Larry requested chili. I really don’t have a go-to chili recipe; I flit around trying different versions, and even when we like one I usually don’t stick with it (unless it’s Cincinnati chili, the only version I make with some regularity).

There wasn’t anything that drove me to pick this recipe – I just did a search on Epicurious for highly rated chili recipes. Normally I’d pick something vegetarian or maybe use ground turkey or chicken. I went against my instinct and instead went the opposite direction, using two kinds of beef (ground and chunks of chuck steak) in addition to ground pork. Larry loved it. It’s got a lot of spices and I liked the addition of the chuck steak.

• Pork, Beef & Black Bean Chili (Bon Appetit, November 2002)