3 unconventional takes on chili for fall

Question:

How are you menuing unusual versions of chili for the fall?

Answers from FSD's Culinary Council

For a Pacific Northwest regional twist, I’m making a seafood chili by adding hot smoked salmon (not lox), braised greens and caramelized fennel to white beans, all simmered together with a Dungeness crab broth.

Eric Eisenberg
Corporate Executive Chef/Retail Operations Manager
Swedish Health Services
Seattle

With the rising popularity of places like Chipotle (which just opened across the street), we really wanted to offer something in comparison. So why not do a chili bowl? It starts with a base of cilantro-lime rice topped with either vegetarian or meat chili, and then the guest chooses their toppings. We’re serving it with a bag of fresh tortilla chips tossed in chipotle-lime salt.

Darla  Mehrkens
Catering Manager
Carilion Clinic
Roanoke, Va.

Our team is currently doing three types of chili: traditional (American style) with ground sirloin; a Tex-Mex style with filet tips, black beans and local corn; and a vegetarian style with veggie stock and soy crumbles in place of meat. All of these are served with scratch-made, honey-glazed corn bread. 

Stephen Plescha
Executive Chef
Pennswood Village
Newtown, Pa.