Pumpkin Chili

I went to Newport, RI for the first time last week. It was amazing, I cannot believe I have never been there before. The old houses and cobblestone streets reminded me of when I used to live in Charleston, SC, which made it feel like home. I won’t lie to you…Robocop and I spent most of our time eating our way around the city. It may not have been the healthiest decision, but it was completely worth it. While we went to a lot of neat restaurants and ate many amazing dishes, my favorite one (I still have dreams about it) was the lobster Mac’n Cheese at the White Horse Tavern. Now I didn’t know this, but the White Horse Tavern is actually the oldest tavern in America. Pretty cool right? It was first opened in 1673 and when you walk inside you can feel the history. We sat in the bar area (you have to when you are at America’s oldest tavern right?) which is a small room with low ceilings and a massive fireplace. Sitting there I could imagine what it was like 200 years ago, when men rode in on horseback and stopped for a meal and to warm up by the fire. It was a really neat experience and I recommend it for anyone visiting Newport. Another thing I didn’t realize about Newport was what a major role it played in high society at the turn of the 20th century. We spent most of our time in Newport, while we weren’t eating that is, touring the old Newport Mansions. I love history and it was great learning about what life was like for the Vanderbilts and other influential families on Bellevue Ave. during that time. While touring the palatial estates was amazing, my favorite part was taking the Servant’s Life Tour. For this tour you get to go behind the scenes and see where the servants lived and worked. Definitely a must do for anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of life during the Gilded Age. While I saw many beautiful houses in Newport this one was probably my favorite… …I could totally see myself living here. Visiting Newport in October put me in the fall spirit. It is such a wonderful New England town. While I know it is mostly a summer destination, Newport is also beautiful in the fall. The leaves are starting to change and there is a slight chill in the air. Personally, I have been fighting fall this year. I am not sure about you, but here in CT we had a very cool summer and I feel like I was robbed. So in my denial that summer was over, I realized I was also not embracing all the thing I love about fall. This included pumpkins. Up until a couple of days ago I hadn’t even had a pumpkin flavored food item yet…a true crime. But not anymore! Fall in now in full swing in my house! Thank you Newport!!! For my first official fall dish I decided to make Pumpkin Chili. Now if you have never had pumpkin chili you might be skeptical, I know I was. But trust me it is delicious. The pumpkin flavor is not overpowering, but rather adds a hint of sweetness to the chili that is a perfect balance to the spice of the peppers. I made my own pumpkin puree for the chili, by roasting a pumpkin I got at a local pick-your-own-pumpkin farm. I also used  couple of habaneros from my garden. In all reality I never intended to plant habaneros this year, but some of the seeds I used must have gotten mixed up. I thought I was planting red bell peppers…so you can imagine my surprise when the fruit started to take shape…surprise! Sorry I digress…back to the food. After letting the chili simmer for a couple of hours it was delicious. The pumpkin made it a little sweet while the habaneros gave just enough kick to make it interesting. I drank my favorite pumpkin beer with it and suddenly it felt like fall! Local Ingredient: Sugar Pumpkin (harvested from a local farm where you can pick your own pumpkins!) and habaneros from my garden.  Yum