Well, we found out what 10-percent chance of rain looks like on Saturday morning for the Maple Leaf parade. It looks like about 10 minutes of wet.

Saturday meant the end of the weeklong celebration and it was full of fun things to do ... and eat. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Pam Roets, for filling the void left by Betty Saferite and I not having time to enjoy the fire department pancakes like we usually do every year. Pam’s cookies, muffins, banana bread and brownies plus hot chocolate hit the spot. After the parade, it was time to head uptown and around the square to sample as many of the vendor offerings as possible. Pam then brought some chicken noodle soup to the house and dinner was chili, compliments of Crystal and Randy Jones. I love a day with no cooking but lots of good food and good friends.

Crystal gave me a wonderful pink and black Elvis lunchbox. I was so excited and told her I could take my lunch to work in it. My husband said it’s not big enough for that.

Friday, I was one of the judges at the St. Luke’s Nursing Center chili cook-off. With almost 20 entries, it’s a lot harder than you would think it would be. It’s always interesting to sample all the different variations on what you might think would be a basic dish: spicy, sweet, thick, not so thick, smooth, chunky.

Chili recipes can differ quite a lot, depending on the type of meat, beans and spices used to cook it up. Pick your favorite color. There’s white chili, green chili, red chili. White chili usually contains chicken, cannellini beans and chopped green chilies. For green chili, buy up some pork tenderloin. Red chili features tomatoes and/or tomato sauce.

There’s also some cities and towns that lay claim to their own chili specialty. Cincinnati chili is more a topping for spaghetti and hot dogs than a dish unto itself and almost always is sprinkled with shredded cheese. Sometimes, it has a little secret ingredient — chocolate or cinnamon. Texas-style chili contains no beans or vegetables. There’s a popular Lone Star State quote that goes, “If you know beans about chili, you know there ain’t no beans in chili.” If you are using beans, pintos are by far the bean of choice for most chili makers.

While beef is the favorite chili meat, venison has become quite popular for chili. If you’ve ever tried it, I’ll bet you liked it very much. If using beef or venison, it can be a cubed up roast or ground up into hamburger and they each add a different texture to the dish. Add no meat for a vegetarian variation.

I like to make my chili, soup, stew and chicken and noodles one night and let it sit in the fridge for a day before eating. I think it lets all the flavors meld together and it thickens up so you need a big spoon to get a big bite. Of course, there’s a little sampling the first night to make sure all is well. My regular chili is pretty basic: ground beef, chili seasoning, tomatoes, tomato sauce and pinto beans. No matter what you preference in chili, it’s a great comfort food that’s a favorite of almost everyone.

From “Recipes My Mother Gave Me” comes the white chili recipe. It calls for cooking your chicken in oil to brown. I usually use stewed chicken that’s been boiled in chicken stock and use navy beans. Either way, it’s a winner. For a monkey bread variation, try the cinnamon breakfast cake from “Our Favorite Recipes.” For a flavor change and a little splash of color, you can spoon on half a can of cherry pie filling just before baking. More cookie recipes from my friends. This time, Carolyn Johannes serves up Paula Deen’s prize-winning cookies.

I hope you have a wonderful fall week and happy eating!



White chili

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

1 to 2 teaspoon minced garlic

2 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 (4-ounce) cans chopped green chilies

1 can chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 (15-ounce) cans white cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and pepper

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil. Add chicken and stir often until it begins to brown. Remove chicken and set aside. Add onion and garlic to pan; sauté until softened. Stir in tomatoes, green chilies, chicken broth, oregano, coriander and cumin. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes. Return chicken to pan with beans and cook about 5 minutes, just until chicken is cooked through and beans are hot. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add extra water and 1 or 2 chicken bouillon cubes if chili is too thick. Yields 4 quarts.



Cinnamon breakfast cake

2 tins biscuits

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Separate biscuits. Combine the cinnamon and sugar. Dip each one into the melted butter then in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 15 biscuits, overlapping, around the outer edge of a well-greased 9-inch round cake pan. Use the remaining biscuits to make an inner circle of overlapping biscuits. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.



Paula Deen cookies

Beat until fluffy and creamy:

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

Blend with above:

2 large eggs

1 egg white

1/2 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

Sift together then add to creamed mixture and blend:

3 1/2 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Then stir in:

2 cups flaked coconut

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup miniature chocolate chips

Drop by tablespoonful 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 11 minutes at 350 degrees.

Address correspondence to Cheryle Finley, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, MO 64802.