February, 1984 - Vol. 1/No. 2 MONTHLY I From the Fireside Hi foks. Thanks for the support everyone has been g1vmg to CHILI MONTHLY The response has been overwhelmmg1 Some peop e have been wand ng whdt we do around here when the magdz e hds been mated out and we have a couple of weeks to Just sit around We I, our New Year's resolution was to conquer windmills in the name of ch and all that 1s sacred. It isn't too hard to fmd misinformed, underprivtleged fo ks m the world who cook beans in their ch1h, think chili is somethmg hke spaghetti sauce, thmk it's a country m South America, or have never tdsted real ch1h. Usually, one can find these poor souls most ani,:where up North. But were we shocked when we found that there 1s a fella m Lynchburg, Tennessee, who cooks beans in his We asked for the Tennessee Squ ch1h 01' Roger Brashears runs a cafe m s ,t nee m stra1ghte111ng Ol.it the bu1ldmg that was once the saloon Roger We enclosed several C.A S used by Jack Da111els himself pr d ch1h recipes. We Seems that when he was about 16 concerned for the welfare of Ja years old, Jack opened the Vvh1te Dane s a~ well as ch1hdom \A ha quite Rabbit Saloon and served his s1ppm' me unsuspecting tourist 'Aere to emba whiskey unhl Tennessee went dry nght 'Rog r how to fix real chili. or ho But before proh1b1t1on 111 1909. A few years drmk Jack Damels? our hedd back, 01' Roger leased the bu1ldmg from We know that the strongest d got up off the Jack Da111els Distillery and opened a1 ab e m The Wh11e Rabb this cafe spec1alizmg in "Southern and stratghte ngs1 ,emonade, but that is no excuse Traditional Food." Then, a few weeks Knowing how sma town fo ks can put,·ng beans m ch1h! ago, this newspaper guy, by the name of feel dbout be ng c.r. c zed by str At any rate, we are not fight n "Up1," was passing through Lynchburg wed dn'tJust get o t e h e anvmore We are c.onfident don't know why, seemg as how preac.hm' to o Roger V.e d Te.nnessee Squires Assoc at Lynchburg 1s dry) and came across much more d p omat ca aro d the straightened ol' Roger ou• Roger's "White Rabbit Cafe " This home/office of CHILI MONTHLY We matter B> now, we are reporter saw fit to wnte 1I up and the shamed him and fussed about h m to Roger Bra~hears 1s 'm t st ry dppeared m our local newspaper. som of our fr ends at t e Jdck Daniels JOm our ranks m lielp D1st1 ery We fired a etter off to the gospel of a good b Now, back to the windmill In the head honcho of the Tennessee Squires out the world the reporter quotes Poor Roger Assoc1at1on, the most respected We do ask tha as saymg he 1s the "head flunk1e" at the organ1 za t1on m all of Tennessee dead level be t t d e111 and that he recommends the because m a matter of th s nature, one unfortunate ch1h at the White Rabbit. He needs to go straight to the top. We f'Xpencnced s 'd p deep n the kett e to come told on o · Roger to d how sacre our dut t th p enty of beans " And to make lig1ous, how b1asphemous .. how taste of chi se Roger 1s quoted a sa ng WRONG II s to cook beans m chi I We etu and ch1h are very much Unti n xt told Honcro that cookm' beans 111 chili ou can throw ~hatever you IS m redesecratmg than m1xmgcokem t e pot OHMYGOSH!!! To Jack Da111e s! ~;t;:ve never won a cookoff ma Shelby\ Chili Preparation and a couple of six packs are tlie answer. Shelby's Chili Preparation is in the Terlingua tradition. You can make it flame-thrower hot or tame as a pussy cat, but, however you choose to make it, you'll come up with great tasting chili every time. It's all in the quality ingredients and the way Shelby blends 'em. And knowing how to do that makes all the difference. Next time you have the itch to make up a pot of chili, start with Shelby's Original Texas Brand Chili Preparation. Look for it at your - grocer's. As for the six packs, be a gracious cookoff - winner and share them with the other contestants. L 1 Championship Chili Served in a Casual Restaurant Atmosphere © Hamburger Bar & Grill - 26 LOCATIONS IN SIX STATES- Los Angeles, California Dallas, Texas Tampa, Florida Houston, Texas Boca Raton, Florida San Antonio, Texas Atlanta, Georgia Austin, Texas Kansas City, Kansas Tyler, Texas Denver, Colorado San Jose, California 2 --- __________,,,. &: Smallwood, Gallagher, Bil Hondo Crouch S;lerry Castleberry MONTHLY Larry Burruss ec.tor Becky Fox February, 1984 Volume 1 - Number 2 ~ Ra.,, King MONTHLY believes INGREDIENTS can't know too much t ch1h! BLACK MAG IC .. ..... ... .... .... .. ... .. .. .... .. .... ..... 4 MONTHLY is endorsed by the Appreciation Society lnterna­ Loving and Caring for Your CHILI MONTHLY is published month by CHILI MONTHLY , Diana Becker Finlay, P.O. Box Cast Iron Pots and Skillets Martindale, Texas 78655; (512) - '0237. v..~th home. office !ocated on By Diana Becker Finlay Get Along Ranch, (Just a rifle shot from the birthplace of chili). CEDAR CREEK CLIPPINGS .................... 9 Pi/right "> 1984 by CHILI ONTHLY. All rights reserved. By Hondo Crouch Reproduction or use in whole or in rt of the contents without written pem•1ss1on of the publisher is IT WAS SO COLD .................................... 9 roh1bited. Subscription rates: Sl2.00 one year; $22.00. two years m By Bill Smallwood he United States; CHILI MONTHLY pnnted in U.SA REVIEWS 12 CHILI MONTHLY denies res­ ponsibility for anything you MEMO RIES ........... ·- ______ ----·· _. --··----- ___________ _ 13 might accuse us of. HILLBILLY CHILI - "The aroma of good chili "Somewhere Along the Trail" ________ 15 should generate rapture by Bill Neely akin to a louer's kiss." Joe Cooper NOTES FROM C.A.S.I. ·------------------------- 17 Contact CHILI MONTHLY for ECHOS 19 advertising rate card at P.O. Box 142, Martindale, Texas 21 78655. AROUND THE BEND Cover Photo by Larry Burruss "May the warmth of our hearts always remain as hot and tender as a steaming CHILI MONTHLY covers chili .. and other necessary ingredients of the good life bowl of chili." such as country music, memories, barbeque, beer joints, back roads, cookoffs, good George Haddaway books, good friends and good times. 3 BLACK MAGIC Loving And Caring For Your Cast Iron Pots And Skillets Diana Becker Finlay .,, .0 .c~ C. "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen to things that break easily ... or have to be carefully kept.... Generally, by the time you are Real, you are a little ... shabby. But that doesn't matter at all, beca use once you are Real, you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand. " from THE VELVETEEN RABBIT Is it the "Real-ness" that sets cast iron Cast iron is commonly referred to in Black iron is one of the oldest types of cookware in a class by itself? Could it be most parts of the county as black iron, cookware in existence today. the memories . the secrets . .. the obviously because a well seasoned cast Columbus brought some with him to history in that Dutch oven that has iron skillet is black and crusty on the the New World in 1492. Cast iron made it a necessity in kitchens from outside (and smooth as a baby's bottom utensils were made and used in the Paris, France to Sunflower, Mississippi? on the inside). Cast iron will handle the Baronial kitchens around 1500, about Maybe that "old black magic" is what hottest temperatures for quick the time that cooking became a "fine made Grandma's cornbread taste browning, as well as the lowest for "all­ art." Before that, during the reign of better than yours.... One of the secrets day" simmering. It holds and diffuses Edward III, from 1327 to 1377, iron pots to Grandma's kitchen was that she heat exceptionally well which allows for and skillets were considered part of the ruled it with an iron PAN! more energy efficiency in your kitchen. "Crown Jewels." By the middle of the 4 e end of the dusty trail. people wanted something new ... shiny After the trail drives and into the ... modem. twentieth century, cast iron cookware But thankfully, many gourmet cooks cast was passed down through the today still realize the value of black iron. oa partsof generations. It was considered the best Chefs who know that some things can't cast iron cook- available, by far, and had stood the test be improved upon would never give up of time. their black iron. Chef Paul Prudhomme, Then something awful happened. the highly acclaimed creole-cajun king Some fella who mistook "shine" for of New Orleans, in an interview with "clean" introduced aluminum cook­ CHILI MONTHLY, had this to say ware to the world ... and worse than that about cast iron: were teflon pots and pans in turquoise I don't know how the rest of the country and other such colors. They even is, but it's just something I grew up started printing little flowers on some of with ...