergic to goat cheese. maybe i should buy her a sympathy card.