also, for those of you who are thinking to yourselves, “hey, biz i’m pretty sure chili is southwestern, not southern..” then i will direct you, friends, to the southern foodways alliance description of southern food. They determine, “southern food is as diverse as the regions that make up the south,” and in my book, folks, Texas is definitely more than a little bit southern. 
so without further adieu, the recipe:
Chunky Chili, from Southern Sideboards by the Junior League of Jackson, MS.
What you need:
2 Tbs vegetable oil 1 C beef broth
3 lbs boneless chuck, cut in 1″ cubes 1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp pepper
4 Tbs chili powder (i know, it seems like SO much) 1 can of red beans
2 tsp ground cumin (i used 4) FOR SERVING:
3 Tbs flour 1 C sour cream
1 Tbs oregano
MY ADDITIONS:
1/4 C dark beer
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 small can of tomato paste (who makes chili without tomato paste?)
What to do:
Heat the oil in a heavy 4 quart pan over medium heat. (whenever i have an opportunity to use my beautiful huge, white le crueset french oven, i take it) add beef, stirring frequently until the meat changes color but doesn’t burn (thank you, southern sideboards. i was worried about this. lower heat and stir in the garlic.
combine the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and flour.
sprinkle the meat with the chili mixture, stirring until the meat is evenly coated, then add in the onions and peppers, letting them brown a bit, then pour in the broth and beer. After a minute or so, stir in the tomato paste and stir until the liquid is well blended.
the recipe says you should serve this chili with rice, and while i’m sure that’s just lip-smacking, i’m more of a chili-and-cornbread sort of gal. so, you can either cook some rice and serve the chili over it, or take my advice and bake some cornbread or cornbread muffins for real, honest to goodness, kick the holiday blues out the backdoor comfort food. it’s what we did.
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