Chipotle Chili Con Carne

Growing up, every Sunday was "the cook's day off" in our family. This was the day Mom and Dad could spend time together and they could usually be found relaxing, watching golf or some other sport on TV. My father owned a retail shop on Cape Cod which was open 365 days a year, but on Sundays the shop closed at 1:00 p.m. so the afternoons were theirs. "The cook's day off" meant that there was a slow-simmering pot of something on the stove that didn't require a lot of attention, and that pot was usually filled with spaghetti sauce or chili, and we were all allowed to get our supper whenever the mood moved us.

I've always liked the family recipe for Chili Con Carne, but recently I tried a variation which both Peter and I adore - replace the regular chili powder with Chipotle chili powder, but not on a one-to-one basis! Chipotle chili powder is very spicy but also has sweet-smokey characteristics that really update this recipe. Because I've had them in the house, I've also added sautéed mushrooms recently and really enjoy the result.

This would be a great addition to your New Year's Day spread. I like it with served with scoops or crackers; Peter likes to add the works - cheddar or monterey jack cheese, chopped yellow onions, and sour cream. To finish it off, accompany a big bowl of this chili with an ice cold glass of milk or beer.

Chipotle Chili Con Carne
Serves 6

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 pounds ground beef
2 cans condensed tomato soup
2 small cans (soup size) kidney beans
1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder* or 4 tablespoons of regular chili powder
1 scant teaspoon of kosher salt
1 pound mushrooms, sautéed separately in butter/olive oil combination - optional
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Add butter and olive oil to a large skillet; melt butter. Sauté onions until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
Add ground beef; stir and brown completely. Drain off excess grease.
Add tomato soup, kidney beans, chili powder, salt, and sautéed mushrooms, if using. Stir to blend.
Cover; cook slowly over a low flame, 1 hour.
Serve with crackers and/or sour cream, shredded cheese and chopped onions.

* When we first modified this recipe, using the chipotle chili powder, I replaced the regular chili powder, measure for measure. The result was 10-alarm chili! The next batch we cut back to less than half the original measure and that was still spicy. The above proportion of chipotle chili powder has been adjusted for our fiery experience, and we believe it should provide an acceptable amount of heat along with its wonderful smokey flavor, but you should play with the proportions your self, building to the heat you like.