Chili for a Cause

It’s here! Cabbagetown’s annual Chomp and Stomp Chili Cook Off + Festival is this Saturday, November 7th. Created to celebrate both the heritage and local flavor the neighborhood as well as benefit Cabbagetown Park, Chomp and Stomp was voted by Creative Loafing as the “Best Annual Event” in 2008.This legendary event is the perfect combination of a few of my favorite things: crisp fall weather, live music, chili, beer, and one of Atlanta’s most beloved funky little neighborhoods.

The chili cook off will be judged by some local celeb chefs – Kevin Rathbun (of Rathbun’s and Kevin Rathbun Steak), Shaun Doty (of Shaun’s Edgewood Social Club) and Kevin Gillespie (of Woodfire Grill who is incidentally also kicking some tail on this season’s Top Chef.)

Kevin Gillespie

There will be a separate contest for restaurant competitors (Fox Brothers won last year) and individual/group competitors. There is even a category for vegetarian chili! (Last year’s winner? Nathan Minor with “Nate’s Unholy Frijoles.” That is a winner for me based on the name alone.)

There will also be SweetWater on tap, an art market, and live music which will pay homage to Cabbagetown’s history of “old time mountain music.” The “Park Stage” will feature traditional bluegrass and string band music and the “Conroy Amphitheatre” will be devoted to more general American music while “mixing in some blues, folk, alt-country and a little bit of rock n’ roll.”

BONUS: At 8am the 4th annual “Romp and Stomp” 5K race will take place. Beginning at the Milltown Arts Tavern (located at 180 Carroll Street), all runners will get free admission to the festival and all proceeds go to support the Cabbagetown Park.

All of this for a mere $5 ticket (all-you-can-eat chili is $25) Can’t beat it.

The festival starts runs from 10AM-6PM and is located at Cabbagetown Park, Tye Street and Kirkwood Avenue. Go to the Chomp and Stomp website (which is VERY cool, by the way) for more information.

If for whatever reason you can’t make it this weekend, why don’t you try my very own Turkey Chili recipe?

Regardless of my usually sub-par culinary abilities, I make a pretty mean turkey chili, believe it or not.

Now it’s not winning any contests, but it is fairly healthy and I think it’s delicious. Oh, and easy. Can’t forget easy.

To make LK’s Not-So-Famous (but still delicious) Turkey Chili you’ll need the following:
1lb ground turkey (I go with 98% fat free)
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 can Rotel
1 can red kidney beans
1 can white corn (the little squatty can)
1 packet of chili seasoning. I usually use McCormick, but last night I used Kroger brand and it was a-ok.
1 yellow onion (diced)
1 red pepper (diced)
1 green pepper (diced)
1-2 jalapeños (seeded and diced) A word to the wise: its smart if you use some rubber gloves when handling jalapeños. Especially if you are wearing contacts that need to be removed later…
Minced garlic
1 beer (or 2 or 3.  Whatever.  I’m not here to judge.)

Ok here’s whatcha do:

1. Open your beer and drink it as you prepare to cook
2. Brown the turkey meat with some minced garlic and the veggies (please do not ask me how much minced garlic. I simply employ the “dump” method.)
3. Stir in the seasoning packet
4. Dump the rest of the ingredients in (including a few pours of your beer. Feel free to open a new one.)
5. Bring to a boil then let simmer for 10 minutes
6. You can serve immediately, but it’s better the next day
7. If I am feeling fancy I will garnish it with some cheddar cheese and sliced scallions

Voila!

xx, L