Oscar Night Dinner

Arguably, one of the most frequented, if not THE most frequented, restaurant by the Hollywood elite of days gone by, was Chasen’s.  Ronald Reagan even proposed to his wife Nancy in Booth #2.

Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio

Dean Martin

Joanna and Johnny Carson with Angie Dickenson

Barbara and Frank Sinatra

Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor

The most famous of all the offerings on Chasen’s menu was their chili.  The following note was sent to Chasen’s from Elizabeth Taylor while she was on location filming Cleopatra in Rome in 1962:

“The chili is so good. All gone now. Please send me ten quarts of your wonderful chili in dry ice to 448 Via Appia Pignatelli. – Love and kisses, Elizabeth Taylor.”

It seems fitting that you might want to serve Chasen’s chili, the favorite of so many stars, at your Oscar get together this Sunday.  So here is their recipe:

Chase’s Famous Chili

1/2 pound dry pinto beans
Water
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 large green bell pepper chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups coarsely-chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup butter
2 pounds beef chuck, coarsely chopped*
1 pound pork shoulder, coarsely chopped*
1/3 cup Gebhardt’s chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Farmer Brothers ground cumin**

* Chasen’s used the best beef chuck, center cut, trimmed completely of fat. The restaurant used a special meat grinder, but for the home cook, meat chopped into one-quarter to one-half-inch chunks is much better than ground meat for this chili.

** Sometimes cumin seed is used in place of the ground cumin. It’s a matter of personal preference.

Rinse the beans, picking out debris. Place beans in a Dutch oven with water to cover. Boil for two minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand one hour. Drain off liquid.

Rinse beans again. Add enough fresh water to cover beans. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered, for one hour or until tender.

Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Simmer five minutes. In a large skillet, sauté bell pepper in oil for five minutes. Add onion and cook until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the garlic and parsley. Add mixture to bean mixture. Using the same skillet, melt the butter and sauté beef and pork chuck until browned. Drain. Add to bean mixture along with the chili powder, salt, pepper and cumin.

Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for one hour. Uncover and cook 30 minutes more or to desired consistency. Chili shouldn’t be too thick – it should be somewhat liquid but not runny like soup. Skim of excess fat and serve.

NOTE: You can freeze this chili for several months. When reheating refrigerated leftover or frozen chili, add a few tablespoons of water to regain proper consistency.

Serves many.

The Oscar festivities begin this Sunday on ABC at 4pm Pacific time and 7pm Eastern time for the Red Carpet arrivals, and 5:30pm PT and 8:30pm ET for the awards presentation.  Enjoy the show…..and the chili 🙂