Sunday, October 03, 2004

Brad's Chili Cookoff

There will be much photoblogging of this event. (UPDATE: see here and here.) Due to an unfortunate need to charge batteries, I missed all of the early goodness, and I really need to read up on the camera for night shots. Really, the only picture worth sharing is this one of Nidhi demonstrating the traditional Nepalese method for making Smores.

Brad and Mary deserve special thanks for making the whole event happen. The chili was all really good. I definitely did the right thing by not even trying to compete. Kevin's vegetarian chili really did deserve an award all its own; that's a recipe that needs sharing. In the meantime, here's our recipe for corn salsa. We're not sure where it came from originally; possibly a Penzey's catalogue. Whatever its origins, it's been modified since.

Ingredients:
4 cups sweet corn (1 16-oz bag frozen, or about 6 large ears)
1 roasted bell pepper (you can buy these pre-roasted in jars), diced
1 large tomato, or about a cup of cherry tomatoes, chopped
2-3 minced jalapeno peppers, minced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
Dressing:
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup lime juice
2 Tbs water
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
2 Tbs fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp black pepper
Directions:
Mix dressing spices with water and let stand for 5 minutes. Add remaining dressing ingredients. Whisk and set aside.

If using fresh corn, cook and cut kernals from cob; if using frozen corn, thaw to room temperature (microwave carefully on defrost if you're in a hurry). Roast the bell pepper (unless you bought the jarred kind) and dice. Combine corn and pepper with remaining ingredients; mix well. Re-whisk the dressing, add, and toss.