Killing two birds with one stone on Super Bowl Sunday
Quick: Name two foods that are quintessential to most sports parties. There are more than a few answers to this (guacamole, taco dip, chili con queso, etc.), but two of the top ones would probably be chili and buffalo chicken wings. I am particularly a fan of spicy, vinegar-y chicken wings drenched in hot sauce and cooled with pungent blue cheese dressing (if you can’t tell…), but I don’t often go through the trouble of cooking chicken wings myself. I do, however, make chili on a very regular basis in the colder months — it’s an easy, filling dish that can be modified to be relatively healthy by removing, reducing or switching up the meat involved (usually from beef to turkey or chicken). And, it’s easy to freeze and/or save for work lunches, which I like.
Needless to say, then, when I saw this recipe online from a Biggest Loser contestant for buffalo chicken chili, I had to give it a go. It’s super easy to make and and with its combination of two of the most beloved sports bar/party foods, it would make a great half-time meal for any Super Bowl party — with no one being the wiser that it’s actually better for them than your average chili.
This dish has an estimated pH of about 3 -- having some Tums on hand may be helpful
As the image will show, I added more vegetables (black beans and corn) to ramp up the texture and fiber of the dish (I firmly believe in a diversity of textures in chili, as stated before), and I think the recipe turned out well overall. My vegetable additions may have diluted the hot sauce a bit, as I wasn’t totally satisfied with the “buffalo” flavor of the chili (despite using nearly 1/2 cup of hot sauce), but thanks to the jalapeño, it still had a fair bit of spice to it that became even stronger the next day.
I would recommend topping this chili with blue cheese crumbles instead of sour cream (unlike what I show in the picture) just to give it that extra buffalo-wing kick and serve it with a celery stalk or two. And, I do not, under almost any circumstances, promote reduced-fat cheese like the recipe calls for (life is too short, dear readers).
Special bonus Super Bowl suggestion: Food Network magazine had an ambitious spread of NFL-themed baked potato skins in their January/February issue that I was drooling over earlier this week. Take a cue from them and whip up Fried Pork potato skins for the Indianapolis Colts and Muffuletta ones for the New Orleans Saints, or go rogue and try one of the other combinations — I am particularly tantalized by the New England Saints’ Maple-Bacon skins or the San Francisco 49ers Frisco Gourmet skins (artichokes and goat cheese? Yes, please).
Jay Kruger’s Buffalo Chicken Chili
Serves 6 to 8
From Delish.com
Ingredients
- Olive oil cooking spray, as instructed (or just a splash of extra virgin olive oil)
- 2 lbs. ground chicken (or ground turkey)
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1/2 green pepper, chopped
- 1/2 jalapeño, seeded, ribbed, and diced (obviously, with any chili, use more or less for your tastes)
- Pepper to taste (I use a combo of black and cayenne for more heat) — this parenthetical is from Jay Kruger’s original recipe, and I totally agree. Cayenne pepper is a kitchen favorite of mine. I don’t remember how much I used/probably didn’t measure well, but start small and keep adding until you like the heat level.
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander (I do not recommend using whole coriander seeds, like I did. Coriander isn’t spicy, but the flavor is strong and can be jarring if you get bits of concentrated doses instead of dispersing it with a powdered spice)
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/4-1/2 cup hot sauce
- 1 small can tomato sauce (no salt added)
- Reduced-fat cheese, shredded (Again, I recommend blue cheese crumbles instead)
Preparation
Spray a medium Dutch oven or large skillet with olive oil cooking spray and heat over high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 6 minutes, breaking up the meat.
Add the garlic, celery, onion, carrots, green pepper, and jalapeño. Season with pepper, cumin, and coriander, and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the stock and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan (Blogger’s note: Mmm, brown bits). Concentrate the flavor of the stock by reducing the mixture over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the hot sauce and the tomato sauce.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with reduced fat cheese and more hot sauce if desired.
