Customer Reviews

Chili Nation

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

So, I got me a dilemma, and here it is. I am a very creative person who occasionally has to find things that a four year old will eat. This is the great book for all my needs. Gotta cook at home? Little four year old yummy, not too spicy extravaganza? American Chop Suey Chili from Maine. Maybe a little Kansas Chili. Want to prove I am an experimental guy....How bout Boilermaker Chili. Want to burn some mouths at a pot luck? Tigua Indian Bowl Of Red.
Again, The Sterns are geniuses. I have had some of my favorite meals, at home or on the road(and gained some of my favorite pounds) because of them. But this book is a cultural geography lesson and a daddies dream in one. I don't see this as being a knockoff or reproduced. I see this as a celebration of the large amount of chili recipes that represent our nation. This is the kind of patriotism I want to celebrate, a diverse and spicy nation....and this book does it from soup(some of the chilis are thin) to nuts(macademia....Hawaiian Chili.)

I admit--I first got this book on a whim to top up an order for Super Saver Shipping. It's now one of my most reached-for cookbooks, and is almost falling apart from use! CAVEAT: Don't buy this book unless you have access to most of the various chilies--fresh, dried, and canned--in the book; using the listed ingredients really DOES make a difference. However, the Internet is a great resource for finding hard-to-find items, and dried chilies stay forever in a bag in the freezer. Also, the contents of an opened can can be frozen in a baggie...having said that, I have won more than one informal pot-luck prize with the gems in this book.

Not all chili has to be watery, or contain starch--many of the recipes are for what I call "Texas-style" recipes--all meat, no beans--which leaves you to choose your own side-dish to temper the heat. This book runs the gamut of recipes from ultra-mild to very hot, vegetarian to carnivore paradise. Almost every single recipe requires only one pot, and can easily be increased for a crowd. For solitary folks, nothing beats a batch of chilie--eat half over a few days and freeze the rest for a great meal when you're in a rush.

Get this one and have fun!

If you like chili at all, you'll enjoy this book. It has a chili recipe from each of the 50 states, plus DC. Some are specific recipes from restaurants or diners the authors chanced upon; others are just indicative of regional cooking. If I have one complaint, it's that some of the recipes call for hard-to-find ingredients, but I think they'll be worth seeking out. The recipes have been great so far--I've cooked for friends by asking, "Which state do you want to go to?"

Chili Nation, by Jane and Michael Stern has all the appearance of being a quickly put together raid of their (presumably) voluminous files.

Some of the recipes have appeared elsewhere, e.g. "Square Meals."

Many of the chilis are good, and some are very good, but their hearts don't seem to be in it.

John and Matt Lewis Thorne's "Serious Pig" has a better, more thought out section on chili.

This is all right, but just all right.

I have to admit that I enjoy reading the Sterns' books primarily for their food writing. Even if I never prepared a single recipe out of any of their many titles, I would still value their books and, generally, give them pretty high ratings. In other words, I'm a fan of "food lit."

From that standpoint, this book was a little disappointing, in that it's split fifty-fifty (almost literally, given the fifty states plus D.C.) between recipes and commentary. This utilitarian little guide doesn't have the foodie allure of "Roadfood," which remains, to this point, my favorite Stern book. I readily admit that for most people, though, and especially for chili-heads who may not necessarily be Stern fans, this title has a lot to offer.

Specifically, what it has to offer is chili -- fifty-one recipes ranging from the classic (Massachusetts' Rock-ribbed bean-and-beef chili) to the exotic (Hawaii's Paniolo macadamia nut and chipotle chili) to the, frankly, bizarre (West Virginia's Fried bologna chili). I was expecting Washington to offer some kind of salmon-based chili, and was intrigued to find instead a recipe featuring our other well-known export, coffee. What you won't find is a "basic" chili -- each recipe is an unusual, not to say unique, regional variation on a theme that is left unstated (kind of the "Enigma Variations" of food, I guess).

With all this diversity, there's something for every taste, including vegetarians. Even if you're not a chili-head, it's worth the effort to track down this book and give a few of the selections a try.

If you like chili, then this book is for you! I was amazed at the variety of recipies. You are sure to find several that you like since they differ greatly.

I bought this book on a whim about a year ago, and simply love it. Its both a cultural adventure and a delicious trek accross America. If you are a chili purist, you might have trouble with some of the recipes. If you just like tastey food, you'll love the variety of recipes paying homage to what is arguably our nation's favorite food. The cultural anecdotes preceding the recipes for each state and the District of Columbia are interesting and lend insight into why the ingredients for the recipes were selected. They are fun, easy to make recipes that your family will truly enjoy.

We particularly love the Whistle Stop Chili from Alabama, the Arizona version featuring pork, and the Nebraska Chili Mac and Cheese.

I think you will enjoy this trip across America as much as we did.

I got this book as a Christmas present about two years ago. Since then, we've made chili every week or two during the cold months and have NEVER gotten bored with it yet. I like to cook something different almost every night. We're a family that does not have a short list of meals that we cycle through. The recipes in this book are so diverse -- and still taste good. It's been so fun eating through the different regions. -- Havanah Moon Chili with the latino flavor influence, Gilroy Garlic chili, with FOUR HEADS of garlic -- cooked down to sweet perfection, Pork and Peanut chili, expertly flavored, Pork Poblano and Cream Cheese Chili... I could go on and on. All great!

Sometimes it's hard to find the exact chili (I have to admit, I cheat in a pinch). But the descriptions are very helpful and there is also a "where to find it" section. I really enjoy reading the introductory paragraphs for recipes and the Sterns give a really intro ones that are often an entire page or two. It satisfies my interest in the how and why of a recipe. Now if they could just do a cookbook for spaghetti nation!

If you enjoy chili, this is a great book to add to your collection.

One of my culinary quests in life is for the ultimate bowl of chili. Just when I think I've found it, someone comes up with a new idea to create another savory and spicy chili recipe. This book is full of recipes like that, and they often contain ingredients reflecting the local cuisine or some aspect of the local food culture. For example, the Hawaii recipe contains macadamia nuts, the Vermont recipe has maple syrup in it, and the Wasthington state one is spiked with coffee (appropos of Starbucks), and the Pennsylvania recipe has unsweetened cocoa powder.

The recipes also very quite a bit; most contain meat, but some are totally vegetarian, and some don't even have beans. There are red chilis, green chilis, spicy and not so spicy recipes, and the meats include beef, pork, sausage, chicken, lamb, shrimp, and veal. Some of the recipes stretch the definition of chili to the breaking point or perhaps beyond, such as the Maryland recipe that calls for shrimp and crabmeat in a cream sauce with a little chili powder. But whether this counts as true chili or not, I found the ingenuity and creativity of many of the state's recipes a delight and an interesting theme around which to build a cookbook about chili.

If you're into variety as well as spicy food, you'll probably enjoy trying out all the recipes here. The ones that don't have a locally famous ingredient often come from a restaurant the Sterns ate in that had a recipe that they liked. The authors also include a lot of information on chili history and trivia and a mail-order list of places to get spices and chilis. And last but not least, the Sterns also include a few side-dish recipes, such as coleslaw, jalapeno cornbread, corn pudding, and a three-bean salad.

Overall a witty, well-written, and interesting cookbook on a great American dish, and with some nice, extra features thrown in for good measure.

This has been a really fun book and gets everyone involved with the cooking. My son gave it to me for Christmas about 4 years ago. We haven't made it all the way through the states yet. We made the chili in the states we were born in, lived in, went to school in, etc. Some have been fantastic, and some have been iffy. We've gone back numerous times to our favorites, hence missing about 15 states. Chocolate and bologna? West Virginia has been the favorite for a long time.