By Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
From Texas to Cincinnati, New Mexico to California, chili has more variations than regions in the U.S. Embedded in regional recipes are each chili master’s secret ingredients and personal flair.
Chili masters have debated and cooked-off since the first time meat and chilipeppers joined together in holy heated matrimony— hundreds of years ago.
Cedar Crest chili
Each October, these chili cooks across the country celebrate National Chili Month by whipping up fiery concoctions of meat, beans, spices, and, of course, the almighty chilipepper. What better way to celebrate the diversity of our nation than with a steaming bowl of down-home chili?
In honor of National Chili Month, Jason Fernandi, executive chef at Cedar Crest in Pompton Plains, throws his recipe into the ring. He says his concoction is a nontraditional Texas-style chili because it contains kidney beans.
“The beans add nice flavor and texture,” he says.
Fernandi manages the community’s five restaurants. He says he enjoys building long-term relationships with the people who live there by interacting with them, listening to them, and always attempting to meet their dining requests.
Chef Fernandi’s Campfire Chili con Carne
Ingredients