Mushrooms in chili

[Cirque du So-What]

A couple of years ago I attended a Super Bowl party at which the host served chili with mushrooms in it. The chili was the basic tomato juice-based type with ground beef and kidney beans, and the mushrooms were canned morels - nothing exotic about them. Mind you, I am not a 'foodie,' and it didn't turn my stomach or anything, but there's just something about mushrooms in chili that seems...wrong.

I'm interested in hearing thoughts from others about a dish that, to me, seems like an epic mismatch where ingredients are concerned.

[mopinko]

1. dh loves mushrooms,

is lukewarm about chili, but when i suggested mushrooms in the chili, his hair caught on fire.
it does seem odd to me, but i might do it if i had some mushrooms that needed to get used. except for afore mentioned dh.

[Cirque du So-What]

7. Yes, it may be risky to spring it upon him

Better IMO to save the mushrooms for something less 'experimental.'

[mopinko]

17. yeah, they just needed to go soon.

his idea- make some steaks.
we have real food clashes.

[Cirque du So-What]

19. Mmmm! Steak with mushrooms!

A classic combination that I dearly love!

[Angry Dragon]

2. I have never had them in chili

[Cirque du So-What]

8. I don't recommend it

although it may be better suited to a 'Texas-style' chili, the dense, highly-spiced variety devoid of beans, tomato juice, or other augmentations. And if mushrooms are used at all, then I believe shiitake or something other-than-morel would be more in order.

[HappyMe]

3. Yeah, that's an epic mismatch.

Doesn't seem appetizing at all.

[Cirque du So-What]

6. It was edible

but, then again, I'm like Mikey from the old Life cereal commercial; I eat everything.

[HappyMe]

9. Oh I may have eaten it.

It just sounds weird. Mushrooms are the last thing I would think to add to chili.

[d_r]

4. you might could come up with a chil-like thing

with portobellos but just putting mushrooms in chili is wrong, imho. But I like tofu in chili playing the role of the beans, and I like chili made out of crawfish and shrimp, so I'm probably not qualified to make a comment.

[Cirque du So-What]

5. I like tofu in chili

and the crustaceans sound tasty as well, although I may be imagining something more akin to gumbo than chili.

[Freddie]

10. Ewww...but I don't like mushrooms anyway

My favorite basic chili:

1 lb ground beef, well browned
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can petite diced tomatoes with juice
1 8-oz can plain tomato sauce
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 to 3 tbsp chili powder (to taste)

Mix together in crock pot and cook all day on low.

Edit-DH likes a meaty chili so it it's just us I only use 1 can of kidney beans

[Cirque du So-What]

11. Yes, that is a problem when preparing a dish like that

As I recall, a few people at the party didn't like mushrooms *at all* and wouldn't touch that chili with a ten-foot pole.

[Freddie]

12. "Top 10 Polarizing Foods"

A while back Huffpo had an article about foods people either love or hate, no in-between. I think mushrooms, cilantro and coconut topped the list.

[Cirque du So-What]

13. Found it

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/polarizing-foods_n_1216832.html

Celery, licorice, green peppers, marzipan, mayonnaise, blue cheese, Vegemite, and liver round out the list.

Of all those, only licorice evokes my *yuk* response.

[Freddie]

14. Licorice, blue cheese, liver--no for me

Never had Vegemite, don't think I want to!
How could anyone dislike celery?? But I'm PA Dutch and we love our celery and put it in everything. There's Amish farmers who grow a locally prized "white celery" that is milder and less stringy than the common kind.

[Cirque du So-What]

15. I'll have to look for 'white celery'

I've never had Vegemite either, but as a kid I would occasionally swipe a 'yeast cake,' used for making bread, from the fridge. Later on, I would mix brewer's yeast with water and drink it as a tonic. For those reasons, I expect that I would like the taste of Vegemite.

[cbayer]

16. Great list and worth keeping in mind when cooking for others.

I have a clearly psychological aversion to certain foods. It's a texture thing. I know it doesn't make any sense, but there are a few things that I will not eat under any circumstance.

When I am having just a few people over, I ask about food preferences.

But for a big party, I would make things the way I like them and expect that there is something there for everyone to eat.

Don't like pate? Have some cheese. Can't stand shrimp? Try some of this hummus dip.

[Cirque du So-What]

18. There's one food I'm surprised *isn't* on the list

Beets.

I can eat them now, but as a kid, I had a pathological aversion to them. Over the years, I've encountered a good number of people who voice their repulsion to the thought of eating beets.

[cbayer]

21. And I would have included eggs (one of he foods I have an aversion to).

OTOH, I love beets!

[elleng]

20. Blue cheese BIG yuk!

[pinto]

24. Interesting list. I like them all, save licorice. And would add Spam as #1.

[Cirque du So-What]

25. I don't consider Spam a food

It's in the realm of stuff better suited to 'purveyors of pork-like products.'

Apologies to the writers of WKRP in Cincinnati.

[pinto]

26. It's got an interesting history. Long shelf life, self-contained, transportable, used widely in WWII

[Cirque du So-What]

27. So was ammunition

and I wouldn't eat that either.

[Warpy]

30. A lot of foods on that list are "meh" for me

and others are fine if they're in something, like Marmite and cilantro. However, Marmite on toast with a cilantro garnish would be my idea of culinary hell.

The only one I can't eat is liver. My throat just closes up tight and I can't swallow it. Thanks, Mom, for all those food power struggles at the table!

I suppose I'd have the same reaction to canned spinach, asparagus and <shudder> broccoli.

[pscot]

22. Is nothing sacred?

What kind of a world are we living in where people go around putting mushrooms in chili?

[pinto]

23. LOL.

[Cirque du So-What]

28. Awhile back

one of my grandsons suggested added gummy bears to the goulash. I can only hope that he does not follow that path into madness.

[Warpy]

29. Purists would grumble that what's wrong is the beans.

I can't imagine dumping morels into chili. What a waste!!

I can see having a box of 'shrooms in the fridge that were about to go bad and buzzing them in the Cuisinart until they're very finely chopped and throwing those in. They'd practically disappear and you'd use them up. They might even bring another level of flavor to the chili.

But morels? Big enough to get the mushroom flavor and texture? That's just SO WRONG.

I think the hostess of that party must be a Sandra Lee fan.

[locks]

31. Indiana chili

Hoosiers add cooked spaghetti to chili before serving. It's great.