A cookbook devoted to the family friendly, tailgate party classic--featuring more than 60 tried-and-true recipes--from veteran cookbook author and Americana expert Robb Walsh.   Americans love chili. Whether served as a hearty family dinner, at a potluck with friends, or as the main dish at a football-watching party, chili is a crowd-pleaser. It’s slathered over tamales in San Antonio, hot dogs in Detroit, and hamburgers in Los Angeles. It’s ladled over spaghetti in Cincinnati, hash browns in St. Louis, and Fritos corn chips in Santa Fe.   In The Chili Cookbook , award-winning author Robb Walsh digs deep into the fascinating history of this quintessential American dish. Who knew the cooking technique traces its history to the ancient Aztecs, or that Hungarian goulash inspired the invention of chili powder?   Fans in every region of the country boast the “one true recipe,” and Robb Walsh recreates them all—60 mouth-watering chilis from easy slow-cooker suppers to stunning braised meat creations. There are beef, venison, pork, lamb, turkey, chicken, and shrimp chilis to choose from—there is even an entire chapter on vegetarian chili.  The Chili Cookbook is sure to satisfy all your chili cravings. "Robb Walsh’s new book embraces, examines, and celebrates all variety of chili pepper stew. Lucky us. Walsh is one of the great chroniclers of Texas foodways, a thoughtful historian and a warm, charming writer to boot, and while many cookbooks are written to be read as much as cooked from, rarely does one so deftly strike a balance between both." -  Eater “While no individual chili is capable of satisfying everyone, I guarantee every chili fan will find a recipe in The Chili Cookbook that suits their needs. Robb Walsh, a food writer best known for his books on Tex-Mex and barbecue, is about as comprehensive as one can get in single subject cookbook.” - Epicurious “As far as I’m concerned, there are only two books on the history of chili: my father’s A Bowl of Red and Robb Walsh’s The Chili Cookbook .”  - Frank X. Tolbert 2 "Walsh is one of food writing's best storytellers, so the book is satisfying even if you never whip out your Dutch oven and get cooking. You should, though: The fascinating tale is best enjoyed with a big bowl of chili con carne . (Walsh's recipe from El Real in Houston is killer.)"  -  Serious Eats Veteran food writer and three-time James Beard Award winner ROBB WALSH is the author of more than a dozen cookbooks, including the iconic Tex-Mex Cookbook and Legends of Texas Barbecue . A former restaurant reviewer for the Austin Chronicle , Houston Press, and Houstonia Magazine , Walsh lives in Houston, Texas, and co-owns El Real Tex-Mex Cafe with chef Bryan Caswell. He is a cofounder and board member of Foodways Texas. Introduction If chili is enjoying a revival lately, it’s not the second coming—more like the third or fourth, depending on when you start counting. The history of chili con carne is deep, dark, and very complicated. Mexicans, Texans, New Mexicans, and Midwesterners have been arguing about chili for well over a century. They are still debating what it is, how to spell it, and who invented it. Other subjects of contention include: one “L” or two in the middle, “I” or “E” on the end; tomato versus no tomato, beans versus no beans, ground meat versus hand chopped, and disputes about spices so arcane, they defy rational explanation. As a partner in a Tex-Mex restaurant where we serve gallons and gallons of Texas chili every day, I have to confess that I am not an objective observer. But as a student of food history and an enthusiastic consumer, I put my preconceptions aside long enough to research this book. And I was richly rewarded with good chili from unexpected places and amazing (sometimes true) tales. This book delves into the five hundred years of chili history beginning with the Aztec chile stews the conquistadors sampled in the markets of Montezuma in the 1500s and includes chili recipes inspired by the Spanish mission era of the 1700s, when the first chile peppers were cultivated in North America and the cattle-herding traditions of the Texas cowboys were born. Several chapters focus on Texas chili, including the San Antonio version of the 1800s, the heyday of the Chili Queens and the Chicago World’s Fair of 1894 where Tex-Mex chili created a sensation. The spread of chili across the Midwest in the 1900s takes us for a trip down that highway of memory called Route 66. There are side trips to Ohio, Michigan, and Washington, DC. And finally, we return to the twenty-first century home kitchen, where chili has taken on a new identity as the most modern of American dishes. If you love chili, you will probably find some of the recipes in this book comforting and some of them vexing, especially if you’re a purist with firmly held ideas about beans or spaghetti or whatever. Suspend your disbelief for a just a bit and trust your taste buds.The