Presidential Chili.

Though Barack Obama has been making this chili since his college days, the recipe started making its rounds to the public during his 2008 Presidential campaign. Obama says he "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, 2008)

Following Obama's call for change (that was bad, huh?), and trying to use what we had instead of having to go buy more, I altered the recipe just a little bit. I used two flat iron steaks, instead of the ground beef/turkey. I used a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh and only used half of a large onion. The recipe said it could be served over white or brown rice, but we ate the chili as it was. The rice would be a good addition, since it's a pretty thick chili.

The chili was better than both of thought it would be, and I'm sure the leftovers will be even better! As the husband pointed out, it's a good base to start with. The great thing about chili is you can pretty much dump anything into a pot and it's going to be good. If you like your chili spicier, you'll need to add more spices or even throw in a few chili peppers. I liked the use of ground turmeric and the red wine vinegar, both added a different flavor. I think this is the first chili I've seen that used turmeric, which is traditionally used to flavor Indian dishes. If you've never used turmeric before just be careful what it touches, as it turns everything a delightful shade of orangish-brown and is almost impossible to get out.

Hopefully you were able to watch some, if not all, of the Presidential inauguration today. What an exciting & historic time to be an American.

For more presidential family recipes check out the following links:

Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies
Hillary Clinton's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
George Bush's Pralines
Ronald Reagan's Hamburger Soup
Pat Nixon's Meatloaf
Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson's Pickled Okra
Mary Todd Lincoln's White Almond Cake
Thomas Jefferson's Vanilla Ice Cream (an easier to read version can be found here)
Martha Washington's Sherry Crab Soup
George Washington's Beer