I love chili. I've loved chili since I was a child. But I think my real infatuation started when I went to a chili cookoff. Or maybe it was more of a chili free-for-all. There were no rules about how the chili had to be prepared. It was just 50 different teams preparing what they called chili. There were some chili's that were pretty standard beef, beans, tomatoes and peppers. There were also many that were very different - they used fish, turkey, coffee, chocolate, beer and more - but somehow, they were still chili. I decided to try to make as many different recipes as possible and have collected the best ones here.

There are many theorys about the origins of chili. One thing is certain. The chili pepper that is the essential element in any chili originated in the Americas. There is evidence that the chili pepper was cultivated on the American continent as far back as 7500 BC. Christopher Columbus encountered them in the 1400's and called them peppers becuase they had a flavor like black pepper (even though they are different families of plants) 'From Europe they spread quickly and widely. The monks in the Spanish and Portugese monistarys grew them and they becamse widely incorporated in the local cusine as a replacement for black pepper, which at the time was rare and expensive. Capsasin, the chemical in chilis which gives them their charactaristic feeling of burning hotness, stimulates the nerves that sense heat giving the sensation of burning even though no physical damage is done.

In any event, the modern dish that we call chili seems to have started in Texas in the mid 1800's. Dried beef, dried chili, salt and fat were were pounded into blocks that could be taken on the trail during expiditions and then boiled in pots to make a meal. In the late 1800's through the early 1900's, the dish became increasingly popular in Texas, particularly around San Antonio and from there spread throughout the South and West. Today, chili con carne is the official state dish of Texas.

The recipes here don't indicate the number of servings, bucause it depends on how hungry you are. The best thing to do is just jump in and try a few and then decide if you need to make more or less the next time.