Susan Feniger's Site

I had such a good time on this last episode of Top Chef Texas, especially since I got to be a judge with Mary Sue, plus Tom, Padma and Gail!

Being a judge on Top Chef is always interesting and pretty fun to do. I always feel so bad for the contestants because they are so nervous. But it’s totally understandable because the goal of the network is to get them nervous, so they make changes halfway through challenges to throw everyone off. And you have a lot of young chefs…some very experienced, some not; some total naturals, some not; some cocky, some humble. And it always blows me away that the extremely cocky ones tend to be the least sophisticated cooks!

So, on the chili challenge, the weather was about 100 degrees, the chefs were challenged by having very little cooking area, mostly an outside or makeshift barbecue, and they had to figure out how to make an incredible chili to blow people away. Now remember, we were in Texas, so people had their opinions of what CHILI is…I was pretty impressed with one team in particular. Their brisket on the barbecue was really tasting fantastic, even before it had time to cook…I loved that they were doing some other complex things…with peaches…just felt they were probably going to be the ones to take it.

In the end they didn’t, but you can see how things change as the competition goes on. Part of what  they had to do was make a great chili, present it well, get the rodeo-goers excited to come try their chili too…just like a restaurant..You can make great food, but you need people to come try it! It’s always interesting at the judges’ table, too. Check out this extended outtake!

So, here we are, back in L.A., but it got me thinking about chili again. So I wanted to share one of my favorite chili recipes. Consider it a little preview of the forthcoming STREET cookbook!  This picadillo chili is just delicious…a little sweet, a little heat…and pretty easy to make.

I LOVE to serve it on top of hot dogs with mustard and pickle relish. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Picadillo Chili
(Makes 8 servings)

¼ cup canola oil
1 ½ medium red onions, cut into a small dice (2 ½ cups)
3 canned chipotle chiles*, rinsed and chopped
2 tablespoons whole cumin seed
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons smoked paprika*
2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
3 tablespoons masa harina* (corn flour)
2 pounds ground beef
1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes and all its juice
¾ cup dried currants or raisins
2 cups cooked black beans (if using canned, rinse first)

In a large sauce pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re a golden brown (approximately 8 minutes). Add the chipotles, cumin, cayenne, smoked paprika, dry mustard, and masa harina. Stir well and cook for 1 minute to toast the spices.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the ground beef and the salt, stirring and breaking up with a spoon. Continue to cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally so that none of the spices stick to the pot and burn. The meat should be browned.

Reduce the heat to low. Add the can of tomatoes and its juice, breaking up with a spoon so that they’re in smaller pieces. Add the currants. Simmer for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the already cooked black beans, stir, and cook an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve.

[Photo Credit: Top Chef/Bravo; chili dog courtesy Derek Feniger]