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A Super Bowl report from the buffet table:

Obama's chili is thin, more like a New York System wiener sauce than what's served as chili in Rhode Island. (He serves it over rice, and the thin liquid probably penetrates it well. I prefer a thicker chili with sauce that can stand alone in a bowl.)

I doubled the amount of spices from a combined total of one teaspoon to two, which gave it some flavor. I used 7 tomatoes -- three medium regular ones and four Romas -- but there wasn't much sauce.

Neverthless, my brother, who hates spicy, dug into the pot right after I added the beans, and went for three bowls of it while I was still tweaking it. Next time, I'll double the recipe, to have leftovers.

In all we added two tablespoons of tomato paste, another half-teaspoon of chili powder, and a slug of red wine, then cooked it till the alcohol evaporated.

So the revised recipe became,

Obama's Chili Recipe (Tweaked)

1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey or beef
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground basil
1 rounded tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
7 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 can red kidney beans
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/8 cup dry red wine
salt

Saute onions, green pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft.
Add ground meat and brown.
Combine spices together into a mixture, then add to ground meat.
Add red wine vinegar.
Add tomatoes and let simmer, until tomatoes cook down. Stir occasionally, breaking up the tomatoes.
Add tomato paste and red wine and cook till you can no longer smell the alcohol.
Add kidney beans and cook for a few more minutes.
Garnish with grated cheddar cheese.

I prefer more sauce, thicker, but it tasted pretty good. I might add some plain tomato sauce next time.

The big surprise was how incredibly delicious Paula Deen's Asparagus Cheese Dip was. I couldn't stop shoveling vegetables into it, and it was far better with broccoli and pepper strips than with tortilla chips or crackers. Extremely easy, too. After steaming and cutting the asparagus, just drop everything into the food processor and refrigerate the results for awhile. The dill balances it beautifully, and the final dip doesn't taste strongly of asparagus -- it tastes like fresh greens

I probably used less than the pound of asparagus called for, as I kept out some raw thin tips to add to the plate of dipping veggies. Nevertheless, mine was greener than this promotional photo.

It's the first veggie dip I've ever really liked.

Asparagus Cheese Dip

A light and refreshing dip that pairs perfectly with veggies.

4 oz. cream cheese
4 oz. goat cheese
1 lb fresh asparagus spears, steamed until tender and cut into 1" pieces
3 tablespoons dill, chopped
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
4 dashes of hot sauce
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until thoroughly combined. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 8