The Big Chili

by Julia Buckley

  “That’s a good thing. Pet—can I ask you—the other night, I thought I saw you walking around near my house. Was that you?”

  “Oh. Well, yes. I was going to talk to you, but then I saw a police car outside your house and it made me nervous. I didn’t want them suspecting me of anything.”

  “What did you want?”

  “It’s funny to say now, but—I was thinking we could branch out and make something new. Always with the chili as a fail-safe. But I wanted people to know that I could make other things. Even though I can’t make anything at all.”

  I laughed, and Pet joined me. Our laughter was at least three parts relief.

  “I’ll talk to you soon, Pet. We’ll think about those new recipes.”

  “Good-bye, Lilah. Thank you. And I’m sorry,” said Perpetua Grandy.

  I hung up and saw the light blinking on my answering machine; I had heard the call waiting beep while I spoke to Pet, but I obviously wasn’t going to interrupt her to speak to another caller. Now I clicked a button and heard Parker’s voice.

  “Lilah. I just got your call. Thank you. It was good to hear from you. I hope you’re doing okay and that black eye looks a little better today. I just wanted to say—I miss you, too. The other night, in your kitchen—we had a real connection. But I’m going to need a little time, just to work some things out inside myself. I hope you can understand that. There’s a part of me that doesn’t even understand it, but—hell, I’m leaving the worst message ever. Anyway, thanks for the invitation. Take care.”

  And a click.

  I listened to it eight times, and then I grew sick of myself and my teenage mooning.

  “Mick, let’s go for a walk,” I said.

  * * *

  A WEEK LATER I had not heard from Parker. I did not expect to hear from him ever again. I had started back into my routine: work at the real estate office in the day, deliveries to clandestine clients on nights and weekends. It was all fine, and I was fine. Life just didn’t seem as pretty as it had before, but that was the reality of relationships.

  In the evening I continued to listen to scratchy recordings of Rossano Brazzi singing about lost love. No one had ever sung those songs the way he did. Back in high school, when I was immersing myself in South Pacific as an earnest young thespian, I had listened to the movie sound track, starring soulful Rossano Brazzi and spunky Mitzi Gaynor, over and over. Although Brazzi played the role of a Frenchman, he was clearly an Italian. In the process of listening to the CD, I’d fallen in love with Brazzi’s voice, and it remained my gauge for romance. Perhaps that’s why I’d been attracted to Angelo—because with his Italian accent and good looks, he was my modern-day Brazzi, young again and ready to fall in love with me. Except that Angelo was real and flawed, and Brazzi had been playing out a fiction for my romantic soul.

  Now I walked with Mick down a November-gray street, wet with recent rain. There’s something lovely about November, despite its bare trees and sad gray skies. It is a reminder of the solemnities of life, and its starkness is as satisfying as stripped-down wood, as honest as a haiku. This weather, this season, made me want to be honest, as well. I faced the fact that I was twenty-seven and unlucky in love, but blessed with a good family, some solid talents, and a healthy enough constitution that I would probably live for many more decades. It was time for me to take control. I told Mick this as we walked, and he seemed to approve.

  By the time we returned to Dickens Street and our beloved home, we were in a good place. I had “Blackbird,” one of my dad’s favorite Beatles tunes, floating melodically in my head. I liked it, especially the part about learning to fly with broken wings.

  I took off Mick’s leash and poured him some water, and he went to his basket by the fireplace.

  The phone rang. I picked it up, said hello, and was greeted by the smooth, friendly voice of Esther Reynolds. Behind her I could hear a hubbub of voices and the clatter and clank of cutlery: the sounds of a busy kitchen.

  “Hello, Lilah Drake! As promised, I am calling you in the midst of holiday chaos. I read about you in the paper, and I thought I’d better give you a few days to let things calm down. But now here I am, in desperate need of someone who knows what she’s doing in a kitchen. So here’s my question: are you still interested? If so, we’re ready for you now.”

  I sat down at my kitchen table and looked around. Everything was neat and perfect. This was my milieu; the kitchen was the one place that I felt truly confident. I could be happy doing this forever. “I’m glad to hear from you,” I said. A tree in my backyard undulated in the wind, shaking its branches at me.

  “And your answer is?”

  “I’m interested,” I said. “And I can be there tomorrow morning.”

  I looked at Mick across the room, and he nodded.

  Recipes

  Pet’s Chili

  (Imagined by Lilah Drake)

  ANGELO’S GOURMET ITEMS:

  1 8-ounce can Angelo’s Gourmet tomato sauce

  1 16-ounce can Angelo’s Gourmet diced tomatoes

  ½ cup Angelo’s Gourmet organic peanut butter

  2 tablespoons Angelo’s Gourmet chili sauce

  1 15-ounce can pureed pumpkin

  OTHER ITEMS:

  1 tablespoon butter

  1 yellow onion, diced

  1 green bell pepper, chopped

  2½ pounds lean ground beef

  1 teaspoon cumin

  2 teaspoons chili powder

  1 teaspoon fresh oregano

  2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika

  1 16-ounce can dark red kidney beans

  1 16-ounce can light red kidney beans

  Heat a tablespoon of real butter in a Dutch oven; when it is melted, add diced onions and peppers. Enjoy the aroma, and allow the vegetables to soften. Add ground beef and break up into pieces; allow to cook evenly. When it is brown, remove all excess grease with a turkey baster.

  Now your meat is even leaner. Pour in the rest of the wet ingredients; sprinkle dry ingredients on top, and mix thoroughly. A wonderful smell should permeate the air. The longer it cooks, the better it will smell. Serve after the ingredients have simmered together for at least a half hour.

  SERVING IDEAS:

  Consider having some “sprinkling” toppings in bowls on the table; that way people can help themselves according to their tastes. Some ideas for toppings include:

  shredded cheese

  sour cream

  raw onions, diced

  thinly sliced limes

  diced tomatoes

  avocado

  bacon bits

  corn bread croutons

  Enjoy with friends. Chili is all about companionship.

  Lilah’s “Company’s Coming” Scones

  (Made for Britt and Terry)

  3 cups flour

  ½ cup granulated sugar

  5 teaspoons baking powder

  ¼ teaspoon baking soda

  ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

  ½ teaspoon salt

  ¾ cup butter

  1 egg

  1 cup milk

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. (Lilah’s quick tip: save butter wrappers in a box or bag in your fridge. When it’s time to grease a pan, just slip one out and run it over the sheet—easy greasing with no mess!)

  Combine all dry ingredients; gradually add softened butter. Finally, stir in the egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix until you have a stiff dough. Turn this out onto a floured surface and knead gently. Roll out the dough until it is about ½ inch thick. Then cut into eight even pieces and shape as you wish on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 15–20 minutes.

  Options: add fruit or nuts to the recipe according to your taste, or sprinkle finished scones with cinnamon for a delicious breakfast bread
!

  Traditional sides: scones are traditionally served with strawberries or strawberry jam, clotted cream (or whipped cream), lemon curd, or butter.

  Lilah’s French Toast Casserole

  (Made for Toby Atwater)

  1 loaf of soft French bread (or 10 soft rolls)

  8 large eggs

  2 cups half-and-half

  1 cup milk

  2 tablespoons sugar

  1 tablespoon vanilla

  ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

  ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

  Salt to taste

  STREUSEL TOPPING (THIS CAN VARY, BUT HERE’S ONE OPTION):

  2 sticks (1 pound) butter

  1 teaspoon almond extract

  1 cup brown sugar

  1 cup corn syrup

  1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

  ½ teaspoon cinnamon

  ½ teaspoon nutmeg

  ¼ teaspoon cloves

  For streusel: soften butter, then mix in the remaining ingredients until the topping has a crumbly consistency.

  Meanwhile, slice bread into twenty slices (or separate ten rolls) and lay out in buttered baking dish.

  Blend all of the ingredients and pour them over the slices of bread, making sure that the wet mixture gets under and in between the slices, and that all of the bread is saturated.

  Cover the mixture with tinfoil and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, spread the streusel mixture on top of the saturated, chilled bread, and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

  (As an alternative to the streusel topping, you can choose a fruit like raspberries or strawberries, and sprinkle them on before baking. Blueberries and apples are delicious options, as well.)

  Serve with pats of butter and maple syrup.

  Be ready for a delicious surprise to share with friends or family! Toby’s five children love this recipe, but adults love it, too!

  Fiesta Bake

  (Imagined by Lilah Drake)

  ANGELO’S GOURMET ITEMS:

  1 16-ounce can Angelo’s Gourmet tomato sauce

  1 16-ounce can Angelo’s Gourmet diced tomatoes

  1 Angelo’s Gourmet taco seasoning packet

  OTHER ITEMS:

  1 white onion, diced

  1 small green pepper, chopped

  1 pound lean ground beef

  1 16-ounce can kidney beans

  ¼ cup water

  1 teaspoon chili powder

  1⅓ cups uncooked instant rice

  1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

  Heat onion and pepper in a buttered pan; add ground beef and cook until brown; drain excess grease. Mix beef mixture with tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, kidney beans, water, chili powder, and rice. Pour into a baking pan.

  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes; pull out partway and sprinkle on cheddar cheese. Slide back into oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 more minutes.

  Serve in individual bowls with dollops of sour cream on top and tortilla chips tucked around the sides—they are perfect for dipping and scooping!

  Lilah’s Breakfast Frittata

  (Variation Four: Frittata with Red Peppers, Onions, and Potatoes)

  1 large onion, diced

  6 to 8 small red potatoes (about 12 ounces), diced

  2 red peppers, diced

  Dash pepper

  Dash fresh thyme

  Dash fresh oregano

  8 eggs, beaten

  4 ounces crumbled feta

  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

  In a frying pan, sauté onion, potatoes, and red peppers. Add pepper, thyme, and oregano to taste. Mix until vegetables are of a desired consistency.

  Add the eggs to the pan and mix in vegetables; pour into greased baking pan and sprinkle feta over the top of the mixture.

  Bake for 10–15 minutes, until the eggs are completely set, look golden brown, and pull away from the sides of the pan.

  Let the frittata cool. Then slice and serve with any of these elegant options:

  sliced fruit

  crusty bread

  green salad

  baked, oiled pita chips

  Friends and family will ask for this delicious option again and again, and the magic of it is that it makes a good breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

  Angelo’s Eggplant Parmigiana

  (Available at Cardelini’s in Pine Haven, 444 Main Street)

  ½ cup bread crumbs (best from a dried loaf of Italian bread)

  1 large eggplant, sliced

  1 cup fresh shredded mozzarella

  1 can Angelo’s Gourmet diced tomatoes

  1 can Angelo’s Gourmet tomato sauce

  1 teaspoon basil

  1 teaspoon oregano

  1 pinch garlic

  Real Irish butter

  Fresh grated parmesan cheese

  Pepper

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  Set aside your bread crumbs in a wide, shallow bowl.

  Cut the eggplant into 10–12 slices, making sure they are at least ½ inch thick. Rub both sides of each slice with melted butter, then dip into bread crumbs.

  Lay the slices on a baking sheet and bake for about nine minutes, or until tender; slide out the sheet and sprinkle the eggplant slices with fresh mozzarella. Bake one minute more, or until cheese is nicely browned and melted.

  While they bake, combine the tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic, and sauce in a pot. (You can substitute fresh diced tomatoes for the Angelo’s tomatoes, but Angelo’s are as good as fresh.) Cook tomato mixture until it is almost boiling, then lower heat and cook for five more minutes. Lay out four bowls and pour sauce mixture evenly among them. Take baked eggplant slices and distribute them into the four bowls (you should be able to serve three slices of eggplant to each diner). Sprinkle with parmesan and fresh pepper.

  As an alternative, serve the eggplant and sauce on sliced loaves of fresh Italian bread. The eggplant parmigiana sandwich is a favorite at Cardelini’s!

  Looking for more?

  Visit Penguin.com for more about this author and a complete list of their books.

  Discover your next great read!