Notes about Recipes in this book

• Red chile sauce

  • ChandraNH on March 14, 2025

    Fantastic. Used part chili powder (new mexico) and part dried chiles (deseeded and boiled then pureed with everything else).

  • averythingcooks on October 23, 2025

    I used stemmed/seeded New Mexico dried chiles that I soaked in 1/2 the (hot) broth then ran through the blender, finally straining into the pot with everything else. I am bit surprised with how thin it is (even after the cornstarch slurry) and so simmered for a while to reduce. While I'm not sure it's the best version I've made, this stuff (frozen in 2 x 1 cup portions from a 1/2 recipe) will certainly get used up.

• Red chile with beef

  • averythingcooks on February 05, 2026

    This dish uses his "Red Chile Sauce" (pg 32) and so some of the ingredients listed here are used to make that. I have the sauce in my freezer and used 1 cup of it with 8 oz of stewing beef, adding a big handful of chopped sweet peppers (R,Y,O) + some chopped rst'd Anaheims & poblanos (both from the freezer). I used the corn (other suggestion is potatoes) and we ate this saucy braise over cheesy polenta topped with pickled onions. Very good.

• Hatch green chile sauce

  • averythingcooks on September 10, 2025

    Sooo...I was in a hurry/didn't really read the method through & had the simmered tomatillos + the rest of the ingredients in the blender with around 1/2 the broth to start. ONLY THEN did I realize the blender was intended for just the the tomatillos ...oops! Anyways, off I went, producing a nice, very smooth sauce. I put it on the stove, added a little more broth and let it simmer for a bit. I didn't use the optional cornstarch slurry or the extra water & I intend to freeze it is useful portions. I would make this again (my way :) as tomatillos continue to ripen but I think my next effort will use roasted tomatillos (in place of simmered) to see which I like better.

• Green chile with pork and potatoes

  • averythingcooks on July 16, 2025

    The "Hatch Green Chile Sauce" called for (on pg 37) is on this year's garden harvest to-make list, so for this time I pulled some Rick Bayless Rst'd Tomatillo/Serrano Base Sauce + rst'd Anaheim chiles from the freezer. With thin sliced pork loin chops & cooked potatoes, this doesn't need a long simmer. I added a mix of diced sweet & hot peppers + an extra serrano with the aromatics and then added corn & black beans near the end. This flavour profile is a favourite of ours & we agreed that this is a great version. I will use his sauce later in the summer for sure.

• Spicy Hungarian goulash

  • averythingcooks on June 16, 2025

    He clearly recommends against using smoked paprika for goulash and since my only hot paprika is smoked Spanish, I used a mix of sweet Hungarian + my own paprika made from dried, home grown peppers. For the fresh peppers I used sweet red + diced Fresno & hot banana peppers. We sometimes find paprika heavy dishes a bit... harsh? so I stirred in some brine from candied jalapenos (a lovely source for sweet + heat) and this time we replaced the dollops of sour cream with heavy cream swirled into the pot. Served over chive & butter dressed egg noodles, this was a great little 1 bowl dinner.

• Pork goulash

  • averythingcooks on September 16, 2025

    This was good served over egg noodles but I think I should have used cubed pork shoulder even though he advises against this. I'm not sure I agree with his reasoning but I went along with it, using thick boneless pork loin chops cut into 1/2" cubes. I find it easier to put dishes like this into a 300 F oven rather than try to maintain a steady simmer on the stove top and interestingly he gives no indication of the expected time needed for the simmering stage. At the end, we wanted a little acid (+ a zing of heat) so I stirred in a generous spoonful of pickled hot peppers with some of the brine to good affect.

• El Real's chili con carne

  • louie734 on January 17, 2016

    This great recipe was also posted on Leite's at http://leitesculinaria.com/101686/recipes-chili-con-carne.html. I had the chance to review it and we LOVED it for it's slow-cooker ease and rich rich flavor. Frito pies!!

  • averythingcooks on February 26, 2026

    This is a very good, richly flavoured chili. It tasted great as written but for full disclosure...I added frozen corn, great northern beans & chopped roasted red peppers for a more complete dinner bowl. We ate this topped with pickled red onions, grated cheddar + a handful of "bottom of the bag" broken tortilla chips for a "kinda Frito pie" vibe which is one of his suggested uses.

• A. J. Foyt's super Tex-Mex chorizo chili

  • averythingcooks on June 10, 2025

    I added black beans & corn near end of the (longer than suggested) simmer & we really liked this bowl of chili. Fresh chorizo adds good flavour & the chunks of beef make it very hearty. I used Modelo for the beer, beef broth in place of water & note that this list of ingredients includes those needed to make his homemade chili powder (on pg 11). I have lots of chili powders & ground chiles to choose from right now, so I'll need to need to wait to whittle down my supply before I try his version.

• Original Cincinnati chili

  • mjes on September 08, 2021

    I chose to cook this in a slower cooker. The use of tallow rather than oil appealed to me as did the addition of apple cider vinegar. I served it with beans alongside rather than using oyster crackers for the starch. This is a very solid recipe. With so many chilies to try, I may or may not repeat.

  • averythingcooks on July 19, 2025

    Well...we tried but clearly this flavour profile is just not our thing. Even lots of cheese & chopped onions couldn't really save it.

• White chicken chili

  • averythingcooks on March 28, 2025

    We enjoyed this simple chili topped with Monterey Jack, pickled onions & crumbled tortilla chips. The base is creamy without any added dairy and it is easy to heat it up to match your palate. I used roasted Anaheims & poblanos from my freezer, threw in some corn + a minced serrano and added a good splash of brine from the pickled jalapeno jar. This comes together quickly and I would make it again.

• Leite's Culinaria

  The book contains myriad spectacular approaches to chili, from Moroccan lamb tagine to modern vegetarian chili, including a few celebrity recipes like Miles Davis’ chili mac.

  Full review

• Eater

  Walsh’s book captures not just the history and breadth, but all of the exciting possibilities cooks can explore with a stew composed in part of hot, spicy peppers.

  Full review