Make Barack Obama's Sinus-Clearing Chili Recipe
The President-Elect's Favorite Dish to Take to a Potluck
Jan 10, 2009
What does our new president like to eat?
Barack Obama admits in Dreams From My Father to having eaten dog, snake and grasshoppers as a boy in Indonesia.
On the campaign trail, Reggie Love, Obama's aide and “body man” said that Obama “eats pretty much anything, from chicken wings and barbecue and ribs to grilled fish and steamed broccoli.” In a small towns with limited options, a cheeseburger is always a good bet. “Cheddar is the cheese of choice,” Love said. Time magazine's Pico Iyer reported that Obama likes to put avocado on his burger.
While campaigning in North Carolina, the motorcade stopped at Ashville restaurant 12 Bones Smokehouse where Obama greeted diners and took ribs, brisket, pulled pork, corn pudding and sweet tea back to his motorcade.
“That’s a lot of food,” Obama told the restaurant staff. “That’s not all for me.”
Unlike some former presidents, he likes his vegetables, especially brocolli and spinach. Asparagus, not so much. Beets? "I always avoid eating them," Obama says.
He prefers water to soft drinks, wine to beer. The Obama home in Chicago has a wine cellar with capacity for 1000 bottles!
Barack Obama has been known to brag about his chili. When asked what is his favorite dish to bring to a potluck, Obama said, “I’ve been using this chili recipe since college and would bring it to any potluck. I can’t reveal all the secrets, but if you make it right, it’s just got the right amount of bite, the right amount of oomph in it and it will clear your sinuses.”
Good Morning America (and others) have published his recipe, adapted here:
Barack Obama's Chili
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- Several cloves of garlic (to taste), chopped
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey or beef
- ¼ tsp each: ground cumin, oregano, turmeric, and basil
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- Several tomatoes (depending on size) chopped -or- a can of chopped tomatoes
- 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups cooked white or brown rice
- Toppings: grated sharp cheddar cheese, chopped onion, sour cream, bottled hot sauce
Method:
- Saute onions and green pepper in olive oil until soft, 6-7 minutes. Added the garlic and saute a minute longer.
- Add ground meat and brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
- Mix the spices together with the red wine vinegar in a small bowl and stir intto ground meat mixture.
- Add tomatoes and let simmer, until tomatoes cook down. The time will vary depending on how much juice is with the tomatoes and how soupy you like your chili.
- Add kidney beans and cook for a few more minutes, long enough to heat the beans through.
- Serve over rice with your choice of toppings.
Other Favorites: The Obamas are also reported to like:
- Michelle Obama's Macaroni and Cheese
- Shrimp with Grits
- Fried Chicken
- Take-out Pizza (especially from Italian Fiesta Pizzeria in Chicago who will be supplying pizza for some of the inauguration festivities)
- Sopa Azteca (when eating at Rick Bayless' Topolobampo restaurant in Chicago): This version of tortilla soup consists of a dark broth flavored with pasilla chile, garnished with grilled chicken, avocado, Jack cheese, thick cream and tortilla strips.
Will there be chili at the formal inauguration luncheon? No, but if you're in the right place you might get some of that pizza.
Go here to see more chilis and stews, including:
- Cowboy Chili with Steak
- Belgian Beef Stew
- Boeuf Bourguignon - Beef Burgundy
- Hoppin' John Chili with Black-Eyed Peas
- Cioppino to Die For
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