“Chilis” And that’s not just the franchise. Hotness meter says it’s “On Fire.”

The World’s Championship Chili Cookoff opened today in Charlestown, West Virginia. There’s a salsa category.

It’ll be great to see chili back on the menu at the National Museum of the American Indian‘s Mitsitam Cafe. The recipe is in the cookbook Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions by Marlene Divina, of Ojibwe ancestry, and chef Fernando Divina. The recipe calls for buffalo and orange peel. I’ve had it at the cafe and cooked it up myself. I’m due to stir up another pot this winter.

Barack Obama claims to be a pretty good chili maker. His family recipe can be found here.

I have a cheaters vegetarian chili recipe made with ground soy and canned chopped tomatoes, canned tomato paste. Sometimes I use black beans instead of kidney beans or chili beans — from a can. The only unprocessed ingredient may be unsalted peanuts.

If chili’s spiking today, it looks as if Mr. Ali (Ben’s Chili Bowl) is getting busy on the other side.