Wood Fire Food

The past few days have been uncharacteristically cool. A front came through on Friday, and, I'm sure with applause from most of Texas, dropped the temperature into Are We Experiencing What Most Of The United States Calls "Fall" range. My usually panting dog has enjoyed keep his unusually large tongue in his mouth, and I've enjoyed having one more excuse to nap and watch football instead of studying. I didn't actually need another excuse, but it helps. With fall weather coming (and soon leaving) in such a hurry, I found it necessary to make a pot of one of my cool-weather favorites: chili. The high today was an astounding 59 degrees, the forecasted high for Wednesday, three days from now? 88 degrees. You see my reason for such haste.

With chili I tend to take the easy way out- why individually measure ingredients when I can buy a 2-Alarm Chili Kit and go from there? Exactly. There is no reason. I added a few extras to this batch, and I think it turned out exceptionally well. It's not too spicy, which is in stark contrast to my usual fiery brew. I used nilgai meat for the chili, and those who have eaten and cooked with it can understand why I think of it as the perfect game meat. It's lean, not game, and so tender. Never heard of it? Nilgai are 500 lb Indian antelopes that have become basically wild in South Texas, escaping exotic game ranches and thriving in the region. They also make great chili, burgers, steaks and I'm sure anything else one can think of, which in my opinion is many times more interesting than their Texas history.