Need Suggestions for What Mom Can Get Me.

[thansal]

If you haven't picked something out yet:

$50 buys a lot of books. Or one really expensive book:
The Oxford Companion to Beer

It's a great book, and the editor, Garrett Oliver, is knowledgeable and well spoken (as well as being the Brew Master for Brooklyn Brewery). He is also the Author of The Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food

[Kittish]

You can never have too many kitchen gadgets! Get yourself a small meat grinder, since I'm pretty sure that's a gadget you might even actually use what with making all the chili.

[Jester]

$50 buys a lot of books. Or one really expensive book:
The Oxford Companion to Beer

I have tons of books that I have yet to read, and not a lot of books are jumping out at me to be bought at the moment. Add to that the two recent purchases I made for my Kindle with my little sister's Christmas gift of an Amazon gift card. So I wasn't really thinking books, which is odd for me.

HOWEVER, that particular book somehow has escaped my radar, and looks pretty interesting. AND it is not that expensive for the Kindle (under 20 bucks), so that is a definite possibility.

You can never have too many kitchen gadgets! Get yourself a small meat grinder, since I'm pretty sure that's a gadget you might even actually use what with making all the chili.

I used to agree with you that one could never have too much kitchen gadgets. One day I may agree with you again. But at the moment, I definitely DO have too little kitchen space. And that argues against more kitchen gadgets.

And while I wouldn't mind having a meat grinder at some point in the future, I should point out that I wouldn't use it for chili. I use four meats in my chili: sirloin steak, which I cube and brown; pork tenderloin, which I cube and brown; smoked bacon, which I oven roast and dice; and chorizo sausage, which is already ground, and I merely decase it and brown it. In effect, I end up with lots of good chunky meat and some ground meat in my chili, while no one ever really notices the bacon, as it just hides in the shadows and provides its own magic to the mixture.

[Pixilated]

I've got a chili recipe but nothing even remotely like that. You wouldn't perchance want to share it, would you ... pretty please with chocolate sprinkles on it ...

[Jester]

That is about one of the nicest requests I've ever had for my chili recipe. And so I have to say:

No.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I will gladly share recipes, and just about any recipes...except three. My Famous German Stew, my spaghetti sauce, and my chili. (This list could grow in the future.) These are my three most worked on, worked over, thought about, and proud recipes, and I don't share them with anyone. Not even my beloved niece Dragon. (Although I have told her that when I die, she will inherit them.)

You asked me nicely, and I appreciate that. But if Dragon's not getting this recipe, you certainly aren't.

But, to be fair, I have just given you the base of my chili recipe. Use it (I think it is a great base) and run with your own ideas. I will also tell you that I use a lot of fresh ingredients, I use plenty of seasoning and herbs, and of course I have a few secret ingredients. Here's one hint: garlic should come in a bulb, not a jar. And yes, I use garlic in my chili, as I do in about everything. Here's another hint: sweet, smoky, and spicy. (And that doesn't mean sugar, liquid smoke, and tabasco, mind you.)

And that's all I'm gonna say.

[JustaCashier]

I vote for Fleetwood Mac as well.

In fact, as I was reading through this thread, my thinking started leaning more toward an experience, as opposed to a physical item.

Mike