January 21st: chili, no-knead bread

When we were home over Christmas, I had a wonderful reunion with my lifelong friends I barely ever see anymore, Devin and Gregory. It's funny how some people just feel right in your life. We got together at Devin and Rebecca's house, and Rebecca made us chili. I'm picky when it comes to chili (maybe a few other things too), so I took a small bowl, ate it, then went back for a bigger bowl. Turns out Rebecca is a great cook and between her amazing chili and her Michael Smith Chef at Home-esque pantry, I believe we may in fact be kindred spirits.

Rebecca's chili had stewing beef in it rather than ground beef, and I knew as I was eating it, I would have to give such a go at home. I did so last night, to some success. I think Rebecca's might have been better than mine, but I'm not sure what I could change. I started with a base I've made before, from January 2010's Chatelaine: Smoky white-bean chili, then doubled the ingredients and adapted it for a longer cook time. Mine went like this:

Stewing Beef Chili

2 lbs (1 kg) stewing beef
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp (30 mL) chili powder
2 tbsp (30 mL) dried oregano leaves
6 chipotle peppers, in abodo sauce
2 x 28-oz (796-mL) can whole tomatoes, preferably without added salt
2 red peppers
2 onions
2 x 19-oz (540-mL) can white kidney or navy beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp (30 mL) tomato paste

Lightly coat a large pot with vegetable oil and set over medium-high heat. Add half the meat and sear, then remove from pan. Repeat with remaining meat. Return all meat to pot and add garlic, chili powder and oregano. Stir well. Finely chop chipotles and add to pot, along with tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for several hours (3-5).

One hour before serving, chop pepper and onion and stir into pot, along with beans. Cook until vegetables are tender. Serve with grated sharp cheddar and sour cream.

Makes 8 servings.


I used the 6 chipotle peppers, but the chili was on the spicy side and Olivia wasn't digging the heat, so I recommend cutting back for spice sensitivities. Michael Smith told me years ago (via TV) that when cooking with canned tomatoes, I should only ever use whole tomatoes, so I do. I used dried beans, quick-soaked the Mark Bittman way, but they were still a little underdone after a couple hours bubbling away in the chili. Guess I should have pre-cooked them, or used the canned variety called for.

I served the chili with no-knead bread:

No-Knead Bread


3 cups (430g) flour
¼ teaspoon (1g) yeast
1¼ teaspoon (8g) salt
1½ cups (345g or 12oz) water
olive oil (for coating)
extra flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal (for dusting)


Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water and incorporate by hand or with a wooden spoon or spatula for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Lightly coat the inside of a second medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 12 hours at room temperature (approx. 65-72°F).

Remove the dough from the bowl and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest 15 minutes in the bowl or on the work surface. Next, shape the dough into ball. Generously coat a cotton towel with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal; place the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with flour. Cover the dough with a cotton towel and let rise 1-2 hours at room temperature, until more than doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450-500°F. Place 6 to 8 quart pot in the oven at least 30 minutes prior to baking to preheat. Once the dough has more than doubled in volume, remove the pot from the oven and place the dough in the pot seam side up. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes Then remove the lid and bake 15-30 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is nicely browned.

Makes 1 loaf.


I used 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat. The type of yeast isn't indicated, but I used quick rise. I used lukewarm water.