Instructions: Serves 6-8

I won the prize for hottest chili. This is adapted from Taos Recipe, a collection of recipes from restaurants in Taos, New Mexico. Not low-fat by any stretch of the imagination.[Sharon Badian]

You can easily make this a meatless chili by adding more beans and taking out the ground meat.

Re Peppers: if you are lazy
you can use frozen or canned. If using frozen, pick the medium heat. If canned, dont expect it to be hot because most canned chili peppers that are not jalapenos are Anahiems, a relatively mild chili

In a large soup pot, saute the ground meat until cooked. Remove meat and set aside.

Add onions, garlic and cilantro to pot and saute for 3-5 minutes or until onions are softened. Add tabasco, oregano, cumin, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring to combine. Remove onion mixture and set aside with meat. If your pot isnt non-stick you might have to add a little bit of oil. The meat may give off enough to prevent sticking.

Add chicken broth, beer, poblano peppers, and tomato to pot. Add onion mixture, ground meat and cooked beans. Stir well. Bring to a boil.

Reduce to simmer and cook for 2 hours or more.

Oh, instructions on roasting peppers...either put them under the broiler or char them in the burner flame until the skin blisters. Make sure that its blistered all over or its a bear to peel. Place peppers in a paper bag and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Peel. You dont want to burn the peppers, just the skin. It will get pretty well charred on the outside. Its a messy business but roasted peppers make the dish.

Note on peppers: poblanos are medium hot green chilis. They look something like Anahiem chiles but are a blacker green. Depending on where you live they may be somewhat difficult to procure fresh. When I lived in NJ, I went to Dean and Deluca in NYC to get them. Now I drive to any of the local supermarkets. Denver is a great place if you like Mexican food.

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