90 Degrees West announces 2017 Chili Cookoff Winner (with recipe!)

If you noticed your lights were a little dimmer last Thursday, it was probably due to crock-pot overload on the power grid.  Eight culinary masters and Joel competed in the 90° West Chili Cookoff. The competition was fierce, the trash talk intense and the indigestion legendary.  Special thanks to our celebrity judges: Alanna Dugan of Cannonball, Jon Hansen and Emily Daab of Rodgers Townsend, and David Friedman of ServiceSkills.com for taking time to help us settle the score.  And, congratulations to assistant editor Ryan Wuller for his superior Buffalo Chicken Chili entry.  If you missed the contest, the winning recipe can be found below:

Buffalo Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1-2 tablespoon(s) olive oil

2.5 pounds boneless, ground chicken (you can also use pulled chicken or chopped rotisserie chicken)

Package of “Soup Starter” (finely chopped carrots, celery, and onion) or approximately ½ – 1 cup of each

1 large red pepper

5 or so cloves of garlic

5 tablespoons of chili powder

1 tablespoon of ground cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

1.5-2 regular size bottles of Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce, not the original cayenne

2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce

3 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chiles (1 drained, 2 not)

1 (15 oz) Bush’s Chili Beans: Black beans in mild sauce, drained

1 (15 oz) Bush’s Chili Beans: Kidney beans in mild sauce (do not drain)

1 (15 oz) can of corn, drained

Directions:

In a large pot, heat oil and add ground chicken, cook about 10 minutes on medium heat until no longer pink. Set pot aside.

In a medium skillet, sauté chopped celery, carrot and onion. When veggies are tender, add to your large pot.

Use food processor to puree red pepper, then add puree to your large pot.

Add the rest of the ingredients, put stove on to simmer, and cook for 1 hour.

Serve with bleu cheese.