12
MY
ROUSES
EVERYDAY
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2014
M
y Paw Paw, Carroll Barrilleaux,
is one of 11 kids. He has a
brother, my Great Uncle Huey,
who moved to Texas with his wife, Aunt
Rose Marie (she’s from Vacherie), after
he graduated from LSU. Huey and Rose
Marie had nine children who we Louisiana
folks refer to as our “Texas Cousins”.
Maybe it’s this Texas connection, but when
the weather is cold, and there’s a game on,
I think chili. Chili is a Texas thing, the way
red beans and rice is a Louisiana thing, and
gumbo is a Gulf Coast thing.
Even if it’s not cold down here on February
2
nd
, it will be cold in New York for the big
Game. You can serve this chili in individual
bowls with sour cream and cheese the way
my Uncle Rob does, over hot dogs, with
Fritos as a dip, or the Ali way – over Tater
Tots as a riff on nachos I call tachos.
Q:
Spill the beans,Uncle Rob, howdid you come
up with the recipe for the best chili in the world?
Super
BOWLS
by
Ali Rouse Royster +
photo by
Denny Culbert
Rob:
My mother didn’t make chili. My
father didn’t make chili. The chili we ate
as kids came from a can. But a few years
after I got married, I took out the crockpot
we received as a wedding gift and started
experimenting with recipes.
Q:
I love that your recipe uses red beans.
Doesn’t get more local than that.
Rob:
I’m a Cajun, so my Cajun chili
has beans (my Cajun parents stretched
everything with beans). I couldn’t decide
which kind to use, so I went with red and
black.
Q:
We tease that our Texas Cousins make
your Louisiana chili.
Rob:
Back in the day, while I was playing
chef, your mom was planning a family
reunion with these Texas Cousins. The
weekend came, and I drove over to your
mom and dad’s house with a big pot of my
chili and a carload of scrapbooks. I made
the mistake of bringing in the chili first; by
the time I finished unloading my car, the
pot was empty.
Q:
I know you have a blue ribbon for your
efforts.
Rob:
It’s not actually my blue ribbon, but
it is my recipe. We were gathered around
the table that day at your mom and dad’s
house, and someone insisted I write down
the recipe for the chili. Everyone took a
copy. My cousin-in-law Mark (he’s married
to cousin Pam) used the recipe to enter a
contest in Dallas and won, beans and all!
Q:
You’re famous for your chili, but youmade
something different for Thibodauxville Fall
Fest this year ...
Rob:
Thibodauxville is my favorite local
festival, and Rouses nominated me to cook. I
made my shrimp and grits on a stick – it was
polenta actually. The recipe was a hit. After
45 minutes the whole batch was gone and
our whole crew was at Renes Bar downtown.
Doesn’t get much better than that!
