A Year of Deer, Episode 5: Black Bean Venison Chili

On Tuesday evenings Travis gets home late from counseling, so last night I seized the opportunity to make a recipe that called for 20 minutes of prep + 1 1/2 hours of cooking time. The recipe came from Bobby Flay, with a few modifications and adjustments by me.

The ingredients: 

 (Yes, that's a bottle of beer. And honey. And lime juice.
Three things I never thought I'd add to a pot of chili!)

The verdict: Travis LOVED it; he said that it rivals Creamy Chicken Apple Chili for his favorite kind of chili (which, if you knew how excited he gets about CCAC, would really tell you something). I liked it, too, and thought that the leftovers I had for lunch today tasted even better than what we had last night.

The chili has a very unique, complex flavor to it. You can definitely taste the beer. The achno chili powder is smoky and doesn't pack as much heat as I'd expected, so next time I might add as much as the recipe calls for (3 Tb) but will probably still leave out the chipotle pepper puree, as I prefer that chili not make my eyes water.

 

I baked up some corn muffins to go along with the chili. When I set the bowl on the table to take a photo, I thought I might as well include the flowers that Travis ordered to for our table at Kendall College's Dining Room, the scene of our date night dinner on Friday. They're gorgeous, aren't they? The card contains a haiku Travis wrote--he's the best!