Crescent Moon Chili & Corn Bread
In the book To Have Faith, my hero Ben had a rough childhood and was out on his own at an early age. Since he looked older, he found work as a bouncer at the Crescent Moon bar as a teen. He would always volunteer to help prep in the kitchen, that way he could sneak a bite here and there and be sure he had at least one meal a day.This recipe does contain some heat, so scale to your taste. And don't forget the whiskey!The corn bread recipe comes from the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook available on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2OiV38A
Equipment
- Pot or dutch oven
Ingredients
Chili
- 2 pounds Ground Meat Can be pork, beef, or chicken
- 1 medium Onion- chopped
- 1 Green Bell Pepper- chopped
- Garlic- minced Measure this shit with your heart.
- 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1/2 cup Whiskey
- 14.5 oz Canned Tomatoes
- 2 tbsp Chili Powder
- 1 tbsp Cumin
- 1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
- salt and pepper season each ingredient as you cook
- 15 oz Kidney Beans
Corn Bread
- 1 cup All-purpose Flour
- 1 cup Cornmeal
- 2-4 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 Eggs- Beaten
- 1 cup Milk
- 1/4 cup Cooking Oil
Instructions
Mise en Place
- Chop all vegetables and preheat pot
- Scale ingredients for corn bread and grease 9x9 inch baking pan
- Measure spices
Chili Instructions
- Add ground meat to a large, heated pot or dutch oven
- Once brown, remove meat and set aside to drain the fat.
- Add onion, peppers, and garlic to pot. Don't forget to add salt and pepper.
- When the vegetables are wilted, add tomato paste
- De-glaze the pot with the whiskey. Cook the alcohol out of the liquor before adding the next ingredients.
- Add spices and the meat into the pot
- Add tomatoes and stir.
- Simmer for 2 or so hours. Add kidney beans at around the two hour mark and simmer for another 30-60 minutes.
Corn Bread Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°
- In a mixing bowl beat eggs.
- Add milk and cooking oil to eggs and mix.
- In separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients. Flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
- Add wet and dry ingredients together and mix
- Pour batter into a pre-greased 9x9 inch baking pan
- Bake until done. Approximately 20 minutes
Video
Notes
Top chili with sour cream and cheese to taste. Also top corn bread with butter and honey for that extra sweetness to cut through the spicy.