You Put "------" in Your Chili?

Fall is here, and I'm looking forward to comfort food - stews, soups, loose meat sandwiches, and casseroles are just a few of the highlights. The crock pot is autumn's best friend. I started looking through our recipes last week, but I got bored just reading the ingredient lists. I needed some new recipes to get me fired up about the kitchen this season.

Saturday's cooler temperatures and its sulky, steel-grey sky set the tone for a classic fall meal: chili.

We went to the grocery store to get the red grapes that I needed for the chili. Grapes? Yep. I had searched for "unique chili recipes", and the Better Homes & Garden's recipe for "Fire and Ice Beef and Grape Chili" caught my eye. A chili recipe that calls for a frozen mixture of grapes, red onion, red wine, and red vinegar? I couldn't get that out of my head. This was a recipe that I was excited to make.

"A frozen red wine ice cools our spicy beef and pinto bean chili. To serve, top the hot chili with the frozen mixture and eat immediately." (picture and quote taken from bhg.com)

I couldn't find a pound of boneless beef short ribs, so I used a pound and a half of boneless beef country ribs. (If there is a difference between the two, I don't know it.) Since I increased the amount of meat, I added more chili power. I didn't cook the grapes whole as stated in the recipe's second step. Grape skins are pretty tough, and I didn't think 45 minutes of simmering was going to break them down. To get more of the grapes' flavor, I halved and then quartered them.

How did the chili turn out? It was really good! Adding the frozen wine mix is creative, and it feels a bit "fancy", if that's possible when eating chili. I think the sweetness of the grapes balanced nicely with the chili powder's heat. With ample meat and beans, I didn't ever think I was eating a spicy fruit cocktail. In fact, the grapes weren't a distraction at all, but I don't know if they would work in a recipe that did not include wine.

About that wine, since it doesn't cook down, the alcohol is still in there. At two tablespoons per serving, it's not much, but it's more than what I would give Charlotte. That's a mute point because she is too picky of an eater to even try a taste of this dish.

Chili always gets better after a night or two in the fridge, and I'm looking forward to having leftovers tonight.

Here's the chili without the frozen wine mixture:

Wine mix:

I should had taken a picture of the two together, but was too hungry.

Here's a link to the recipe: Fire and Ice Beef and Grape Chili