This twelve-part series is devoted solely to one of the most popular fiery-foods dishes ever created: chili con carne.

Dave DeWitt, with assistance from various editors, devoted years to this project: researching both popular and obscure literature, collecting recipes, interviewing cooks, and assembling interesting–and sometime hilarious–illustrations.

The most popular fiery dish

Dave explores the origins and history of chili, and then details how it captured the imagination of amateur cooks around the country. In four chapters, he details how to create cook-off winning chili, from the chiles to the meat, to the other ingredients, and finally the cooking and serving techniques.

All chapters have appropriate recipes. The next three chapters document the history, with recipes, of the two major chili cook-off sanctioning organizations, as well as the upstart chilis from states other than Texas and California. In the final chapter, Dave presents his collection of chili philosophy and humor.