Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Chili Book: A Connoisseur's Guide to Gourmet Recipes and the Perfect Four-Alarm Bowl

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Christopher B. O'Hara, The Ultimate Chili Book (The Lyons Press, 2001)

First off, I think it's overreaching a bit to call any book clocking in at just over one hundred pages the ultimate anything. It's made worse when you state in your introduction that the book isn't for hardcore chili-heads (in fact, I picked it up on the basis of the title assuming it was). Worse, less than half the book is actually dedicated to recipes, though I have to admit some of those recipes are pretty darned hardcore (the one in the History of Chili section that attempts to recreate the first bowl of chili, made with nothing but pemmican, chiles, and suet is something I must try, and very very soon). The first half-and-change devotes itself to discussions of ingredients, which is perfectly fine if you're going to call your book Chili 101 or something along those lines. As it stands, though, it's not a bad introductory volume, but if you've ever made a pot of chili before, you can pass this one by. **

Perfect combination of recipes and beautiful pictures (like beef and beans). I really enjoyed the history of chili and the international representation of recipes and spices. I look forward to more books from Chris!