What goes good with chili?

[ocalagal50]

I am making chili tonight and I would like to know what goes good with chili..
Thanks

[fldhkybnva]

I just wanted to add croutons to this list.

[PotatoHouse]

Fried taters or as we call them, home fries.

[Querencia]

Crackers, then a second bowl of chili.

[meatn3]

My Fathers family always has egg salad sandwiches with chili.

I've never understood the appeal but it is a combination which *must*not*be*tampered*with!

[tim irvine]

Well a fried egg atop stacked green chili enchiladas rocks, so I'll bet it is a good combo.

[tim irvine]

Other than the cornbread and beer, assuming we are talking about very spicy chili, a friend from El Paso introduced me to mango cream cheese jello mold as an accompaniment. It helps calm the heat. Of course most any dairy works. I sampled some fresh piquins the other day, and a small swig of milk cooled me back down right away.

[woodleyparkhound]

I love lots of toppings: shredded cheddar (not pre-shredded), sour cream, chopped scallions or onions, chopped cilantro, fritos or tortilla chips (Green Mountain Gringo is my favorite brand), finely diced tomatoes... all served on the side so people can add their own.

Saltine crackers (as a nod to my childhood). These I usually only have if I'm eating chili alone! Homemade southern-style cornbread, beer, cold milk...

This is my idea of a perfect chili dinner! Oh, and if we are going for perfect, a homemade fruit cobbler for dessert!

[hantms]

Here's what goes well with chili: All the things that are NOT supposed to be in chili, but that some people add anyway. So instead you turn those things into the side dish. That keeps chili purists happy, and also those folks that insist on putting beans, tomatoes and gawd knows what else into chili (corn, celery even), a little red onion, cilantro on top..)

So you make a bean salad that includes some chopped tomato, celery (if you must) in a fairly light dressing that isn't overly oily so it goes well with the heavier chili. Best of course with fresh or dried beans so it doesn't get mushy, like you get with canned beans.

It's like a parking spot where you can relegate all the carbs & veggies. Just so that they don't mess up your chili, while still having a credible claim to providing a healthy, balanced meal.

[mamachef]

I like to serve it with a casserole that's a mix between spoonbread and cornbread, containing diced roasted green chiles, fresh corn kernels, Mexican crema blanca, and cotija cheese. Yum. I also like to serve it with quesadillas: cheese-stuffed and topped w/ guacamole. And you can never ever go wrong with the classics: salad or slaw, and regular cornbread.
Oh, and beer.

[Plano Rose]

Peach crumble for dessert.

[sandylc]

Jalapeno hush puppies with honey butter.

[iL Divo]

"What goes good with chili?"

.......me at the table.................

[jncox]

Grilled Cheese!

[sparky403]

jalapeno & cheese corn muffins

[mcap]

I dig chili with tater tots... cook the tots separately, then put some on the bottom and ladle the chili over. They break down from the heat of the chili and turn into a shredded potato type consistency. Put a few crunchy ones on top, with a little raw green onion. I'll eat that all day.

[justalex]

I'm in the cornbread boat with quite a few here. I also like to top chili with shredded sharp cheddar and chopped scallions.

Usually, I make a huge batch and when we're tired of it I freeze the rest. When I thaw and reheat it a month later, I always serve the chili (sans cheddar) with a gooey, Velveeta grilled cheese sandwich. I love dipping a slightly crunchy GC into spicy chili on a lazy winter Sunday evening. Perfect low maintenance meal.

[xiaobao12]

I am reading this topic while eating a bowl of chili - this has got to be one of the most satisfying things to do....

Thanks for the great ideas - especially the grilled cheese, raw onions.

[caseyjo]

I'll be making some soon, as I've just found out that some of my friends have never had Texas style chili made from ground chili peppers.

I like to top my chili with sour cream, cheese, and some coarsely chopped cilantro. I like it with corn bread or baked potatoes, but usually if the chili is good it's filling enough on the side.

My favorite chili tip is to add a small square of good dark chocolate (seriously small, about an ounce) into the pot right when the chili is almost ready. Let it melt and it imparts a rich, decadent mouthfeel to the chili.

[C70]

I like mine on basmati with cheddar on top. leftovers on a crispy baked potato w/ cheese & sour cream.

[boyzoma]

I made a big batch of chili yesterday for Superbowl. It was topped with shredded cheese and diced onions. This was served with cornbread muffins with honey butter. The leftovers are going to be chili covered baked potatoes, topped with cheese, sour cream, chives, diced tomato and diced ham. It's all good. Oh, and we had fritos scoopers!

[laliz]

I like chili over hot dogs w/shredded cheese and mustard -- maybe a few chopped onions. no bread.

[hawkeyeui93]

When I make chili, my condiments are fritos, chopped red onion, cheddar cheese, and sour cream. In certain parts of the Midwest, fresh cinnamon rolls are served for dessert.

[ocalagal50]

Thank you every body for the wonderful ideas ..Now I have good ideas when I make chili again.:)

[onigiri]

A friend of mine insists the best chili is with onions and a dollop of mayonnaise mixed in.

[paulj]

Diced raw onion? That's one of the toppings of Cincinnati style

[mucho gordo]

Raw onion is also one of the toppings in a good 'chili size'

[KaimukiMan]

In Hawaii it is almost invariably served over rice.

[Sharuf]

guacamole with veggie scoopers - jicama for sure, and cucumber is good also.

[hetook]

your post got me thinking 'bout chili today. I'm on a health kick at th moment so ... it was veg. chili with a bottom layer of quinoa. hmm.. not bad.

[karykat]

Quiche.

[John E.]

Like others have posted, I grew up eating saltine crackers with chili and my mother frequently made cornbread to serve with chili although when I was a kid it was completely lost on me. Now we mostly serve chili with Fritos, shredded cheese, sour cream to go on top of the chili and sometimes cornbread on the side. Sometimes, I'll make a cornbread batter and put it on top of chili in a casserole dish and back that in the oven and make a midwest version of a tamale pie. Sour cream, cheese and salsa goes on top of that.

[paulj]

I wonder the cornbread association arose when chili moved out of Texas into the Mississippi valley. There was a time where the poorest in that area lived on cornbread and beans. A chili with added meat would have been a step up. There is also a version of Mississippi tamales.

[John E.]

We live not too far from Mississippi...the river that is, but at the northern end of it.

[paulj]

Do you eat cornbread with anything else?

The association of chili and cornbread seems wide spread, but I don't know if has a regional pattern, or how old it is.

I have some family connections in Minnesota. Cornbread was common enough (not the purist southern style), but I don't associate it with anything in particular.

[John E.]

When we do make cornbread, it is of the southern variety made in a cast iron skillet (and I recently purchased a vintage Griswold square cast iron skillet for $3). Usually the cornbread is eaten with chili or some other Tex-Mex meal. I sometimes mix in whole kernel corn and chopped red and/or green chilies as well.

One of my SILs grew up eating the cake-like cornbread (made with the addition of flour and sugar) as a breakfast food served with butter and maple syrup.

[hawkeyeui93]

Paul: The most common dish associated with cornbread in my Irish-American family in Iowa was Ham and Bean Soup [made with ham hocks and northern beans].

[paulj]

My Iowa cornbread memory comes from a regional cafeteria chain, Bishops Buffet. As a kid I liked to get their cornbread, which came with a little pitcher of syrup. At that age I was not at all fond of beans, especially the kidney beans in chili. I have no childhood memories of ham and bean soup.

[hawkeyeui93]

Paul: I absolutely despise kidney beans in chili .... and I remember Bishops!

[sandylc]

My mom grew up in extreme southern Illinois eating ham and (Great Northern) beans and cornbread (southern style). It is still her favorite meal. I like it well enough, but don't love it. There is NEVER anything in the ham & beans except ham, great northerns, and water. Maybe a little salt and pepper if necessary!

[Perilagu Khan]

Cornbread, beans and fried pertatas was an extremely common meal for us growing up in west Texas.

Chili is about the only other dish we had cornbread with, though.

[paulj]

Is chili ever paired with biscuits? If chili has chuck wagon roots (ignoring the San Antonio chili queens for the moment) biscuits must have part of those meals. In south Texas they make a pan de campo, biscuit like dough but baked in the dutch oven in a single large round.

[Perilagu Khan]

I've never had that pairing, nor have I seen it, so I don't think it's commonplace. But I imagine you're absolutely correct that the two would have been paired on the ranches and cattle drives.

[CDouglas]

Growing up it was always saltine crackers and a glass of milk.

Now it is corn tortillas and beer. Roll the tortillas into tubes and dip them in your chili. Perfection.

[JMF]

I like it covered with grated extra sharp cheddar, chopped sweet onion, and sour cream; sometimes slices of avocado. Sometimes I just eat it like that.

Other times I use the "Scoops" tortilla chips, or iceberg lettuce torn into pieces and filled with the chili and toppings. I've also used chili as taco filling with the crispy tacos. And in tortillas to make burritos.

Sometimes I make a chili sandwich with just the chili and cheddar. Rarely, but every now and then served over spaghetti or other pasta. Once I served it with spaghetti squash, and now thinking back I wonder why I never did that again because it was pretty good.

For sides I like just plain corn frozen kernels, cooked with very little water and a bit of sugar. The sweet corn goes well with the chili.

[laliz]

sweet corn and chili; YES! (not a cornbread fan, however)

[alexander112]

Cornbread rocks.

Sometimes we fill a bowl with chili, two dollops sour cream, sprinkled fresh grated cheddar, and jalapeños, then we use tortilla rounds to eat the chili.

Coleslaw is a usual standby-or you can make a green salad with shredded cabbage on top for an easy twist to the green.

[mucho gordo]

I make a burrito out of it; just wrap the chili in a tortilla. I also serve it as "chili size" with toast points and a hamburger patty on the bottom of the bowl covered with chili, chopped onions and cheddar. Chili is good no matter how it is served.

[betsydiver]

one of my favorite fast food combos is at wendy's from the dollar menu: small chili over baked potatoe with sour cream, or over garden salad with extra hot sauce...

[wyogal]

LOVE Wendy's chili.

[AdamD]

aside from the traditional stuff

chili is nice over cheesy eggs

[ithimis]

On Saturday morning I poached eggs in leftover chili. My wife was grossed out but I really enjoyed it.

[Will Owen]

That's one of my favorite lunch dishes. Get a smallish pan of chili just simmering over low-enough heat so it won't burn and break a couple of room-temperature eggs in there. The tricky part is that the yolks set at a lower temperature than the whites; doing it on the stovetop instead of the oven helps.

[lackinglatin]

This is actually, essentially, an Israeli dish known as "Shakshuka".

[paulj]

beans,
tortillas (corn or flour).

[gordeaux]

I line a bowl with rice, kind of press in a thin layer - then spread sour cream - really thin film of it over the rice, then chili.

sides:
Corn muffins laced with cheese and minced jalapenos
tamales
Guacamole
Jicama salad - jicama, whatever fruit is in season (oranges, pears, apples now) with an easy lime, evoo, salt, ancho dressing.

[magiesmom]

cornbread, crunchy salad and guacamole. and beer.

[Munkipawse]

gosh Gorde, the rice & sourcream prep for your chili sounds awesome! I will definitely be doing that next time. How do you eat the Guac with chili, as a side or a stir-in?

[xiaobao12]

gordeaux, can you elaborate on the ancho dressing?

[Perilagu Khan]

I wholeheartedly support cornbread, saltines and beer. AFAIC, there's no need to garnish chili.

[lawhound05]

I concur! Cornbread, saltine crackers, and the cold beverage of your choice. Good chili requires no toppings.

[Janet]

We like peanut butter on crackers with chili.

[Cachetes]

Okay, I have to ask: where did you get this idea?? I have never heard of this, and it sounds really strange. I'm not saying it wouldn't be good (especially b/c I think peanut butter makes pretty much everything better), but i have just never heard of this.

[ocalagal50]

Yeah peanut butter does sound strange with chili but hey who knows it might be good.:) I love peanut butter.:)

[mpjmph]

I frequently stir a tablespoon of peanut butter into the pot of chili while it's cooking.

[FoodFigure]

Cornbread, rice and bread bread rolls are go great with chili. One of my favorite ways to eat chili though would have to be pilled high on a place nachos, cheese and peppers.

Its probably more of a "leftovers" way to eat chili, but like the classic hot turkey sandwich, its every bit as good as the initial serving!

[scubadoo97]

We eat chili with rice often but also make cornbread on many occasions when making chili.

[ipsedixit]

Cornbread

Baked potato

Hushpuppies

[sueatmo]

Cornbread and salad. Or you could skip the salad. But cornbread for sure. If you don't make cornbread, then corn chips.

Garnishes: shredded cheese, sour cream or yogurt, or shredded onion.

I also think a plate of salty olives would taste good with chil.

[JenJeninCT]

Sharp cheddar and tortilla chips (something sturdy, so you can scoop the chili with them) or cornbread

[acgold7]

A big bowl of shredded iceberg, topped with a couple of cups of chili and prodigious amounts of cheese, onions, guacamole and sour cream. Is it good for you? Of course it is. It's a salad, isn't it?

http://budlight.whipnet.com/mp3/taco.mp3

[JerryMe]

Good one ACGold7!

I'm going to agree w/ WyoGal - Beer of course, but don't forget the hot sauce w/ the chili!

[wyogal]

When's the party? Now, WHICH beer? I like Shiner Bock... or an MGD would do.

[hawkeyeui93]

I had people over for chili last Saturday and I served up both a Wheat Beer from Kansas City [Boulevard Wheat] and Colorado [Breckenridge's Agave Wheat]. We finished the evening with a beer from the Amana Colonies in Iowa [Millstream's Schild Brau Amber].

[John E.]

Are you telling us that the Amish in Iowa make and sell beer?

[wyogal]

http://www.millstreambrewing.com/

[hawkeyeui93]

A common misconception is that the Amana Colonists are Amish. The Amana Colonies was a commune created by those belonging to an 18th Century religious movement called Pietistism (sp?) .... Here's a link to further explain the history of the community: http://amanacolonies.com/pages/about-...

[John E.]

I learned at least one new thing today. I new they made Maytag bleu cheese down there as well as Amana appliances, go figure.

[DonShirer]

On my cheese list, Maytag Blue gets 2 1/2 out of 3 stars!

[hawkeyeui93]

John:

Another interesting fact is that the father of the modern craft beer movement [Fritz Maytag -- Anchor Steam Beer] is also on the Board of Directors of Maytag Dairy Farms, which was founded by his grandfather (and Fritz's great grandfather started Maytag Appliances). Fritz's father started the cheese making ...

[Veggo]

cheese and onions

[Will Owen]

I've not done this in years, but my favorite guilty pleasure used to be to put two well-dressed hard tacos - the gringo Taco-Bell variety - into a bowl and pour chili over it. It was an old dude from Texas who showed us that; I later found out that it was his adaptation of a way to eat stacked enchiladas, which is even better. Cheese quesadillas is good, too, and easier - the important elements are cheese, crisp-fried corn tortillas, and maybe chopped onion. Probably a little more trouble than you'd care to undertake. In a pinch I'd just go with a big handful of shredded cheese and another of Fritos!

[hetook]

rice.

[azveggieguy]

especially jasmine (IMO)

[Naguere]

Yep, plain boiled rice, to set off the zing of the Chilli.

Jasmine if you like, I go for Basmatti, and a small tomato salad.

[hetook]

yeah, Jasmine or basmati brings out the cumin in the chili. I like chopped scallions and cilantro on top also.

[wyogal]

Beer.

[pikawicca]

Cole slaw and cornbread.

[twyst]

Cornbread is fantastic with chili.

Im also a fan of the classics. Hot dogs, saltines, or fritos!

[ocalagal50]

Fritos sounds good.:) Thanks.:)

[srsone]

Frito pie is how i eat chili most of the time....
unless with cornbread...
or the cincinatti style....over pasta

[iL Divo]

+1 for cincinatti style

[khh1138]

Spaghetti for me, too! With diced onions and cheese, whatever I have on hand. It was Havarti a couple of days ago.