Buffalo Chicken Chili

This weekend, I tried Rachael Ray's Buffalo Chicken Chili. Let me say first of all that I do like Rachael Ray - in small doses. And every time I watch her show (30 Minute Meals - I can't take an entire hour) or read one of her recipes, I am always skeptical about how good the dish will be. But every one of her recipes that I've tried has been really good.

So I was little worried about trying this chili - as usual. It was good - but not for the faint-of-heart. With 1/2 cup of hot sauce in it, it could burn your taste buds. Needless to say, Phil loved it, Elaine hated it....and I was somewhere in between. I liked it but I won't use that much hot sauce next time.

Here's the recipe - give it a try (Becky, if you're reading, I think Martin would really like this!)

Buffalo Chicken Chili

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 pounds ground chicken
2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 ribs celery with leafy tops, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup hot sauce
1 can tomato sauce (15 ounces)
1 can stewed, fire-roasted or crushed tomatoes (15 ounces)
1 sack whole grain tortilla chips, lightly crushed
3/4 pound Maytag Blue cheese, crumbled
A handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped

Place a large pot over medium-high heat with the EVOO. Add the ground chicken and break it up, lightly browning it for 5 minutes.

Add the carrots, onion, celery, garlic, paprika and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 7-8 minutes. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot.

Add the hot sauce, tomato sauce and the stewed, fire-roasted or crushed tomatoes to the chili and bring up to a bubble. Simmer for 8-10 minutes more to let the flavors come together.

While the chili is simmering, pre-heat the broiler.

Spread the chips out on a cookie sheet. Top with the crumbled blue cheese and transfer to the oven to melt the cheese, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Top each serving of Buffalo Chicken Chili with a few blue cheese chips.

(One more note here: when it's not hot temperature-wise, it's not nearly as spicy. Much better and less-spicy the second day.)