Celebrating the Last Day of Summer

Chili with Homemade CornbreadI am sad to say goodbye to summer, especially the long days. However, I am excited about fall foods--apples (I prefer mine firm, not overly juicy, slightly sweet with a pronounced apple flavor), winter squash (delicatas are among the best), and local potatoes.    I am also excited about cold weather cooking--soups and stews and of course chili.  It was sunny and in the 80s in DC today, not exactly cold weather, but for some reason I was craving chili.  I make my chili with dried heirloom beans.  You have to soak the beans overnight which adds an extra step, but I think these beans have so much more flavor.  I use either beef or buffalo, but you could absolutely use turkey as well.  And yes, for you vegetarians out there, you can skip the meat at the expense of flavor and texture, however.  Other secrets to my chili--chipoltle chili pepper, a bottle of dark beer, a mixture of spices, and maple syrup.  Chipoltle is a smoked jalapeno.  I love the smokiness it imparts to the chili.  The beer speaks for itself, but I find that the sweetness of the maple syrup both dulls the spice and enhances the smokiness of the chipoltle.  I made homemade cornbread and I serve it with sharp cheddar cheese and some chives.  yum.