Apr 13, 2006
I am so glad I was enticed to make this. It appeared to be time/work intensive but looked interesting - it is worth every bit of effort and fun to make as well. My chile has always been -well, chili. This is CHILI.
I've never used dried peppers before. No problem finding them but only 5 in a bag and with cost in mind I bought only one bag. That amount was actually perfect for my family. I used the internet to define how to make the ancho paste and then winged it because recipe does not clarify for neophite dried pepper users whether to put the liquid the peppers soaked in, in the food processor along with the peppers to make the paste. I made quite a mess doing it too but that will go better next time now that I've done it once. I got 1 lb less italian sausage and when I got home from the grocery store discovered that I had picked up a pkg of hot and a pkg of mild which actually turned out to be excellent. I don't use a lot of sausage of any kind and was afraid it's flavor would overwhelm everything else, it doesn't. I agree with others that 1/4 cup of honey is perfect.
My husband said this is the best chili he's ever had. My daughter's fiance said he doesn't care for chili therefore, doesn't eat it often, but he liked this very much and says when I make it again not to change a thing. Lon, you made me into a chili artist. Thanks
—JUNEAD
