made impromptu hot-dog chili tonight

I made an impromptu hot-dog chili tonight, and it's awesome—just one of those serendipitous things that'd be hard to replicate. I used only the most basic elements for the chili, which has nothing to do with traditional chili except perhaps in the most tenuous way. The base was home-ground beef, then salt and pepper as the meat browned, then a mess of spices and seasonings like cumin, paprika, chipotle, and garlic, with some dried onion flakes added in. I had some potato starch on standby, but I ended up not needing it. I added ketchup and water to the mix to keep things from burning (ketchup = tomatoes + sugar), and the consistency was perfect for slopping onto hot dogs. Just ate a ladleful, and it was damn delicious all on its own.

I'm serving food for our March office party early Friday afternoon (early in the month because I have a doctor's appointment at the end of the month, and a ton of weight to re-lose before then, not to mention blood sugar to re-stabilize). We're doing good ol' burgers and dogs. For the dogs, I've got kielbasa and Korean "grill franks" that aren't bad. The burgers use the same home-ground beef I used for the chili: a combination of Korean brisket (which is marbled), skirt steak, and short rib. (These days in the US, according to the YouTube cooks I watch, the popular three-meat combo is chuck, short rib, and brisket.)

As I got to the end of my meat-grinding, I stuck my metal tongs into the grinder a bit too deeply, and I ended up damaging the corkscrew-shaped "grindworm," which pushes the meat past the spinning blades that chop the meat up and through the extruder plate that creates the little toothpaste-worms of meat that tumble into the waiting bowl. I think the grindworm still works (I used a nail clipper to remove some bits of plastic that were sticking out awkwardly), but I'm ordering a new one via eBay. And my tongs are dead, but I have a spare, so no biggie.

As long as tomorrow's burgers and chili are plastic-free, I'll be a happy camper. I think the meal ought to be all right. Expect photos if I remember to take them.