Foodie Rant - Properly Sauced? Try Properly Ripped Off.
Oprah-geddon: Winfrey To Quit Show In 2011
Daley Blames - Who Else? - The Media For Oprah-geddon
NYT Preps For Chicago Edition
Chicago Gets Googled
Lots of money was raised for Arts of Life and a great time was had by all last Saturday at Half Acre Brewery's Charitable Chili Cook-Off. Over 200 people attended, 20 chili entries were judged, and almost $2,500 was raised. And in the end, a winner was chosen by the members of the jury (which included yours truly): the Tomatillo Chili cooked up by the team of Erin and Elena from The Kids' Table. Possessing a healthy amount of heat and a glowing green color, it was definitely one of the most individualistic entries in the competition. They've graciously passed the recipe on to us (after the jump), so now you can make it yourself. Enjoy!
Special thanks to Friend of Chicagoist Avi Schwab for sharing his photos. Check out the entire set on Flickr here.
Vegetarian Tomatillo Chili
makes about 2 quarts
8 medium tomatillos
2 jalapenos, seeds removed
2 ½ cups vegetable stock, divided
3 cans white beans (Great Northern, Cannellini, Navy, etc.)
1 T canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 T cumin
1 T chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears of corn)
3 large poblano peppers, roasted and chopped*
2 small cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
Salt, to taste
Garnishes:
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Shredded Chihuahua cheese
Greek-style yogurt (or sour cream)
1. Remove the husks, rinse and quarter the tomatillos. Place in a blender or food processor with the jalapenos and ½ cup of the vegetable stock. Blend until smooth. Add one can of beans (with liquid!) and process until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a large saucepan or stockpot heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for 4 minutes, or until soft and fragrant. Add the cumin, chili powder and oregano and cook for 2 more minutes.
3. Pour the tomatillo-bean mixture into the pot. Mix in the remaining 2 cans of beans (with liquid!), corn, poblano peppers, hominy and remaining 2 cups vegetable stock. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Adjust seasoning and serve with desired garnishes.
*If you have a gas stove, roast the peppers over a high flame, turning with tongs to char all sides. Place in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap for 5-10 minutes to loosen the skins. Peel off the charred skins, but DO NOT RINSE under water.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
the chili was gone and the beer was dry by 6:30 pm.
BOOOO!!!
Wait, what number were they in the voting?
I believe they were #9.
That's odd Jerico, I still saw chili and beer being served into the end of the event. You must have missed the second and third kegs that were broken out, plus some of the chilis. I sure had a good time.
At the door at 6:30, the entry guys said that the chili was gone and the beer was dry.
is 6:30 when you arrived?
yes, at the door at 6:30. a couple ahead of us were told first, then we were all offered the opportunity to come in anyway for $5 a head.
Okay. Well, this being the first time this event was held, there were bound to be growing pains and it seemed that they were overwhelmed with the number of attendees. But in the defense of the cook-off - which I attended and thought was fantastic - 6:30 was an hour and a half after the three-hour event began. I don't mean that to sound snarky in anyway, just pointing out that most of the entries probably didn't prepare enough for the 200+ folks who showed up. As for the beer, I can't attest to that because I didn't have any but from what I saw, people were still drinking beer at the end.
fair enough, an hour and an half late is an hour and a half late. it's a great idea: boast to your entrants and attendees next year that this stuff goes fast.
side note: we went over to Salerno's (1201 W. Grand) and got an excellent thin crust pizza. hit that place up if you haven't.
yeah, knowing the people who ran the event, i'm sure they're open to such constructive criticism and they'll make sure that's made clear in future events ("first come, first serve," etc.)
And in spite of the disappointment, thanks for coming out!
Man, I completely misread the poster and thought it started at 7, so I was gutted to show up and have missed it. Glad my money at least went to a good cause. Next year!
Thanks for everyone who came out to the event! I helped put it together and we were surprised by the response. Our pre-sale ticket sales jumped two days before and I told our entrants to expect at least 150 people, while the ever awesome Gabriel from Half Acre added another keg at the last second. So we sure did try!
What a response. We're so happy with how it all went and a special thanks to Marcus and Rob. And Jericho and Cbird, drop me a line at tsarran@artsoflife.org if you could!
This event was an absolute blast. I've been to others at the Arts of Life and was surprised (in a good way) at how many people showed up to support the cause. The chili, which was mostly very delicious, went rather quickly, but the Nice Cream was a good touch, and I had my last beer right before 8pm when I left.
Arts of Life, you did a great job organizing this and I look forward to your next event!