My Husband's Homemade Chili

I absolutely love my husband's chili. When we met boiling pasta was about the extent of my culinary habits so throughout our courtship he was the one that blessed me with his amazing home cooking. His chili was always one of my favorites (he taught me to eat it the Cincinnati style: over pasta) and this past Sunday I specially requested it because it's fall, it's football season and chili sounded like a darn good idea. It was and I'll share with you his recipe.

2 lbs ground meat (beef or combo of beef and veal or beef and pork)

2 onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup chili powder mixture (combination of equal parts cumin and paprika, 1/2 that amount of chili powder and cayenne, garlic powder, salt, black pepper)

1 large can tomato paste

2 cans beans, rinsed (dark and red kidney beans)

1 cup beef broth

1/2 bottle of beer

1 tsp cocoa powder

Saute onions until translucent and then add garlic. Add meat and brown, then add chili mixture and let cook for a few minutes. Toss in 1 or 2 bay leaves and then 1 large can tomato paste. Add beans, let cook, then add beef broth. Finally, add beer and cocoa powder. Let cook for at least 2 hours. Serve over thin linguini, cover with shredded cheese, sour cream and freshly chopped cilantro, green chilis to taste. This recipe makes an obscene amount of chili so you could easily cut back to 1 lb of meat and adjust your seasonings.