Jamaican me pay for the monorail

In lieu of a weekend restaurant review because we just had to shell out $170 to register my car with Washington plates – $79 of which goes to the monorail tax, which how cool would it be if there was actually a Disneyland-esque monorail in the works, but really, it all seems like a fantastical pipe dream at this point and I could really use that cash to, say, go out to eat somewhere really cool and actually have something to write about here – we’re giving you a recipe review.

I happened upon this concoction a couple years ago in search for the ultimate chili recipe. I grew up eating my dad’s super yummy and spicy chili, and sometimes, I just crave a steaming bowl of meat and beans with a side of fluffy corn bread. An initial search on allrecipes.com turned up hundreds of recipes claiming to be the best. But one stood out from them all.

It’s called Jamaican Me Crazy Chili, and let me tell you, it sure is fun to make, with all the chopping and sauteeing and simmering. We found ourselves singing and dancing around the kitchen. It was c-ra-zee! OK, maybe it wasn't that fun. But Roth and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of making the chili on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Roth is always in charge of finely dicing the onion for just about any dish we’re preparing. His knife skills are far superior to mine. Plus, the santoku-style knife is kind of intimidating.

The recipe calls for yellow bell peppers only. To add some additional color, I usually throw in a red bell and for some heat, one jalapeno.

Once all the ingredients were prepared, also known as mis en place, thus began my favorite part of the process -- the sauteeing and the simmering!

In addition to the homemade chili, we decided to properly test our KitchenAid mixer, one of the cooler gifts we got for our wedding, by making some wheat bread rolls to accompany the chili.

At long last, dinner was served – the chili atop jasmine rice with a sprinkling of freshly copped cilantro and a healthy dollop of sour cream. What makes this chili unique from any other chili I’ve had are the spices – hot paprika, cumin, chili poweder, ground cloves – and a hint of sweetness, from the mild bell peppers and a dash of white sugar.


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Next week, we promise to venture out for an actual restaurant review, as Thursday is my birthday, and most likely, we will hit up somewhere special for the occasion. Taking suggestions for hip and happening places now …