Steam Whistle Chili with Pilsner Cornbread

This recipe was submitted by Christopher Tarr, a 23 year-old student at the Whitby Campus of Liaison College.

He grew up in Richmond Hill and moved to Oshawa before high school. He studied business and world religions. He has taught English in China before, which is where he met his wife, Sue. And ever since he was a young boy, he has enjoyed cooking, and after working in many places, decided that the only thing he could remain passionate about was cooking. So he chose to attend Liaison College in Whitby, Ontario, to help further his culinary knowledge.

During his free time, he enjoys sports and hanging out with friends. One day, he hopes to work with some of Toronto's vast array of world famous cooks and learn from the best. So maybe one day, he could have his own restaurant.

Directions:

Serves 4 - 6.

Steam Whistle Chili:
In the bottom of a stew pot, brown the ground beef. When finished browning, add the Steam Whistle Pilsner to deglaze the pot and add moisture. Add the garlic, chili powder, pepper, ground cumin, salt and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer before adding onions and mushrooms.

After simmering for around 20 min, add the kidney beans. Simmer until beans reach tenderness. Stir as little as possible so as not to breakdown the mushrooms and beans.

Serve with Pilsner Cornbread.

Pilsner Cornbread:
Add the bottle of Steam Whistle Pilsner to a sauce pot. Reduce the bottle until it is around 4 fluid oz (84 ml). Preheat the oven to 400F (205C). Oil and flour an 8" (20.5 cm) x 8" (20.5 cm) pan. Or 2 medium-sized muffin pans (total 12 muffins).

Place cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and chili powder in a large bowl and whisk well to combine. Blend together the milk, eggs, corn, corn oil and reduction. Pour into the dry ingredients and add the cheese. Stir just until combined. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake until golden on top and cornbread springs back when touched, about 20 - 25 min.

Serve with Steam Whistle Chili.

Ingredients

Steam Whistle Chili:

2 lb (1kg ) ground beef
10.5 oz (300 g) onion, diced
9 oz (250 g) mushrooms, sliced
5.5 oz (150 ml ) tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 bottle (341 ml) Steam Whistle Pilsner
2 tbsp (30 ml) Mexican Chili powder
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) pepper
1 tsp (5 ml) ground cumin
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
19 fl. oz (540 ml) red kidney beans

Pilsner Cornbread:

1.5 cup (375 ml) cornmeal
1.25 cup (313 ml) flour
0.25 cup (63 ml) brown sugar
1 tbsp (15 ml) baking powder
0.5 tsp (2.5 ml) salt
1 tbsp (15 ml) chili powder
1 cup (250 ml) milk
4 eggs
1 cup (250 ml) creamed corn
0.5 cup (125 ml) corn oil
1 cup (125 ml) grated cheddar
1 bottle (341 ml) Steam Whistle Pilsner