Okay, it’s the season to make Chili. Red-hot, mouth-watering, addictive chili that will warm your belly in the cold night and keep you satisfied for hours. (Actually, even though my chili calls for a habañero, cayenne, and a poblano pepper, it’s not unbearable hot. A single habañero, diffused through an entire batch of chili, raises the heat level without making it searing. Use half a pepper, or skip it if you don’t like heat.)

A few years ago my apartment community had a Superbowl party/chili cook-off and I wanted to bring something to the party. I’d never made chili before in my life, but I thought, “How hard could it be?” In preparation I went online and looked at a few dozen chili recipes and took note of preparation styles and ingredients I thought would be tasty. Then, armed with a list of ingredients I went