Hachez Cocoa D'Arriba Mango Chili

This candy bar combines many things I can't resist: very dark chocolate, mango, and chili peppers. I bought it along with 4 other chocolate bars when I had to restock, and had to break into this one first.

From the gold details on the package to the crisp silver foil, everything about this bar's design was elegant. Inside the wrapper, the bar was a gorgeous, glossy brown - a total feast for the eyes.


The lovely bar had a very crisp snap, but the 77% cocoa was a bit dry and chalky. The fruity flavor of the mango enhanced the fruity notes of the dark chocolate, but I think it would have benefited from a slightly lower cocoa percentage.

The chili was very mild, so those with lower spicy tolerance may not need to avoid this bar. The combination of slight heat and mango with the bitter chocolate reminded me a bit of curry powder, which was a unique touch. The finish had a nice, tart mango flavor, but the texture of the bar was just too dry for the mango - and I normally love dark chocolate.

B-

Hachez website

Recap: A Full Plate's 1st Annual Chili Cook-Off

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of being a judge at A Full Plate's 1st Annual Chili Cook-off at Liberty Lands Park in Northern Liberties. I've judged before for A Full Plate's Rib Cook-off (look for that event some time later this year), and it's always a good time to get outdoors and critically rate food with fellow food lovers, whether you're on a judging panel or part of the crowd casting your vote for people's favorite.

The great thing about A Full Plate's cook-offs is that they don't leave out the vegans and vegetarians. Competitors in the chili cook-off were strongly encouraged to make a vegan chili for the event (most did), and A Full Plate's buffet of sides also had vegan and vegetarian offerings.Before it was time to judge, I had the boy get me a plate of mac and cheese and a seitan-based hot dog made by Shannon Dougherty, co-owner and chef of A Full Plate. All of the chili that came my way at the judging table was good, but one stood out far above the others, at least in my eyes — the chili with black beans and tempeh topped with fried tofu and scallions. When judging, we have no idea of which team made what chili, and we aren't allowed to walk around the main event prior to judging, so after I was done with my official duties I made my way around the tables to find out who made my favorite chili.

It was Kraftwork. Good job guys!

Yet, Kraftwork's vegan chili didn't win any awards, despite my awarding them high scores. Shouldn't the vegetarian's vote count more? Just kidding. I'm all for fairly tabulated results.
Above is the first place trophy awarded to Darling's Diner for their vegan chili. Second place in the vegan chili category went to PYT.

All winners:

Red chili, professional
1st - Higher Grounds Café
2nd - PYT

Red chili, amateur
1st - Pork Barrel Politics
2nd - Bigg Rigg

White chili, professional
1st - PYT
2nd - Kraftwork

White chili, amateur
1st - Bigg Rigg
2nd - Pork Barrel Politics

Vegan chili, professional
1st - Darling's Diner
2nd - PYT

Vegan chili, amateur
1st - I Wanna Hallucinate Too
2nd - Chili That Will Get You Lei'd

People's Choice
1st - Higher Grounds Café
2nd - Darling's Diner

A Full Plate's 1st Annual Chili Cook-Off

After four years of hosting a rib cook-off, Shannon Dougherty and Liz Petersen of A Full Plate Café have decided to host a chili cook-off (don't worry, the rib cook-off will go down this year at a later date) Saturday, June 11 from noon to 3pm at Liberty Lands Park.

First, second, and "peoples' choice" prizes for both amateur and professional teams will be awarded in three categories of chili: red, white, and vegan.

If you think you've got a killer chili recipe and want to prove it, you'll need to pony up $25 to compete, and get an application in by Friday, June 3 at 4pm. To view the official rules and application form, visit A Full Plate's Chili Cook-off Facebook event page, or email info@afullplate.net.

Just want to eat chili? Come ready to rumble at high noon! Admission is $10 for adults and kids over 12, $6 for kids (5 and under are free), and allows all-you-can-eat samples of chili, and, of course, the always awesome A Full Plate buffet of veggie sides.

I will be one of the judges in the vegan chili category, so bring it!

Ichimi KitKat

Shichimi Togarashi (seven flavor chili pepper) is a staple in my kitchen. It's a spicy seasoning that is typically made from seven ingredients, one of them being red pepper flakes. It's delicious on udon and ramen, and I sometimes use it on curry or donburi.

Ichimi Togarashi (one flavor chili pepper) is also available, but it's just red pepper. Shichimi has more of a distinctly Japanese flavor with the added nori and sesame seeds, but those flavors might muddle up a KitKat, so Ichimi was probably a better choice for a flavoring.


I could smell the pepper right away. The chocolate was a bit bloomed from its journey (since it was shipped at a time when it was still fairly warm in that part of Japan but cold where I live), and it looked like dark chocolate.

The red pepper had a nice, slow-building heat that was noticeable but not too strong. Dark chocolate was definitely a good choice for this flavor; the slight bitterness went well with the pepper flavor. I wish I had ordered more than just one mini bar!

B+

KitKat website

Vosges Red Fire Bar

Although work has kept me busy, I have continued to work through my chocolate stash. I received some Vosges Haut Chocolat bars from my in-laws, and this is the first of two reviews.

I love all things spicy, and while I've only had one bar that was really hot, when it comes to chocolate, less is more. The heat has to compliment the chocolate, not overwhelm it.

The chocolate smells fantastic, with sweet and toasty notes. At 55% cacao, it's not a very dark chocolate, but the flavor and texture of the chocolate is fantastic. It has a wonderful, smooth texture and a creamy melt.

The flavor progression is also lovely. It started smokey and toasty, then the chocolate emerged, full of flavor. Towards the end, the heat kicks in, and it's a nice chili bite that was just right for me. I loved this bar, and always had to stop myself from eating too much at once. This is probably my favorite Vosges bar.

A

Vosges Haut-Chocolat

Cincinnati Chili

Ever since seeing the Cleveland episode of No Reservations where Anthony Bordain's buddy, food writer and cookbook author Michael Ruhlman, turns his nose up at a plate of Cincinatti Chili at Skyline Chili, I've been dying to try some. A vegetarian version, of course.

In and around the Cincinnati, Ohio, area, people eat the bejeezus out of chili (two million pounds each year, according to the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau), and most of what they're eating is what's called Cincinnati chili served up at many mom and pop chili parlors, and chains like Skyline, Gold Star, and Empress.

Some argue that Cincinnati chili is not chili at all, since it doesn't contain beans, nor is it hot in the way of spices. Cincinnati chili is essentially a thin sauce of boiled ground beef with aromatic spices, and not dissimilar to many Greek meat sauces—Greek immigrants, after all, are alleged to have originated Cincinnati chili.

Cincinnati chili just straight up is eaten in a bowl. Order yourself up a Coney dog in the Cincinnati area (other variations of Coney dogs, or Coney Island dogs, exist), and you're eating a hot dog topped with Cincinnati chili, yellow mustard, and diced onions. Add cheese to the dog and make it a Cheese Coney. But, when most people think of Cincinnati chili, they think of spaghetti topped with chili and cheese. When ordering Cincinnati chili it's important to specify which "way" you want it.

2-way: spaghetti, chili
3-way: spaghetti, chili, shredded Cheddar
4-way: spaghetti, chili, onions OR kidney beans, shredded Cheddar
5-way: spaghetti, chili, onions, kidney beans, shredded Cheddar
6-way: not widely accepted, but it seems to be a 5-way with whatever other ingredient (garlic, sour cream, etc) a chili parlor or home cook likes to add.

Now, since I've never eaten Cincinnati Chili in Cincinnati—or any other place, for that matter—I did an extensive amount of looking around to find a recipe. What I found is that, with any regional food, people are very firm in their beliefs about what Cincinnati Chili is and how it should be prepared and eaten – and, of course, every recipe is different. So, I took notes and devised a recipe of my own, trying to incorporate what I thought were the right elements from many recipes. Vegetarian meat crumbles are most definitely wrong, but that can't be helped here.This is what I found to be the general consensus about Cincinnati Chili:

Thickness
Cincinnati chili is much thinner than your average chili. Some say it's even soup-like, and will pass it through the food processor a bit. I didn't go that far.

Meat
Meat is finely ground beef. Never brown the meat; the meat should be boiled.

Tomatoes
There should not be tomatoes in the chili. Some use tomato sauce, but some even say no to tomato sauce—even though most recipes contain tomato sauce. Tomato paste is supposedly the more authentic ingredient.

Onions
Onions are not in Cincinnati Chili—even though most recipes contain onions—but raw diced onions are on top of the chili. I found one recipe that stewed the chili with a whole onion, then removed the onion before serving. As a person who thinks onions make everything taste better, I found this to be a nice compromise and cooked my chili in this fashion. Then, after eating a plate of 4-way chili for a no-onion-in-chili experience, cut up the sweet, sweet onion and stirred it in the pot.

Beans
Kidney beans are used. Never are they cooked in the chili. They are cooked separately and added to the top of the chili.
Seasonings
Everyone stresses that Cincinnati chili is not hot, although it's not uncommon to squirt hot sauce on top of a plate of the stuff. The chili does have a unique blend of spices—which seem to be unique to every recipe and chili parlor. Chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne, salt, black pepper, bay leaves, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce seem to be in almost every recipe, so I included all of these (except Worcestershire, since it's not vegetarian). Sugar, cloves and cardamom appear in about half of the recipes, so I included them, as well. Oregano, marjoram, tarragon, thyme, paprika, turmeric, and coriander appear only occasionally, so I skipped them. I went middle of the road in the amount of each spice I included.

Chocolate
Some claim chocolate or cocoa powder is the secret ingredient — along with the spice blend, of course. Some claim that Cincinnati chili never started out with chocolate. I added the chocolate

Broth
Most use a beef broth. In recipes I found from someone's neighbor's uncle that used to work in a chili parlor, there was no broth, just water. I made mine with water, trying to stay closer the the recipes from chili parlors. Halfway through the cooking, the chili was lacking depth, so I changed it to vegetable broth (easy to do, since all I had to do was drop in some bullion paste).

Spaghetti
Use a thick spaghetti noodle, not thin spaghetti or vermicelli.

Cheese
Sharp Cheddar is the only way, and thinly shredded so that it melts easily on top of the hot chili. Pile it on heavy.

Crackers
If you're gonna crumble crackers on top of your Cincinatti chili it better be Oyster crackers. Saltines are not allowed.

Cut or Twirl
You're supposed to cut the noodles, so that each fork-full will have a bit of each componet. Do not twirl the noodles around the fork. I did both, and it's about the same as to what makes it on your fork.
The final recipe I made is fairly true to most of the recipes out there (except the whole meat thing), but, of course, I've never had the real deal. Don't let the cookie spices scare you; Cincinnati chili does not taste like dessert, but just a very aromatic meaty sauce.

A big plate of carbs smothered in greasy, spicy meat sauce topped with cheese sure sounds like comfort food to me, so I can't blame Ohioans for eating boat-loads of the stuff, but, in the end, I felt like I had done nothing more than homemade Hamburger Helped a plate of spaghetti. Still, glad I tried it, 'cause trying is half the battle...er...or something like that.

Feel free to chime in with your memories of eating Cincinnati chili, whether you love it or hate it, and, of course, how you make it at home. Vegetarian Cincinnati Chili

2 quarts vegetable broth
2 pounds MorningStar burger crumbles
6 ounces tomato paste
1 medium onion, peeled, left whole
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• Throw all of the ingredients in a large pot on the stove and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced, but chili is still a bit thin and runny.
• Remove the onion and bay leaves. For a thinner consistency, you may want to run a portion of the cooked chili through a food processor or blender.
• Serve on top of a bed of cooked spaghetti noodles topped with any combination of diced onion, kidney beans, shredded Cheddar cheese, or Oyster crackers.
  

Chili con Chocolate

Four new (to me) cookbooks arrived under my Christmas tree. I hope to cook at least one dish from each book before I put them on the shelf. First up is David Lebovitz’s oldie but goodie, The Great Book of Chocolate.

It took every ounce of will not to choose a sweet recipe, but I’m desserted-out from the holidays (polygraph arm just jumped), so it wasn’t too hard to choose the chili con chocolate recipe.

As I somewhat followed the recipe (see notes below), and tasted the chili during the hour-long simmer before the chocolate is added, I thought, “This chili is nothing special.” Once the chocolate was added, though, the chili transformed into something darker and richer, but still a hearty tomato-based chili that will please traditionalists.

Time wasn’t on my side, so I used canned beans. Tempeh replaced beef, and ancho chili replaced red chili. Dill didn’t make it into the pot.

Chili con Chocolate
Adapted from The Great Book of Chocolate by David Lebovitz

2 1-pound cans kidney and/or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon salt
8 ounces tempeh, crumbled
1 to 2 teaspoons cayenne
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
black pepper
1 dried ancho chili, reconstituted and diced
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
4 cups water
3 ounces Ibarra Mexican sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (if can't find, use chocolate and a dash of cinnamon)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

• Heat oil in a large pot. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, jalapenos, and salt, and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.
• Add tempeh, cayenne, oregano, cocoa, cumin, black pepper, and ancho chili, and cook for a few minutes to release flavors.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, beans, and water, and simmer for 1 hour uncovered, or until thick. Stir in the chocolate and vinegar.

White Chili

One of my favorite things to do is kill two (or more if I'm really good) birds with one stone. Whether or not this philosophy of action is time-saving or efficient, I like to think it is. A one-mile-or-so round-trip walk through the city from my Philly digs allows me to stroll past the farmer’s market at Headhouse Square, the Italian Market, and the Asian grocery stores along Washington Street to gather groceries – a very efficient grocery route if done in one outing.

I visited all of these places last week in order to gather ingredients for this recipe…but I did not follow my own philosophy of action. I went to the Asian market for seitan, limes, and cilantro, and then returned home. I then went to the farmer’s market for poblano and Anaheim chilis…and came home. Finally, I went to the Italian Market for cannellini beans. Not efficient.

With all of these ingredients back at home, along with kitchen staples, homegrown jalepenos, and home-canned yellow tomato sauce (sauce is orangish), I was ready to tackle the white chili recipe from Cooks Illustrated – a magazine that has NEVER let me down, unlike…cough cough…Bon Appètit.

But white chili doesn’t have tomato sauce in it! Nope. And neither does the recipe in Cook’s Illustrated. A few months ago I sat in the car discussing the best use of yellow tomato sauce with the friend who supplied me with the jar. Yellow tomatoes are less acidic than red tomatoes, and it didn’t seem right to waste yellow tomato sauce on a dish that called for the classic acidic red tomato sauce. The only thing we came up with was white chili. (Any other suggestions?) So, I adapted a white chili recipe in a past copy of the infallible Cook’s Illustrated to include the yellow tomato sauce.

The original recipe calls for chicken and chicken stock, but I subbed seitan, and 2/3 of the chicken stock with the yellow tomato sauce, and the remaining chicken stock with vegetable stock. Obviously, not every one is going to have yellow tomato sauce on hand, so just keep with the stock in the original recipe (3 cups), or blend some fresh yellow tomatoes in a food processor.

I never want regular chili again. Really. I’m tellin’ ya, Cook’s Illustrated does not fail - even with me futzing with the recipe! I'm happy to report that I efficiently killed two bowls in one sitting.

White Chili
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
serves 6-8

2 (10-ounce) cans seitan, drained and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 poblano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
3 Anaheim chiles, stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
2 medium onions, cut into large pieces (2 cups)
3 medium jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups yellow tomato sauce
1 cup vegetable broth
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
4 scallions, sliced thinly

• Heat oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat, and brown seitan (about 5 to 10 minutes), and remove from the skillet.
• In a food processor, pulse 10-12 times (1 second each) half of the poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions until the consistency of chunky salsa. Transfer to a bowl, and repeat with the remaining poblano chilies, Anaheim chilies, and onions. Combine with the first batch. (Do not wash the food processor.)
• Add the minced jalepenos (more or less depending on heat preference - I went with one), chile-onion mixture, garlic, cumin, coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the skillet, adding more vegetable oil if necessary. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Transfer 1 cup of the cooked vegetable mixture, 1 cup of beans, and 2 cups of the tomato sauce to the food processor and process until smooth.
• Return the mixture from the food processor back to the skillet with the chile-onion mixture, and add the vegetable broth, browned seitan, rest of the beans, lime juice, and cilantro. Cook over medium heat until thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve with scallion garnish.