Chili Casserole

Christmas Eve in Memphis at Dustin’s family’s house. The Hawaiian-themed Christmas Eve dinner went well. Twelve of his relatives total — his parents, his two younger brothers, his mom’s sister and her husband from Memphis-east, his dad’s brother and family from Memphis-south, and his ninety-year-old paternal grandmother who still drives herself to Sunday service. The party started at five PM with leis on every guest, Dustin on the front porch with the acoustic guitar playing a few quiet hymns to greet arrivals, his mother in the kitchen putting the final touches on the spread, and a candle in every window of the bungalow.

I cooked alongside his mother for two solid hours Tuesday afternoon. We made the macadamia-stuffed pork loin (a butterflied pork loin spread with a filling of toasted chopped macadamia nuts, fresh thyme, panko, garlic, soy sauce, and a tablespoon of pineapple juice, rolled tight, tied with twine, seared and roasted), a tropical fruit salsa (pineapple, mango, red bell pepper, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, a touch of brown sugar), and a taro mash that was the most surprising thing I’d cooked all month — taro root has a savory chestnut-like flavor when mashed with butter and cream and a touch of garlic, and it’s a Hawaiian dinner-table staple Dustin’s mom’s family had brought to Memphis from Oahu in 1980.

Dustin’s mom hugged me three times during the prep — once at the start when I’d arrived in the kitchen with my apron, once mid-prep when I’d salvaged a roux that was about to break, and once at the end when the prep was done and we were standing in the kitchen looking at the spread before guests arrived. She didn’t say anything at any of the three hugs. She didn’t need to.

Dustin’s dad gave me a wrapped gift Christmas Eve night after the dinner had cleared and most relatives had gone to their hotels — a flat rectangular package from the basement collection. Inside the wrapping was an original-pressing 1965 vinyl copy of Otis Redding’s “Otis Blue” in the original sleeve, with the original Volt Records label, in playable condition. He said quietly, “I have three copies. You should have one.” I cried at the kitchen table. The record went into my carry-on for the morning flight in protective sleeve.

I flew from Memphis to Tulsa Christmas morning at six AM on a forty-something-dollar flight Mama had booked for me, landed at eight, and was home in Sapulpa with the truck running by ten. Mama and Cody and I had Christmas-late-morning brunch at the kitchen table — the cinnamon rolls Mama had baked Christmas Eve while I was in Memphis, fresh coffee, scrambled eggs, bacon — and then a quiet afternoon at home. Aunt Linda and Roy came over for Christmas dinner at six PM with a small bone-in spiral-sliced ham Linda had picked up. Cody and I split kitchen duties: he made the scalloped potatoes, I did the green beans, Mama did the rolls and the gravy. Linda brought a chocolate pie. Roy brought another tin of his ex-mother-in-law’s peanut brittle.

Sunday I made a chili casserole because Mama had asked specifically for one as the holiday-recovery meal — she said the household needed something neither fancy nor effortful, that didn’t use any of the holiday dishes still drying on the rack from Christmas night, and that could feed the three of us for two more meals before Linda came down again.

The technique: a from-scratch chili (one and a half pounds of ground beef browned and drained, one diced onion and four cloves of garlic sweated in the rendered fat, two tablespoons of chili powder, a tablespoon of cumin, a teaspoon of smoked paprika, a teaspoon of cinnamon (the cinnamon trick from the turkey chili), salt, pepper, two cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, two cans of beans (one black, one kidney), a six-ounce can of tomato paste, a cup of beef broth, and a square of dark chocolate stirred in at the end to dissolve. Simmered thirty minutes.

The casserole assembly: a layer of homemade cornbread batter spread in the bottom of a deep nine-by-thirteen baking dish (my standard cornbread recipe halved, so two cups of yellow cornmeal, three-quarters cup of flour, two teaspoons of baking powder, salt, sugar, eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and a quarter-cup of bacon fat from the freezer jar — the cornbread bakes in the bottom of the casserole instead of separately). The chili poured over the cornbread batter. A generous layer of grated sharp cheddar and Monterey jack on top. Baked at three-seventy-five for thirty-five minutes until the cornbread is set, the chili is bubbling, and the cheese on top has melted into a deeply golden crust.

Mama ate two plates and went back for a small third helping. The week between Christmas and New Year is the rest week. The chili casserole is the right meal for that week.

Cornbread batter on the bottom, chili over it, cheese on top, three-seventy-five for thirty-five. Here’s the build.

Chili Casserole

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (10 oz) Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• Cornbread Topping:
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons honey

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
2. Brown the beef. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef, onion, and garlic until the meat is no longer pink, about 8–10 minutes. Drain excess fat.
3. Build the chili layer. Stir in the kidney beans, pinto beans, diced tomatoes, Rotel, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes, letting the flavors come together.
4. Transfer and top with cheese. Pour the chili mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the shredded cheddar over the top.
5. Make the cornbread batter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate small bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, and honey. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until combined — do not overmix.
6. Add the cornbread topping. Spread the cornbread batter evenly over the chili layer in the baking dish, covering it edge to edge.
7. Bake. Bake uncovered for 25–30 minutes, until the cornbread topping is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Finish and serve. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar over the top. Let rest 5 minutes before scooping. Serve with sour cream if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 26g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 7g | Sodium: 680mg