Chili Nation

I admit--I first got this book on a whim to top up an order for Super Saver Shipping. It's now one of my most reached-for cookbooks, and is almost falling apart from use! CAVEAT: Don't buy this book unless you have access to most of the various chilies--fresh, dried, and canned--in the book; using the listed ingredients really DOES make a difference. However, the Internet is a great resource for finding hard-to-find items, and dried chilies stay forever in a bag in the freezer. Also, the contents of an opened can can be frozen in a baggie...having said that, I have won more than one informal pot-luck prize with the gems in this book.Not all chili has to be watery, or contain starch--many of the recipes are for what I call "Texas-style" recipes--all meat, no beans--which leaves you to choose your own side-dish to temper the heat. This book runs the gamut of recipes from ultra-mild to very hot, vegetarian to carnivore paradise. Almost every single recipe requires only one pot, and can easily be increased for a crowd. For solitary folks, nothing beats a batch of chilie--eat half over a few days and freeze the rest for a great meal when you're in a rush.Get this one and have fun!

I bought this book on a whim about a year ago, and simply love it. Its both a cultural adventure and a delicious trek accross America. If you are a chili purist, you might have trouble with some of the recipes. If you just like tastey food, you'll love the variety of recipes paying homage to what is arguably our nation's favorite food. The cultural anecdotes preceding the recipes for each state and the District of Columbia are interesting and lend insight into why the ingredients for the recipes were selected. They are fun, easy to make recipes that your family will truly enjoy. We particularly love the Whistle Stop Chili from Alabama, the Arizona version featuring pork, and the Nebraska Chili Mac and Cheese. I think you will enjoy this trip across America as much as we did.

One of my culinary quests in life is for the ultimate bowl of chili. Just when I think I've found it, someone comes up with a new idea to create another savory and spicy chili recipe. This book is full of recipes like that, and they often contain ingredients reflecting the local cuisine or some aspect of the local food culture. For example, the Hawaii recipe contains macadamia nuts, the Vermont recipe has maple syrup in it, and the Wasthington state one is spiked with coffee (appropos of Starbucks), and the Pennsylvania recipe has unsweetened cocoa powder.The recipes also very quite a bit; most contain meat, but some are totally vegetarian, and some don't even have beans. There are red chilis, green chilis, spicy and not so spicy recipes, and the meats include beef, pork, sausage, chicken, lamb, shrimp, and veal. Some of the recipes stretch the definition of chili to the breaking point or perhaps beyond, such as the Maryland recipe that calls for shrimp and crabmeat in a cream sauce with a little chili powder. But whether this counts as true chili or not, I found the ingenuity and creativity of many of the state's recipes a delight and an interesting theme around which to build a cookbook about chili. If you're into variety as well as spicy food, you'll probably enjoy trying out all the recipes here. The ones that don't have a locally famous ingredient often come from a restaurant the Sterns ate in that had a recipe that they liked. The authors also include a lot of information on chili history and trivia and a mail-order list of places to get spices and chilis. And last but not least, the Sterns also include a few side-dish recipes, such as coleslaw, jalapeno cornbread, corn pudding, and a three-bean salad.Overall a witty, well-written, and interesting cookbook on a great American dish, and with some nice, extra features thrown in for good measure.

So, I got me a dilemma, and here it is. I am a very creative person who occasionally has to find things that a four year old will eat. This is the great book for all my needs. Gotta cook at home? Little four year old yummy, not too spicy extravaganza? American Chop Suey Chili from Maine. Maybe a little Kansas Chili. Want to prove I am an experimental guy....How bout Boilermaker Chili. Want to burn some mouths at a pot luck? Tigua Indian Bowl Of Red.Again, The Sterns are geniuses. I have had some of my favorite meals, at home or on the road(and gained some of my favorite pounds) because of them. But this book is a cultural geography lesson and a daddies dream in one. I don't see this as being a knockoff or reproduced. I see this as a celebration of the large amount of chili recipes that represent our nation. This is the kind of patriotism I want to celebrate, a diverse and spicy nation....and this book does it from soup(some of the chilis are thin) to nuts(macademia....Hawaiian Chili.)

If you like chili, then this book is for you! I was amazed at the variety of recipies. You are sure to find several that you like since they differ greatly.