Stimulate Obama's chili
This past Monday was President's Day and to celebrate our new president, I made some of his chili. You can check out the recipe over at HuffPo. It's a pretty straight forward recipe that calls for onion, green pepper, tomatoes, and red kidney beans. President Obama's spice mixture calls for equal parts of cumin, oregano, tumeric, and basil. There are a few other ingredients but overall, it's a very simple recipe for chili. I wanted to see how Obama's chili would stack up to another chili, so I went and bought a can of chili to compare. In this corner, in the chunky red and black trunks, is Campbell's Chunky Roadhouse Chili. In the other corner, sporting cool blue Presidential trunks is the Barack Obama Chili...
I know what you're thinking. Canned chili? How good could that possibly be? But actually, take a look at this list of ingredients:
Water, Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Seasoned Beef Crumbles (Beef, Salt, Spice Extractives), Diced Tomatoes in Tomato Juice, Red Kidney Beans, Kidney Beans, Contains Less than 2% of the Following Ingredients: Modified Food Starch, Red Peppers, Green Peppers, Spice, Jalapeno Peppers, Soy Protein Concentrate (Caramel Color Added), Salt, Dehydrated Onions, Sugar, Dehydrated Garlic, Paprika, Red Pepper.
It actually doesn't contain any weird stuff in it. It's exactly what you expect, and nothing freaky in there except maybe modified food starch or soy protein concentrate. Let's face it, we all could use some soy protein concentrate. Not all of us can afford injections like A-Roid, I mean, A-Rod.
For the making of the Obama chili, I made sure to purchase only Made in USA products because that's how his stimulus plan is like. Buy American! Stimulate the economy! So originally I picked up a can of Goya kidney beans, but it wasn't stimulus approved. So I asked myself, What would Obama do and went with the store brand kidney beans. As it turned out, when I went home, my roommate told me, "The store brand beans are actually from Canada." Oh. Hmm..
To help me compare the two chilies, I employed the help of my roommates. They both agreed to take part in a blind taste test. They tried a spoonful of one chili, and then the other. Both of them picked Obama's chili as the better one. They said the Roadhouse Chili had more heat, but otherwise felt flat. Obama's chili had a stronger tomato taste but the chili seemed to be more complex in flavor.
I think it's a little too easy to pick out Obama's chili as the better one when he's going up against a canned chili. The soup consistency is slightly different. Also, the meat in the canned chili is.. bouncy. Not bouncy in the sense that I dribbled it like a basketball, but just that it had a springy consistency. It's uh, kind of weird but still do-able.
After the taste test, I added more spice/kick to the Obama chili because his chili just lacks serious heat. It needs a more powerful and effective stimulus. I like to sweat a little during chili consumption. That tingling feeling in your tongue is your body telling you that 5 out of 5 denizens in the Chendu Province in China approves of a chili that makes you reach for a towel to dry your forehead.
Before I leave, a quick shout out to Jose Calderon of the Toronto Raptors. Number one, for being a solid contributor on my fantasy team, and number two, for helping to make better ham (via TrueHoop).
Also, during these tough economic times, if you live in the city and you're struggling a bit to fight off hunger, here's the NYC Brochure on food stamps. I know most blog readers are probably ok, but it's good information to know anyway.
One last thing! If you love foie gras, there is a GREAT piece about foie gras production by Hudson Valley. They also have a slideshow. Some of those ducks look like they're smiling. It's over at Village Voice and it's a must-read. I think if you have any doubts about foie gras production, you will change your mind. More and more, I think PETA is full of fuck-tards. But yea, go read, and then go eat some foie gras this weekend.
Obama Family Chili Recipe
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
Several cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey or beef
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground basil
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Several tomatoes, depending on size, chopped
1 can red kidney beans
Saute onions, green pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft.
Add ground meat and brown.
Combine spices together into a mixture, then add to ground meat.
Add red wine vinegar.
Add tomatoes and let simmer, until tomatoes cook down.
Add kidney beans and cook for a few more minutes.
Serve over white or brown rice. Garnish with grated cheddar cheese, onions and sour cream.
(I invite you to follow me on Twitter so you can get more of my non-sense in another medium.)
what makes a chili "roadhouse"? That's bad marketing because it's one word syllable from "roadkill."
Ang
February 18, 2009 10:41 pm
I knew chili was Obama's favorite thing to cook but is this actually his family recipe? Cool! Thanks for sharing.
Hillary
February 19, 2009 12:06 pm
Love your site...the photos are astounding!
Finance Foodie
February 19, 2009 5:45 pm
PETA is full of well meaning f*tards, that's all. Drawn in by propoganda, but their hearts are in the right places, because who wants animals to be abused?
I love how your blog is reflecting the economic times (no sarcasm) - I don't think I saw a recipe on here ever until the economy tanked. Nice to see you cooking and sharing recipes.
Yvo
March 6, 2009 11:29 am
Times are tough, you gotta keep it real. haha
Danny
March 6, 2009 12:15 pm