I am always attracted to recipes with weird names, so this chili was a must: – El 2-Alarm de Fowler – en el estilo de Bellamy. I’m guessing that this basically means  2-Alarm chili in the style of Ralph Bellamy?

ralph-bellamy-young

The phrase 2-Alarm chili meant nothing to me until recently, and my friends across the pond may be surprised that this will also mean nothing to most folks here in the UK.  We don’t have access to this genius package of fabulousness here.  It’s a mystery to us, just as FIG NEWTONS are.

I have absolutely no idea what a Fig Newton looks like, tastes like or when it comes down to it… no idea what it actually IS.  Cake? Cookie (biscuit to us Brits)? Type of fig?  I could google it of course but actually I’d prefer to stay in the dark on this one…  Figs are one of three foodstuffs that give me the fear (mushrooms, aubergines and figs).

figs

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarg.  Bleah.

However, I have to say that I LOVE IT when I stumble across a recipe that contains an ingredient that I do not understand – Graham Crackers / onion juice / A1 Sauce / Bisquick / Lawry’s Seasoned Salt / hominy / shoepeg corn all fell into this category at one point – and 2-Alarm chili until recently.

Wick-Fowler’s

Thank GOODNESS for ebay.  Two boxes of 2-Alarm chili were ordered and arrived – $23.24 including postage (£14.45) which I’m guessing is a lot more than you’d pay for two boxes of this in the States.  You may think me a bit bonkers for paying so much. but it was worth it as Ralph’s chili was great – and I still have a box of goodness left for another batch!

Here’s how Ralph made 2-Alarm Chilli his very own creation.  His pimped up recipe was so good that for a while it was included in every pack of 2-Alarm chili…  He made sure to state that he had no connection with the company, he just really liked the 2-Alarm kit and fiddled around with the standard recipe to make it his own…

 2 alarm chili

El 2-Alarm de Fowler

2 lbs ground beef

1 x 8 oz can of tomato sauce

2 x 8 oz cans of water

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 small can black olives, chopped

2 small or one medium jar of pimientos

2 cans Green Giant Mexicorn*

1 can kidney beans, washed in strainer

1 can pinto beans

Brown the beef and then drain off the fat. Add onion, garlic, pepper and olives. Add tomato sauce and water and the 2-Alarm seasonings (salt optional) except the packets labelled “Red Pepper” and “Masa Flour”.

For Hot Chili stir in the entire Red Pepper packet. For Medium Chili add ½ the Red Pepper packet. For Mild Chili omit Red Pepper.

Cover and simmer 30 minutes or until meat is tender, stirring occasionally. Add pimientos, corn and beans. Mix Masa Flour with ¼ cup warm water. Stir into chili and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes

* I remember this in the UK in the 1980s but it seems to have disappeared – canned sweetcorn with little bits of red and green pepper (in my memory anyhow….)

Ralph suggests serving with crackers, beer and a cold raw apple.  Here’s how mine looked…

Ralph Bellamy Chili

If you happen to have a small amount of chili left over and you are not sure whether to keep it or throw it away, Ralph’s got a nifty idea for it. He calls this recipe “Breakfast for a Cold Morning” and it goes like this:

Break two eggs into an individual casserole. Cover to the cop of the casserole with 2-Alarm. Put in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. (180 C / Gas 4).

Doesn’t that sound delicious? I haven’t tried it yet…Bring on the cold mornings!

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