Missing You: Frito Pie & Comfort Food

A good friend of mine, who spent his formative years in Paris, Texas, always resorted to making Frito Pie when he was sad or the chips were down. He isn't around any more, or I know he'd make it for us tonight. A basic chili was one of the few foods he could actually cook, and cook well, and he would make Frito Pie for as many people as were hanging around his kitchen on a bad day. That, and beer always cheered us up. It is very, very good. I miss him.

This morning, my sister-in-law and friend, Cammi, a funny, kind and feisty woman, lost her very short fight with cancer. She had so much life to live yet, that it makes me angry. We were planning to be cranky old women together. Loss. Another 4-letter word. Miss. Another one. My husband never thought he'd outlive his baby sister. Cancer is a bitch. We miss you.

I am in no mood to cook tonight; the day has been all phone calls and Chuck looks worn out. Comfort, though, is in the form of a dish of leftover chili from Friday's blog post "Some Like it Not Hot Chili" made into Frito Pie. To us Yankees, this isn't a "pie", it's more like a nacho eaten with a fork. But this isn't about us, it's about those who've gone before us and comforting ourselves as best we can.

I've just made a market run for a bag of Fritos. Frito Pie isn't really a recipe, although you'll often see it in recipe form, starting the chili from scratch. Just be sure to use Fritos. Nothing else will do.

While the Fritos are NOT optional, you can vary the toppings at will or whim. The bacon topping was the Texan's personal claim to fame.

Comfort food. Frito Pie...and beer.

The Guy from Paris, Texas's Frito Pie
Serves 4

6 cups Homemade chili (See last Friday's Post)
1 big bag Fritos Corn Chips

Toppings:
1/2 cup chopped onion or scallion
1/2 cup chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
1-1/2 shredded cheddar or jack cheese
1 cup crisp-cooked crumbled bacon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro or parsley

Heat the chili until piping hot. Place a handful of Fritos on each dish, and ladle or spoon the chili on top. Add as many of the toppings as you want, although in our house, cheese is NEVER optional. If there are Fritos leftover, toss some on top of the toppings. Goes best with beer, iced tea and a heart that needs cheering.
6/12/12

Deep, Rich & Spicy: Some Like It Not Hot Chili

Wait, where's the tortillas???

Chiles de Arbol? Nope. Pasilla chiles? Nope.  Any Jalapenos, for God's sake? Nope. Is it delicious? Hell YES! There are a lot of folks out there who simply cannot tolerate the heat of chiles in anything. Some of them even frequent my table from time to time. Just because you can't handle foods loaded with chile peppers doesn't mean that you can have a good bowl of chili, or a chili dog. Many of the chili recipes you find around now have 2, 3 or even more kinds of chile pepper in them. Luckily, this isn't one of them. Most chili recipes that omit the hot peppers are nothing more than a Sloppy Joe with beans. This chili is wonderful, with rich, deep, smokey flavors, but no heat. It's the real thing, as far as I'm concerned, but without the burn. I do like killer hot chili, myself, on occasion. Even though I'm from Philadelphia, not a place that spends any time debating chili recipes, I know there are as many opinions as to what constitutes an authentic chili as there are people who eat it. Trust me, this is GOOD, if you need heat, sit down with a bottle of hot sauce next to your plate, or top it up with chopped pickled jalapenos.

Get it all out before you start so you don't forget anything.

Note: Be sure the chili powder you use is a "regular" or "mild" chili powder, otherwise, this is all for naught. A good mild chili powder will have ancho chiles in it, along with some garlic, cumin and oregano (Mexican). Not much else. This recipe is also a little lower in carbohydrate and higher in protein than other chili recipes thanks to the black soy beans.


Deep, Rich, & Spicy No-Heat Chili
Some like it not hot!


1 T safflower or extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs. lean ground beef (90% or leaner)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium-large onion, diced
2-3 T mild or regular chili powder
1 T ground cumin
2 T Dutch process cocoa powder
1 teas. smoked Spanish paprika
1 cup of strong, brewed coffee
1 15 oz. can black soy beans, drained (Eden brand)
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. Kosher salt

Heat the oil in a large broad deep pan until it shimmers. Add the ground beef and break up as it cooks with a wooden spoon to keep it loose and crumbly. When it begins to brown and starts to stick a bit, add the onion, garlic and all the spices. Give it a big stir for a minute or so, and then add the coffee, soybeans and tomatoes with all their juice. Add about a teaspoon of kosher salt and stir well, partially cover and reduce the heat to simmer the chili for about 40 minutes. taste for salt before serving.

No Heat Chili ready to dish up and chow down!

Makes 6 meal-sized servings, more if it's used as a topper for nachos or chili dogs. Nice topped with shredded cheese, or chopped onions, pickled peppers or sour cream.