One of the first things I can remember cooking is chili. In elementary school, one day a week the cafeteria served this great chili, and I would always eat two bowls. It turned out to be Stagg Country Chili from a can. Actually, Stagg chili is not bad (especially the all-meat Steak House Chili, which has kind of a weird color and texture but is great), and the little aseptic boxes it comes in are cute. When I first saw them I was sure it would be a trend that other canned soups would follow, like when they started putting computer games in little boxes instead of big boxes.
But no, the Stagg still stands alone.
I got interested enough in chili that my mom gave me a book, Chili Madness by Jane Butel, and let me pick a recipe from it and make my own chili. I think I made Carroll Shelby’s recipe from that book, and one called Amarillo Chili.
Nowadays I’m a chili snob, toasting and grinding anchos, pasillas, and guajillos, although I also go through plenty of [Penzey’s](http://www.penzeys.com/) chili powder making enchiladas and tacos. Sometimes I use ground beef, but more often I cut a chuck roast into one-inch cubes. I did this yesterday, and now there are many servings of chili in the fridge, ready for dinner tomorrow night, and the night after, and maybe a little extra for the freezer.
With the chili I’m going to serve some crunchy potatoes from the latest issue of Fine Cooking. They’re incredibly easy and great. Boil some baby potatoes. Drain and smash them each 1/2-inch thick (Iris took charge of this part). Then put them on a baking sheet and drizzle with lots of olive oil and roast until crunchy. I’ll be doing this once a week for the foreseeable future.
Trader Joes and PCC soups come in aseptic boxes. I like them, too. I’ve never seen a condensed soup in one, though.
Chris
Hi there,
Long-time reader, first-time commenter (sp?)
Actually that’s not exactly true, a more accurate account is that I’ve recently read your entire archive in chronological order because my job requires lots of breaks in order to maintain a reasonable level of sanity – but that’s neither here nor there, is it?
Anyway I just got really excited because I thought you were beginning to describe my new all-time favorite potato recipe, it’s a Michael Chiarello and it starts the same way:
boil small potatoes (everyone loves yukon golds right?)
drain and smash until 1/2-inch-thick
then fry on both sides in peanut oil
then toss with olive oil, italian parsley, lemon zest, and some finely grated cheese (he says parmigiano but i love pecorino)
the insides of the potatoes that have squished out get super-crispy and the parsely/lemon zest combo is amazing
but oven-roasting sounds much healthier – what temp do you suggest?
Meg, I have half a pound of baby Yukon Golds in the root cellar, and now I know exactly what’s going to happen to them. Thanks!
Somewhere in the 400 to 450 range for the roasted potatoes should be fine.
Matthew, we made the crunchy potatoes lastr Friday for a (very casual) dinner party, and they were tasty! Thanks for the recommendation.