Oct 23rd 2012 08:05 am Fighting words


Buy the new book, "Beaucoup Arlo & Janis!"Today's "Arlo & Janis!"
In old business, congratulations to the San Francisco Giants. On to new business. In case any of you still doubt it for a moment, this is a personal Web site. This very morning, before I sat down at my keyboard, I ground several pounds of sirloin tip in preparation for the opening of chili season. The interesting thing is the meat grinder I was using. It was my mother’s for years and years, and whether she bought it new or its lineage goes further, I have no idea, but it’s possible. It’s a relic. A really great relic! It’s one of those L-shaped tubes that clamps to the edge of the table. You pour chunks of meat in the top and turn the handle to grind. I’ve watched my mother grind everything in that device except my father, who was fortunate on more than one occasion to be too large to fit. Now, I’m using it. It gives me a good feeling. I’ll tell you something else that makes me feel good. It was made in the United States, by the Colebrockdale Iron Co. of Boyertown, Pennsylvania, to be precise. I was pleased recently to learn you still can get dies and knives that fit my antique. I ordered a set from eBay, as I was down to only one surviving die (hamburger). The replacement parts were not made in the United States, but they seem to work fine. Wish I could send you some chili.

Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J

70 Responses to “Fighting words”

  1. Nodak Wayne on 23 Oct 2012 at 8:23 am #

    I can’t believe no one has started the chili talk

  2. Norm in Utah on 23 Oct 2012 at 8:27 am #

    Ummmm! Chili!

  3. David in Austin on 23 Oct 2012 at 8:27 am #

    I have one of that type of grinder, that was my grandmothers. I confess, though, that when I need to do serious grinding I use the grinder attachment for our KitchenAid mixer. There aren’t kids at home anymore to turn the handle and I find it convenient to have two hands to work with the meat or vegetables. In fact, I will be grinding beef brisket today. It makes great burger, and I can control the amount of fat. Also, for $1.99 a pound, the market brisket is cheaper (and very fresh) when compared to the in-store beef.

    Changing subjects, I understand exactly how Arlo feels dealing with “Customer No-Service.” I’ve been trying to get the results of my dog’s biopsy from the vet for over a week. Every day I call and they don’t call back. It’s suspected that he has lymphoma. It would be nice to get them to speak to me.

    I’ve had the same issue with an outdoor power repair shop. Returned my garden tiller for a repair that didn’t stay fixed. Supposed to be ready in 5 days. It’s been over two weeks and I still can’t even find out if it IS repairable. I’ve called that shop every day since last Wednesday and, you guessed it, still haven’t had a call back.

    Just one more incident, with anyone, and I may be doing something a little verbally stronger than wishing someone a bad day!

  4. billinbossier on 23 Oct 2012 at 8:34 am #

    Just one question….do you put beans in your chili? Anyone can answer this. Personally, I do not.

  5. Debbie in Alabama on 23 Oct 2012 at 8:35 am #

    My mother used to use that same sort of grinder when she made pear relish. I helped her many years. Last year she helped me and we used the food processor. Lots quicker. Relish still delicious especially with peas and butterbeans.

  6. Bob, near Mark on 23 Oct 2012 at 8:38 am #

    What’s the proper way to make chili – beans or not?
    The proper way to make chili (and don’t let anyone tell you differently) is to make it the way you like it! :)

  7. Whistling Rufus on 23 Oct 2012 at 8:44 am #

    We have one of those grinders, it came to us from my wife’s mother. I didn’t know there are various dies, we only have one, but I’ll look into getting some others (ebay, huh?). I have an electric grinder also, as I grind a lot of venison (and the season is upon us). @ billinbossier :
    OF COURSE I put beans in chili–red kidneys in fact, although sometimes, not often, pintos or cranberry beans. Only chili w/out beans I’ve ever seen is that stuff you put on hot dogs.

  8. Ghost Rider 6 on 23 Oct 2012 at 8:50 am #

    I have a pot that is used only for making chili. My personal cookbook contains nine recipes for chili. Some call for beans (pinto or black), and some do not.

    As you might guess, my chili season runs January 1 – December 31 each year.

  9. yooperbill on 23 Oct 2012 at 8:59 am #

    I also have one of those grinders. Ever try puting 20 lbs of Venison through one? It sure is worth it though. Nothing like Venisonburgers and Venison Chili! I also have a Drip-O-Lator that I inherited from my grandmother. It is made by the Enterprise Aluminum Company of Massilon Ohio, and makes one cup of perfect coffee,( as long as you use the standard measure coffee cup and not the mugs of today!)

  10. sandcastler on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:04 am #

    Red beans or black beans for red and green chilies. White beans and chicken for white chili. Add a side of cornbread for a complete meal.

  11. sandcastler on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:10 am #

    On topic of grinders. My mother’s grinder lies in a drawer unused. Have fond memories of powering it. Also fond memories of helping father-in-law make whole hog sausage with a hand grinder, 250 pounds of meat is a workout. Then it had to be seasoned and stuffed into casings, hand stuffer of course. Now I am missing the sausage, plus the hand cured ham and bacon my grandfather and father made.

  12. Mindy on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:10 am #

    Chili with beans unless fixing hotdog chili. I have eleven recipes for chili, Ghost, and my chili season, which coincides with potato soup season, runs from today to infinity. I had one of those grinders, Jimmy, and one day while giving it a workout it cracked from the top of the put-em-in-it funnel section all the way down to the grinding part. Instead of chili today I’m going to fix venison stew while I fight the Devil Bamboo once again. The battle against evil never seems to end.

  13. Dan on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:22 am #

    I like to use both red kidney and pinto beans.
    Here in Texas the purists will tell you that you cannot have any beans if it is in a competition. Beans are considered “markers” and you will be disqualified.
    In any event I would rather eat the chili than enter it in a contest.
    A co-worker makes some of the hottest chili I have ever eaten. He uses habanero pepper and it is HOT! I love hot spicy food. My motto is “if you are not sweating, you are not really eating” however his chili is too hot for me to make a meal. I don’t want chili as a side dish.

  14. Hurd in Bay Minette on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:39 am #

    Without beans it is spaghetti sauce. At least that is how I tease my mother in law when she makes it.

  15. Dennis Ewing on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:41 am #

    I have to make 2 batches when I make chili. I prefer it with kidney beans. My spouse prefers no beans. I grew up moving all over the west. She is a native Texan. I think they are taught that beans are not good in chili from an early age. So the compromise is to cook 2 batches and smile. That has kept us married for 34 years.

  16. Nancy in Bucks County on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:56 am #

    Small world. I live about 30 minutes from Boyertown. Lovely old downtown area. Lots of PA Germans. Just sayin’.

  17. David in Austin on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:57 am #

    Dan and Dennis are correct, from a Texas perspective. If your chili con carne is to be seen in public (in Texas) then beans are strictly forbidden. However, you MAY serve beans along side chili. In private, what you do with your beans and chili is strictly between you and the fence post.

    Here’s a link to one writer that attributes the origin of Texas chili to immigrants to San Antonio that were recruited in the 1700′s from the Canary Islands by the government of Spain.

    http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2008/12/history_of_texas_chili–withou.php

    I, personally, find beans acceptable for homestyle eating. I usually use pinto beans. I also like less heat, so I can taste some of the other flavors. I really like making chili from mesquite smoked brisket, sweet onions, fire-roasted tomatoes and roasted sweet peppers. A gentle touch of Habanero pepper adds heat and flavor.

  18. Bryan on 23 Oct 2012 at 10:10 am #

    Chili season? Meat in chili? I guess being a native New Mexican I don’t follow that logic. I make chili, a sauce for use on food, either from dried red chili pods or from fresh green chili pods. This sauce is then put over things like burritos or is mixed in with other ingredients to make carne adovada, posole, or the like. And we eat it all year ’round, the only “season” is when the chili’s are being picked and we roast the green chili’s. The smell of fresh-roasted green chili is a key part of late summer and autumn here and is one of the most enticing aromas there is.

  19. Bryan on 23 Oct 2012 at 10:16 am #

    The concept of something like kidney beans in chili is so foreign to my mind I could never call such a concoction “chili”. I remember helping some people new to NM with some housework. they offered the workers a lunch of chili and beer.
    The “chili” was a soup made with hamburger, bell peppers, onions, and kidney beans. I think it even had another type of bean in it. It wasn’t a bad soup but there was nothing resembling chili in the bowl.
    The trouble with being a “purist” (some would say snob) when it comes to native foods!

  20. GENEVIEVE TULLOCH on 23 Oct 2012 at 10:18 am #

    What a great tribute to your Mom — I only hope that one day my son will do some small
    eveyday task and think of me. U ROCK :)

  21. Bryan on 23 Oct 2012 at 10:21 am #

    Sandcastler – what are “white chilis”? I’ve never seen such a beast. Red, green, purple, even “black”, but never a white variety.

  22. John in Richmond Texas on 23 Oct 2012 at 10:25 am #

    Yes, just serve the pinto beans alongside for the individual to do as they wish. My wife and I usually have a cleansing day on Sunday with just pinto beans with some onion and tomato and cornbread for the main meal of the day. I read of a state legislator (New Mexico, I think) born in Mexico, lived there til a young adult and never saw black beans until he emigrated to the US and saw them in a “real authentic” Mexican restaurant.

  23. sandcastler on 23 Oct 2012 at 10:25 am #

    Loving the discussion this morning. Chili, like BBQ, is a highly regionalized and personal food.

    Jimmy, should you ever want to publish a cartoon slash cookbook, this crowd would not only buy but contribute recipes. This would make you a crossover cartoonist/chef. With advice from Hurd you could start a chain of Aarlo & Janis Diners. Move over Jimmy B., Jimmy J. is the new game in town.:-) ;-)

  24. TruckerRon on 23 Oct 2012 at 10:26 am #

    David in Austin, any luck finding the details on that gluten-free mix for a bread machine? If it lowers the price of a loaf below $6 it’ll be a real boon to this ex-trucker!

    sandcastler, you described my wife’s white chili. She made a delicious pot of it in the crock pot just last Friday. She also did a wheat chili that I used to love…

  25. sandcastler on 23 Oct 2012 at 10:46 am #

    TruckerRon, I also do a Veracruz Chicken that contains: cinnamon peppers, green olives but, no beans. Shred the chicken and you have great grilled sandwich material, just add cheese and grill. If you prefer a sweet non traditional chili add beans. I am thinking with the right blend of spices we should be able to create a pumpkin chili. Anyone have a pumpkin chili recipe?

  26. Ruth on 23 Oct 2012 at 10:47 am #

    My mom had one of those metal grinders but it just disappeared one day. No one admitted to misplacing it or giving it away. She then used the grinding attachment for her Kitchen Aide but it just didn’t work the same. When I got married I purchased a new metal grinder that was obviously not made to the same quality specs as crank arm broke the very first time I used it.

    As for chili, we had our first batch a couple of weeks ago. My husband puts beans in his chili but I make mine without. Yes, we each make our own as his is too spicy for me. Eating is not supposed to be a death defying experience in my book.

  27. Bob, near Mark on 23 Oct 2012 at 10:56 am #

    Dave in Austin,
    I miss going to the Texican (the one on Manchaca Road) for breakfast. I also miss going there for lunch and dinner. Haven’t been there for about 5 years.

    http://www.texicancafe.com/

  28. Dan in SWMo on 23 Oct 2012 at 11:05 am #

    I am not Texan (though I have managed to marry one of ‘em) but neither am I a great fan of beans in chili, so I came happily to the Texan prejudice that “chili con carne” (literally, peppers and meat) should be cooked without beans or any other such item, leaving it up to the individual diner to have beans on the side, or put the chili on top of beans or rice (or whatever) according to individual taste. My wife and I both like it with rice.

    On the subject of meat grinders, I wish I had my mom’s old grinder, but I was not in the right place at the right time to request it.

  29. CIDU Bill on 23 Oct 2012 at 11:23 am #

    Forgive my ignorance, Dan, but what are “markers”?

  30. sideburns on 23 Oct 2012 at 11:23 am #

    I don’t know if red beans or black are more authentic and I don’t care. I just like the black ones better. And, as far as beans in chili go, I’ll take it either way.

    One odd thing I’ve been noticing, though: in Texas, place names with a Spanish origin are pronounced “gringo style,” such as Amarillo[1], but out here in California, almost all of them are pronounced the way they are in Spanish. I say “almost” because Los Angeles is a prominent exception.

    [1]In Spanish, the double L is pronounced as a Y, but Texans ignore that.

  31. Norm in Utah on 23 Oct 2012 at 11:37 am #

    As far as chili, I eat both with and without, but when I make it, NO BEANS. And talk about strange definitions of chili. I was stationed in North Carolina once upon a time (spent a lifetime there one year), and made up a pot of “Crock-Pot Beans,” a recipe I got from my mother. Includes hamburger, bacon, 3 kinds of beans, brown sugar, etc. One of the natives told me he sure liked my chili. I told him it wasn’t chili, just beans. We went round and round for a while, and then he thought he had the last word when he said “It’s got meat, it’s got beans, it’s chili.” I just shook my head and left him with his delusion.

  32. Redman in "The Big O" on 23 Oct 2012 at 11:38 am #

    Chili season is not here yet. It’s 78 at noon today and will be in the low 80′s all week !! It’s still oyster’s and cold beer season!!

    Go Tigers !!

  33. Bill on 23 Oct 2012 at 11:47 am #

    I expect my white chili with chicken, white beans and other white stuff just won’t fly with most of you…..

    Now if Mr. Johnson (always be formal when asking for something) should post his recipe I expect many of us will give it a try.

    I grew up using a grinder on a mixer, non Kitchen Aid, and stuffed many deer and a few moose through it. We now have one from my wife’s mother that has suction cups to stick it to the counter, not very well I may add, and is hand cranked. We put a lot of potatoes and onion through it for a dish I can’t pronounce but is like potato pancakes.

    Bill, over on the left coast

  34. Tom (somewhere in Georgia) on 23 Oct 2012 at 11:49 am #

    Hmmm. Sounds like there are as many chili preferences as barbeque as eggs as… personally, I enjoy most variations. At least I’m willing to try it. In that way, I, too, am a purist.
    JJ- I inherited my grinder from my dad. Did you ever grind ham (or even baloney) to make ham salad? It goes well with your chili!

    Go Tigers!

  35. David in Austin on 23 Oct 2012 at 11:54 am #

    TruckerRon,

    I’m waiting for final confirmation from my daughter, but I’m pretty sure it was “Gluten-free Pantry Favorite Sandwich Bread Mix”. It is still almost $5 a loaf, but according to my gluten-intolerant son-in-law, it made a good sandwich. He was getting tired of wrapping everything in corn tortillas. Also, I’m waiting on the peanut-butter cookie recipe from my mother-in-law. I will update you when I have more information.

  36. David in Austin on 23 Oct 2012 at 11:55 am #

    TR-

    Oops! Forgot the link on Amazon… http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EVG8H4/ref=oh_details_o02_s01_i00

  37. Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 23 Oct 2012 at 11:58 am #

    Beans was a favorite expression when I was growing up. We even had a dog names “Beans” My grandpa spent a a year or two in Texas, so I had always assumed that the expression came from him.

    When my mother would get frustrated, she learned that she could not use regular swear words around her 7 kids. So she would say “Beans” and we all knew what she meant. I still use the expression and get a lot of puzzled looks from others when I say it. So I have to give them the above explanation. It is especially fun when I am around the Japanese. I am sure that they go back to Japan and tell people that Americans say “Beans!” when they actually mean ^%$#!!

    BTW I like beans in my chilli, but I love to mix in different types. Sometimes I will mash them up and folks think that it is part of the meat. My wife does not like me putting beans in the chilli, not because of the taste, but because of the after effects.

  38. sandcastler on 23 Oct 2012 at 11:58 am #

    I for one, wife for a second vote, view chili to be a four season dish. Family tradition requires that I make chili and cinnamon rolls for Christmas Eve dinner.

  39. Dan on 23 Oct 2012 at 1:06 pm #

    CIDU – markers are identifiers that would enable a chili judge to identify a friends batch from another competitor.

    Bryan- Red or green? The official state question of New Mexico. I can’t get enough of those Hatch chilis.

    Sideburns – I moved from El Paso and noticed the same thing. I pronounced street names and restaurants correctly and people couldn’t understand me. About the only word they do not mispronounce is Jalepeno.

    Regarding the white chili. I enjoy white chili but I do not think of it as chili. Years ago a new couple came to a young marrieds Sunday school social for a Chili Cook-off. They were from the north east and proudly produced their white chili. As the evening went on we politely scooped some into the disposal so that it would look like we enjoyed it.
    Not that it was bad, but it was not the place for clam chowder pretending to be chili.

  40. Robin in Fl on 23 Oct 2012 at 1:16 pm #

    TruckerRon–something like this? I think you can use Nutella too, or cashew butter.

    No Flour Peanut Butter Cookies

    Ingredients

    1 cup peanut butter
    1 cup sugar
    1 whole egg
    ΒΌ cups optional Mix-ins (Chocolate Chips, M&Ms, etc.)

    Preparation Instructions

    Mix all ingredients together well. Form dough into balls and press with a fork. Bake about 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Cookies will be very soft, so allow them to cool slightly on the cookie sheet before removing.

  41. Robin in Fl on 23 Oct 2012 at 1:18 pm #

    For gluten-free bread mixes, try King Arthur Flour (but not cheap)

  42. Bryan on 23 Oct 2012 at 1:21 pm #

    @ dan – Yes, I tink NM is still the only state with an Official Question! lol
    I looked up “white chili” and the recipes seem to be for a soup made with white beans. I guess I can buy into that. I like Dan’s description of “clam chowder pretending to be chili”.

    I like the idea of a comics/recipes book (but I still contend chili is the sauce put onto/into other foods!)

  43. David in Austin on 23 Oct 2012 at 2:29 pm #

    TruckerRon,

    Everyone liked these, not just the son-in-law that has gluten problems.

    Gluten-free peanut butter cookies:

    2 cups peanut butter
    2 cups white sugar (or 1 cup white & 1 cup brown)
    2 eggs
    2 tsp baking soda
    1 pinch salt
    1 tsp vanilla extract

    Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet with vegetable oil or non-stick spray.
    Mix all ingredients and roll dough into 1 in. bals. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
    Press a criss-cross into dough with the back of a fork. (Dip fork in some extra sugar between cookies.)
    Bake 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes
    before removing from sheet

  44. curmudgeonly ex-professor on 23 Oct 2012 at 3:03 pm #

    As a kid, I often got to use the meat grinder described here. Well do I recall trying to get the screw clamps onto the table edge securely enough. I think it had only one blade, but that never wore out, either. It was a 4-bladed propeller in shape. We used it to make ham sandwich spread upon occasion, but mostly for other stuff. Thanks for the memory.

    My former church holds an annual chili dinner the night before Thanksgiving, proceeds to help feed the hungry of the burg. There are several kinds, including venison. Some people like to put a large dollop of sour cream or even shredded cheddar on their portions, but I prefer to add a bunch of sliced pickled jalapenos to mine. By the time I finish, I am sweating profusely with steam coming out of my ears, but my capacious stomach is really, really happy!

  45. Lost in A**2 on 23 Oct 2012 at 3:45 pm #

    Spelt is often used for gluten-free bread.

    Then there is this: http://www.gocomics.com/speedbump/2012/10/23

  46. Beth in MA on 23 Oct 2012 at 4:41 pm #

    I have 2 of the old grinders in my basement, one from my mother and one from my grandmother’s house. One was made in Boyertown,PA and one in Connecticut. I always turned the crank as a child to make chopped liver spread. I even used it when I was first married 35 years ago, but chopped liver has fallen out of favor. I’d love some on some crackers right now if only I wouldn’t feel so guilty eating it.

  47. Mindy from Indy on 23 Oct 2012 at 4:53 pm #

    Just had chili and corn bread for dinner. In Indiana (or at least my part of it), beans are a given and the big controversy is pasta or no pasta. I could live without the beans, but NO pasta! My cousin uses ground turkey, and bakes it rather than cook it stovetop or slow cooker. It’s so thick, it doesn’t even spill out of a tipped pot after a hard brake!

  48. Ruth Anne in Winter Park on 23 Oct 2012 at 5:18 pm #

    We have two of the old grinders – my mother’s and Bob’s grandmother’s – but no longer have a table suitable or counter the right size for clamping onto. My mother used hers at Christmas to grind cranberries, apples, and oranges for relish and now and then for ham salad (thanks for the reminder).

    There’s no telling how many uses Gommy found for hers. A very resourceful little lady, she had no problem living on a houseboat on the St. Johns River while her husband worked for a cypress logging company (in the 1920′s) or making it through the Depression and war years. She was still cooking well into her late 80′s. Makes me feel lazy just thinking about her!

  49. Hurd in Bay Minette on 23 Oct 2012 at 6:05 pm #

    I did not get my grandmothers meat grinder but I got my great grandmother’s cast iron skillet. The rule at my house is no one but me is allowed to use it.

  50. Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 23 Oct 2012 at 6:58 pm #

    My grandmother had one of those hand crank grinders. She would attach it to the workbench on my grandfather’s workshop and grind up raw pears for pear and pineapple preserves. For some reason she quit making the preserves when I was 12 or so, and I don’t know what happened to either the grinder or her recipe. I wish I had that recipe now.

    Back in 1999 when my husband was expecting the world as we knew it to come to an end he started buying “things we need”. Most of the stuff I had no argument with, but one day he came in with a meat grinder and a grain mill, both of which fit onto my KitchenAid mixer. I asked him if the power grid went down how was he going to use either attachment, but he just shook his head and walked off. Since he does grind cornmeal (from popcorn, no less!) and whole wheat flour and I sometimes grind pork they have been useful, though.

    I was thinking the other day that I needed to make a pot of chili. My recipe is fairly standard-hamburger and beans-but since my daughter has decided beans are no longer a part of her diet I will take hers out before adding the offending beans. Before we married my husband made friends with the manager of a Waffle House and would buy a case of their chili mix from time to time. Not bad chili, but a bit bland.

    I do have a recipe for California Chicken Chili. I made it once and that seemed to be enough for everyone. Tomato juice and white beans.

    Jimmy, I’ll second sandcastler’s suggestion for the comic/cookbook idea!

  51. sandcastler on 23 Oct 2012 at 7:31 pm #

    Jean, thanks for the vote.

    Now about white chili, no tomatoes.
    Chicken, white beans, chicken stock, green chilies (chopped and seeded), onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, hot sauce. Top with grated mozzarella cheese.

  52. Anonymous on 23 Oct 2012 at 8:22 pm #

    Jimmy – I so enjoy your comic strip- first thing I look for in the paper every day!!!

  53. Mark in Boston on 23 Oct 2012 at 8:28 pm #

    I’m very glad that nobody has mentioned three ingredients that NEVER belong in chili (and I have been served chili with all three, not all at once fortunately but on three different occasions): tomatoes, bell peppers, and cinnamon.

  54. Ghost Rider 6 on 23 Oct 2012 at 8:42 pm #

    How do you feel about cocoa in chili? If memory serves, Cincinnati-style chili is not only served over spaghetti but has cocoa powder in it.

  55. sandcastler on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:10 pm #

    Mark in Boston, when in Veracruz, Mexico and it’s neighbors, one finds cinnamon and other spices flavoring the regional dishes. Seaport cuisine is always different in a country than it’s inland cousins, in part do to trade and the availability of seafood.

  56. Mindy from Indy on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:22 pm #

    I’ve grabbed cinnamon by mistake and put it in chili. Love bell peppers, but not in chili. What’s wrong with tomatoes? I guess I should ask what is in a proper Texas-style chili?

  57. Mark in TTown on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:29 pm #

    Here is a website I found a couple of years ago. They look to have good-quality products, including electric meat grinders, sausage stuffers, bread machines, various grains, etc.
    http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/

  58. Mark in TTown on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:32 pm #

    I searched for the Colebrockdale Iron Co mentioned by Jimmy. It turned out to be the Colebrookdale Iron Co and Google referred me to Ebay, where they have quite a few of their grinders for sale!

  59. Mark in TTown on 23 Oct 2012 at 9:37 pm #

    You can also check this out:
    http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitchen___Home_Butchering___Meat_Grinders?Args=

  60. Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 24 Oct 2012 at 12:00 am #

    Cocoa and cinnamon in chili? No, thank you. Pasta is another thing, though. It should be elbow macaroni. Put the cooked macaroni in the bowl and top with the chili. Grated sharp cheddar cheese and Fritos should be served on the side. CHILI MAC!!

  61. Ghost Rider 6 on 24 Oct 2012 at 12:14 am #

    Mole sauce (no, Mindy, it’s not made from moles) served over chicken and other meats sometimes contains chocolate. Perhaps that was the idea behind cocoa in chili.

    I’ve never had chili made with cocoa, but like you, Jean, I’m doubtful. And chili over spaghetti seems less odd if you like chili mac. Which I do.

  62. curmudgeonly ex-professor on 24 Oct 2012 at 1:28 am #

    I wish I could get chili without tomatoes around here, but the chances are nil. That the MBH really loves tomatoes doesn’t make it any easier.

    Question about those old meat grinders: The one I remember had its crank in an S-shape. Is there any good reason why that would be so? In scientific terms, there’d be just as much mechanical advantage with a straight crank, and a straight crank would use less metal and probably be easier to produce. I haven’t tried to analyze the shape for resistance to snapping off if the meat were rather recalcitrant about getting ground.

    Trapper: pears and pineapples together? That would float my boat….

  63. Debbe59 on 24 Oct 2012 at 4:10 am #

    Mindy from Indy…I too am from Indiana and grew up with elbow macaroni in my chili. Moved to Texas for a while, and learned the hard way what chili really was (hint, never invite a native Texan over for Indiana chili). Glad to be back in the Hoosier state now. Closer to my family.

    My mom also had one of those meat grinders that attached to the kitchen table, she would make ham salad with bologna….bologna back then didn’t have the “fillers” it has now. She worked in a neighborhood grocery store that carried a lot of Amish meats…..yum.

    Mindy, you ended your sentence yesterday with “don’t you know”…that phrase took me back to the days my son would watch ‘Bobbie’s World’, and the mother would always say “don’t you know now” in a nasal, quirky way.

    GR, will do my best to post more often.

    Ya’ll have a blessed day, don’t you know now =^..^=

  64. Mindy on 24 Oct 2012 at 7:22 am #

    I enjoy a touch of eye of Newt in my chili, since it’s of the Texas variety. Of course, Newt isn’t that crazy about it and often complains to Captain Call and Captain McRae. I always, almost, put tomato [stewed, drained] in our chili. Newt does like that as do the Captains and Pea Eye and Deets. I won’t let Dish eat at our table until he gets that mustache worked over with a hedge hog.

  65. John in Virginia on 24 Oct 2012 at 8:00 am #

    The Dove isn’t the only thing that’s Lonesome this morning, I see. Forgive her, she’s gearing up for another run on the Bamboo Beast.

  66. Karen in Wisconsin on 24 Oct 2012 at 1:04 pm #

    I would love to find some more parts for my old grinder, but its brand name is Climax, and I’m afraid of what would come up if I did an on-line search!

  67. Dan in SWMo on 24 Oct 2012 at 3:12 pm #

    The addition of chocolate seems to be, at its root, a Mayan influence. (I understand the original [Meso-American] chocolate drink was seasoned with peppers rather than sweetened.) It can add a different note to spicy foods, not just chili.

  68. Lost in A**2 on 24 Oct 2012 at 6:06 pm #

    (Peppers in chocolate was a major theme of “Chocolat.”)

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