Time to Chow Down and Chili Up!Here is the most comprehensive guide ever to making and enjoying America's favorite meal in a bowl.From California's Gilroy Super Garlic Chili and Florida's Havana Moon Chili to Wisconsin's Green Bay Chili and New Hampshire's Yankee Bean Pot Chili, Chili Nation features chili recipes from all fifty states.
It was at a help-yourself church supper buffet west of Broken Bow many years ago that we came across this endearing chili variation, which we have always associated with the straightforward farm cooking of Nebraska. At first, we assumed it was two separate things to eat. But the lady ahead of us in line, recognizing we were strangers to the town and to the townsfolk's cooking, told us that the two casserole dishes - one filled with classic macaroni and cheese, the other with a meaty chili - were the neighbors' contribution to supper every week, without fail. Then she showed us that the proper way to put them on the plate was to lay out a bed of macaroni and then pile a scoop of meaty chili on top. An excellent combination.
We confess that sometimes, when feeling lazy or in need of the corporate kind of comfort that boxed meals provide, we don't bother to make our macaroni and cheese from scratch, but rather just brew up a batch of boxed Kraft Dinner (and make it a little less soupy than the official recipe calls for). But here's the full-scale way to do it, yielding a dish anyone would be proud to bring to a church supper.
For the Macaroni and Cheese
12 ounces elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
For the Chili
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound ground chuck
1 cup barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Up to 1 cup crushed tomatoes
Make the macaroni and cheese
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt and cook macaroni 5 to 8 minutes, until just tender. Drain.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 2 1/2- to 3-quart casserole.
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly. Heat the milk to just below boiling and stir it into the flour-butter mixture, stirring constantly until thickened. Add the salt and mustard.
In a large bowl, combine the macaroni, white sauce, and cheese, stirring just enough to blend it. Pour the mixture into the casserole and bake for 30 minutes.
Make the chili
In a heavy skillet, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil until soft. Add the beef and cook until browned, breaking up any clumps. Drain any excess fat. Add the barbecue sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add as much crushed tomatoes as needed to keep the chili loose.
Serve the chili in broad, shallow bowls atop the macaroni and cheese.
