Dining with Denise actually won a chili festival ribbon, and I’m sharing the recipe

I’ve now competed in the Wichita Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cookoff four times, and never once did I harbor any hopes of winning. I go to meet the people, to soak up the atmosphere, to spread the word that following Dining with Denise is a worthwhile endeavor if you like to dine out in Wichita.

That was the same mindset I took into this year’s event, which drew big crowds to downtown Wichita on Saturday afternoon despite terribly un-fall-like heat and a nasty Kansas wind that almost sent a few competitors’ tents flying down Douglas before the crowd of hungry chili samplers even arrived.

Instead of trying to come up with some type of attention-grabbing, unique recipe, this year I decided to just go with the beef chili recipe I’ve always used at home. Participating teams are asked to make 10 gallons of chili each, and turning my recipe that serves eight into a recipe that serves 800 took math skills far beyond my capabilities. When it got right down to it, I just started pouring stuff in (the main stuff being a nice Samuel Adams Oktoberfest beer) and hoped for the best.

Well guess what? For the first time ever, Dining with Denise made it onto the list of winners! That’s right. We got FOURTH place in the “Anything Goes” division of the contest, which allows competitors to put anything they want into their chili. According to the sheet of winners attached below, that means WE GET A RIBBON! WHAT????!!!!!! I was too tired and sweaty to stay for the awards ceremony on Saturday, so I learned the news while scrolling through my phone while waiting for Taylor Swift to appear at the Kansas City Chiefs game on Sunday night. (I’m not sure which development made me happier.)

The festival really is a fun, well-run community event, and I got to chat with lots of kind people — and a few true characters. One of them was a guy who showed up wearing the free Dining with Denise aprons we passed out at the chili festival four years ago. He keeps it tucked away and wears it every year to the festival to protect his clothes, he said. Smart man.

If you’re interested in which other teams won, you can see the list below. The big winner, as usual, was Security 1st Title. They are SERIOUS about this festival. Their company has a huge trailer that they pull out for the festival every year, and in addition to serving chili, they cook up a whole bunch of burgers and hot dogs and share them with their fellow competitors. This year, their booth had a fun Barbie theme, and many Security 1st employees showed up to help the company win a whole slew of awards, including third place for team spirit and second place for People’s Choice. Security 1st also took home the big Grand Champion title, which came with $1,000 and a trophy.

Please enjoy a few photos from the day, and if you’re interested in the recipe I used for my chili, you can find it below.

Also, I must thank the longtime Dining with Denise chili crew who helped on Saturday and has helped most years that I’ve been crazy enough to enter this thing: My good friends Katie and Travis Grover have been mainstays and always show up predawn to help me set up then stay for hours to help cook and serve the chili. They even stick around to help me tear down, and that is no fun.

My husband, Eagle photographer Travis Heying, also was key in getting things set up, and my stepdaughter Helen, a seventh grader, earned some volunteer hours for school by helping set up the booth then by expertly stirring the garlic and onions to perfection.

The rest of the crew was made up of my fabulous co-workers Jaime Green, Julie Mah and Rod Pocowatchit, my fabulous former co-workers Jean Hays and Suzanne Perez (now a KMUW star reporter), and Suzanne’s charming and resourceful husband, Andy Tade.

I would say I’ll see you next year, but it’s too soon to know for sure. That event is fun, but I’m tired, and I hate 95 degrees any day of the year, but especially on the last day of September.

Now, where’s my ribbon?

Wichita Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cookoff Winners

Half-time Chili recipe

This is the chili recipe I’ve been using at home for more than 20 years. It was first published in Bon Appetit magazine in 1995. It makes 8 to 10 servings, but it’s pretty beefy, so I often stretch it out with more crushed and diced tomato, and at the chili fest on Sunday, I added a lot more beer than the recipe required. (Pssst... the other thing that makes this chili delicious is that you don’t drain the fat after you saute the meat. Fat tastes good.)

Ingredients

2 tbsp. olive oil

1½ cups chopped onion

8 large garlic cloves, chopped

3 pounds ground chuck

5 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried basil

½ tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. dried thyme

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes

1¾ cups (1 14½-ounce can) low-sodium chicken broth

1 12-oz. bottle beer

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

1 15- to 16-oz. can prepared chili beans

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Sauté until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add chuck and sauté until brown, breaking up meat with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, basil, oregano and thyme. Stir 2 minutes. Mix in crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, beer and tomato paste. Simmer until thickened to desired consistency, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Mix in beans. Simmer 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Do Ahead: Chili can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cool, then cover and chill. Rewarm over low heat before serving.

Source: Bon Appetit