Another Birthday Milestone and Johnny Cash’s Chilli

Although I started this blog 10 years ago on 14th May 2006, I didn’t actually COOK anything until the 22nd May. The first film star recipe I ever made? Drum roll please… Bette Davis’ Baked Beans.

These will be on my wish-list next time Caroline Frick pops over from Texas…

I remember that day 10 years ago so well.  It was pouring with rain, we were drinking “white trash Pimms”, eating walnut whips

and scoffing a big old beanfeast.  The memory of Heather popping her head around the door 15 minutes after going to bed, and saying that it was “blowing a gale” in her bedroom still makes me laugh.  Those were the days everyone had a pseudonym on the blog so Heather was Rosalind Russell and Dave was John Garfield.

Anyhow, on Sunday Heather and Nathan came round and me and Mr R celebrated 10 years of cooking like the stars with them, by eating a VAST AMOUNT OF CHILLI with all the trimmings…

I had portions of the two versions of Johnny Cash Chilli I had made previously in the freezer, version one with American spicing, and version two with British spicing (to go straight to the Johnny Cash chilli recipe click here) – from an intensive google trawl, I think that the amount of garlic Johnny actually specified in his recipe was THREE cloves (this was missed in the transcription at the Crook and Chase page)…

 

We also had a large vat of Monte Hale’s Hale and Hearty Chili.  

I’m going to write about this later, as I made it for a forthcoming event that Greg Swenson over at Recipes for Rebels is organising, that’s not for a while yet though.  I’ll reveal all soon!

 

We dressed accordingly.  Here’s Sheriff Rathbone:

Nathan couldn’t find his cowboy hat so came as a “redneck”:

Toasting 10 years of Silver Screen Suppers with champers!

and Heather got into the mood with a neckerchief made from a serviette:

There was a blind testing of the chilli.  Heather came up with a patented chilli identification system involving one cracker, two crackers and three crackers to identify chilli one, two and three.

And the winner is?

Johnny Cash’s original American spiced chilli – YAY!

So the McCormick’s and the Mexene Chilli powder beat the good old UK standby Schwartz brand chilli mix and chilli powder…

There was much discussion about how chilli powder in the UK has traditionally been used for spicing up Indian food rather than Mexican food.  The version of the chilli which used UK chilli powder was MUCH hotter because of this.  We didn’t have ANY decent Mexican restaurants here until about 5 or so years ago I reckon.  Or if we did, they were very much hidden away.  I LOVE Mexican food and am very pleased that there is now a Wahaca on my bus route to work.  Not that I’ve ever stopped off for a breakfast burrito, but maybe I will…

 

Anyhow, I am going to do a proper comparison of what spices are in Johnny’s Chilli, and see if I can make one that is a better match with UK chilli powder.  I wonder if I can keep the taste of the original in my mind for a comparison.  Cinnamon-y!

So cheers Johnny:

And cheers Bette for your Boston Baked Beans which kicked this whole crazy cooking extravaganza off 10 years ago…