It's Recipe Friday Y'All, Super Bowl Edition!

Let me start by saying you can't grow up in small town Mid-Missouri where it's all about the Friday night lights and not get a little bit excited to see the pigskin tossed around.  I've spent countless chilly Fall evenings bundled under a blanket sipping cocoa and cheering on a team with a rich tradition reaching back two centuries and boasting a winning streak that lasted from 1958-1966 (Go Jays!).

Although I don't follow professional football per se (college...of course...Go Tigers!), I do enjoy a good game, and I can't resist good water cooler talk, so a part of me tunes in for the commercials.  

But let's be honest one of the best parts about game day...the food!

Go Steelers!

Chili has always been standard fare at every football event I've ever attended...people that's a lot of beans, so I can say with some authority that chili recipes, preferences, heck chili philosophies run the gamut.  I don't claim to pledge allegiance to one form or another, as by now I'm sure you've figured out, I'm an equal opportunity eater.  I would, however, love to share with you one of my favorite versions.  I first discovered it out of necessity when my lovely neighbor began sharing the fruits of his raised bed gardening experiment.  I had a sack full of Anaheims, what's a girl to do...cut to this delicious Chili:

Roasted Anaheim and White Bean Chicken Chili

What you'll need:

1 lb. dried small white beans

8 fresh Anaheim chilies (approx. 1 pound)

1/4 C. butter (1/2 stick)

2 large yellow onions, chopped

1/3 C. all purpose flour

4 C. low-salt chicken broth

3 C. half and half

4 C. shredded cooked chicken (cheat and buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, my lips are sealed)

1 Tbl. chili powder

1 Tbl. tabasco sauce

1 Tbl. ground cumin

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. white peper

1 1/2 C. grated Monterey Jack cheese (approx. 6 oz.)

1 C. sour cream

Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

What to do:

Place beans in a heavy large pot with enough cold water to cover them by at least 3 inches and let stand overnight (generally I'm all about shortcuts, so you're probably wondering, why the dried beans.  Seriously people, this is virtually labor free, you're just soaking beans while you sleep for crying out loud!).  

Char chilies over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides.  While chilies are charing shred the chicken.  Once blackened remove chilies from oven and carefully enclose in a paper bag (No bags? That's cool, try a large bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap, you're just sweating these puppies out of their skin, use any method you prefer).  Let stand 10 minutes.  Peel, seed, and chop chilies. Set Aside.  (And WASH YOUR HANDS, you don't want that heat migrating anywhere else.)

Drain Beans and return to pot.  Add enough cold water to pot to cover beans by 3 inches and simmer until the beans are almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.  Drain well.  

Melt butter in a clean heavy large pot over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until tender, about 15 minutes.  

Add flour and stir 5 minutes (Ok ladies and gents, we are creating the beginning of a roux here, so patience is key. You don't want to brown the flour, we are shooting for a blonde roux, so stir your little hearts outs and watch that heat!)

Gradually whisk in chicken broth and half and half (slow here we don't want lumps).  Simmer gently until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Add reserved white beans and roasted chilies, shredded chicken, and the next 5 ingredients.  Simmer gently to blend flavors, about 20 minutes.  

*If you are planning on consuming the entire batch in one sitting, say at a Superbowl party, then go ahead and add grated cheese and sour cream right to the pot, stir just until cheese melts (don't let the chili boil at this point, you'll have a mess on your hands, we are just melting the cheese). 

*If you will be eating this in smaller servings throughout the week then I'd recommend leaving out the dairy and simply garnish with it.  Reheating will be much easier without the cheese and sour cream already included in the chili.

Ladle chili into bowls and garnish with cilantro (another wonderful addition is a bit of tomatillo salsa, Trader Joe's has a pretty solid version).  Serve and enjoy!

Oh and did I mention Go Steelers!?!?