Good Luck With That

I just returned from a whirlwind 10 days in Maine, Rhode Island, and New York. There were many culinary highlights to the trip, including all things cream cheese with B's family, lobsters straight from the ocean, an outstanding brunch at Lilee's Public House in Brunswick, pizza at Lucali's in Brooklyn, unbelievably good bagels, and my all-time favorite of Buffalo Calamari at Archie Moore's in New Haven, but it is undoubtedly the New Year's Eve meal that was conceived with the most creativity.

While visiting family in Texas for the holidays, B and S had read a newspaper article about foods that reputedly bring luck. Being a new decade and all, we figured that a good dose of luck was in order and set out to incorporate as many of these foods as possible into the evening's meal. Our final menu thus contained, among other things, several foods with pork, black-eyed pea salsa, coleslaw, and fortune cookies (not on the list, but seemed appropriate). And at midnight, L, S, and I dutifully ate 12 grapes each, hoping for a dearth of sour months in the upcoming year.
 
My contribution to the good luck was pork chili. I improvised the recipe but it was such a hit that I wrote it down to share with all; I did not measure the spices, so you will have to adjust to your own tastes (in fact, the lid of the chipotle powder fell off so a bit more went into the chili than I had intended). It's looking like it's going to be a good year, so anytime you need a dose of luck, you know what to cook.
 
Lucky Chipotle Pork Chili
by Hannah

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs pork shoulder or pork chops on bone
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
2 16 or 18 oz cans kidney or black beans, drained and rinsed
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 bottle beer of choice (I used a stout)
3-4 cups vegetable stock
cumin
cayenne pepper
chipotle chili powder
flour 
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Active time: 45 minutes; Total time: 3 hours

Serves: 6-8

Cut pork into 1 inch cubes. Sprinkle meat liberally with flour, cumin, chipotle chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat in large stockpot. When oil shimmers, add pork and cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes, turning as necessary. Depending on size of pot, pork may have to be cooked in batches; avoid overcrowding meat to ensure that meat browns. Remove pork from pot and set aside.

Add remaining olive oil to pot (although the pork has been set aside, the pot should be well-seasoned with any remaining pork fat and cracklings from cooking the pork). Add onions, garlic, and jalapeno, and cook for 8-10 minutes, until onions are just beginning to brown.

Add pork, beans, and tomatoes. Add beer and vegetable stock. Adjust spices to bring chili to desired heat. Bring chili to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook 2 hours (or longer), stirring periodically. About 15 minutes before serving, check consistency of chili. If chili is too watery, thicken with 1-2 tablespoons flour.

Serve chili with grated cheese, sour cream, chopped cilantro, or other desired accompaniments.