Al’s Famous Chili

This is Al’s Famous Chili- it’s so ‘famous’ that it’s survived more than 50 years in the family! “Who’s Al?”, you might be asking. Well, Al is my brother who passed away in 2001 at the age of 57.

Al was a real adventurer- he liked to fly his Cessna airplane down into Baja, California- places so remote there were just dirt tracks for a landing field and the term ‘air traffic controller’ didn’t even exist in the local language. Al also liked to scuba dive in Truk Lagoon in the Pacific Ocean, exploring the eerie graveyard of World War II sunken ships and occasionally salvaging a few old bottles.

Al also had a sense of humor- you never knew when he would sneak a Whoopee Cushion under you as you started to sit down.

And Al, of course, was known for his famous chili. When he and his wife, Diane, were newly-weds, they bought a Crockpot (one of those old round things that are now considered ‘vintage’). A little recipe book came with it, including the recipe for Chili Con Carne. Al decided to try the recipe and the rest is history- his famous chili continues to be served over 50 years later- in fact we had some several days ago during the 2016 Super Bowl.

The recipe is so simple I don’t even need to add any extra tips or explanations- except that the recipe works best in a slow cooker, but could also be put together on the stovetop in less than 30 minutes, if you’re in a hurry.

Here is a photocopy of the page from the little recipe book from over 50 years ago- the page is a little dog-eared and yellowed now, but the recipe is still going strong and still brings to life the memory of Al- we will never forget him!