DEAR BENICIANS AND BEYOND,

It’s almost that time of the year — when 22 great cooks come together to participate in Benicia Main Street’s Great Bowls of Chili Contest. March 22 will be upon you faster than a mountain lion protecting her cubs, so you need to get down to Benicia Main Street and sign up. Deborah and I will be pounding the pavement the next two weeks to make sure we sign up everyone who knows anything about good chili.

Good chili — well what is that anyway?

I’ve struggled and listened to various folks over the years in regards to beans — in or out? There are so many thoughts on this that it will make you dizzy. Somewhere I read that the original chili mix contained no beans, but my mind can’t accept this. Beans have been the staple food for many a cowboy for 150 years or so, therefore beans must have been part of the first chuckwagon pot of chili.

Coming up again on the first Saturday of November, the 2014 Original Terlingua International Chili contest will be held. All roads lead to Terlingua!

Long-established chili chef veterans will line up their open-air outdoor kitchens along North San Jacinto Street, with a number of novice chili cookers mixed in, beginning early Saturday morning until mid-afternoon. For chili veterans, it’s a chance to compete for first place in the 2014 Original Terlingua International Championship Chili Cook-off. For beginners, it’s a chance to enjoy their first cookoff and look in awe at the rigs that have been brought in to compete.

This chili cookoff is ruled by the CASI, which has strict rules and guidelines. I’ve always grappled with strict CASI competitive rules that called for no beans, rice or macaroni — no extras, simply meat and sauce. I think this should be called “gravy with meat.” You can’t have any chunky meat, strictly ground meat. It’s just brewing and simmering for three to four hours and that’s it. I can deal with no rice or noodles, but no beans or chunky meat, well what do they know about real man’s chili?

Comfort food

Chili is one of those perfect comfort foods that I crave, especially when the temperatures are freezing cold, the weather outside is frightful, and I know I’m going to be housebound for several days. I spoke to my daughter last week who lives in Fayetteville, N.C., and they have been hammered with snow for two weeks. She said she decided to make some chili to help warm things up. I asked her how she was going to make it, and would she send me her recipe? She stated she does use beans and yep, she’d send her recipe.

There are as many versions of chili as there are types of cheese, but this recipe seems to me a possible winner in this year’s contest. As I write this, I’m dreaming of a straight-up bowl of chili topped with grated cheddar cheese and maybe a dash of hot sauce and sliced jalapeños. Of course, a delicious bowl of chili always pairs nicely with an ice-cold beer, so don’t forget to spend money at the bar this year.

My daughter’s secret ingredient is a couple pinches or two of raw sugar. She claims canned tomatoes and tomato sauce can often have quite a bit of acidity and even a bite. They’re not like those gorgeous summer heirloom tomatoes that you eat when perfectly ripe with a touch of sweetness. Just a little bit of sugar counteracts the acidity and brings out the flavor of the tomatoes.

I called her yesterday and she said the weather is breaking and sunshine is in the forecast. As unpredictable as Southeast weather can be, she could be hosting an outdoor barbecue by this weekend!

CARU’s Chili

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup 1/4-dice celery
1 cup 1/4-dice onion
3-4 pounds ground beef (preferably lean 90/10)
3, 14 1/2-ounce cans stewed tomatoes (original version)
2, 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
3, 16-ounce cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 Pinches of sugar
Window dressing: Grated sharp cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, sliced jalapeños and sour cream

Let’s get a-cookin’

Heat olive oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium heat until oil begins to simmer. Add celery and onion, stir and cook over medium-low heat for two to three minutes, just until vegetables begin to soften. Add the ground beef, crumbling into smaller pieces with your hands. Increase heat to medium and brown the beef, stirring occasionally, continuing to break up the meat with a spoon. Cook until all the meat is browned.

Add the cans of stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, Ancho chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and sugar and stir to combine well. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce to a simmer, cover and let simmer for 45 minutes. Remove the lid and add the kidney beans. Return mixture to a boil and then reduce heat again to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes more. Adjust seasonings.

Serve chili hot and topped with a selection of suggested window dressings.

It just doesn’t get much better than this …

But before I go, a few words about daughters:

They say that from the instant he lays eyes on her, a father adores his daughter. Whoever she grows up to be, she is always to him that little girl in pigtails. She makes him feel like Christmas. In exchange, he makes a secret promise not to see the awkwardness of her teenage years, the mistakes she makes or the secrets she keeps.

ADIOS …

Ken Paulk is a Texas native and a Benicia resident.