SOME LIKE IT HOT

* If you like chili, here are 59 different recipes to try. All were submitted as part of the Chili Cookoff sponsored by the Southeast Missourian, Schaper's IGA and Sav-A-Lot.

What does it take to make a good pot of chili? It depends on the chef.

For Robert Ramirez of Cape Girardeau, the chili should be spicy. For Mary Ann Cruse of Scott City, chili should be hearty like stew. Scott Gibbs and son Alex Koenig of Jackson enjoy their chili with a sweet twist.

These are the three winners in the Chili Cookoff, co-sponsored by the Southeast Missourian, Schaper's IGA in Jackson and the Sav-A-Lot stores in Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

As first place winner, Ramirez received a $250 gift certificate from Schaper's and Sav-A-Lot. Cruse won a year's subscription to the Southeast Missourian for her second-place finish. Gibbs received a six-month subscription for his third-place showing.

In addition, Joan Weeks of Cape Girardeau earned a three-month subscription to the newspaper for her chili recipe, which received an honorable mention from the judges.

The eight other finalists earn comic strip umbrellas from the Southeast Missourian. The umbrellas can be picked up at the main office, 301 Broadway.

In all, 59 chili recipes were entered in the first Chili Cookoff. All recipes appear in today's edition.

First Place: Robert's Heart Stopping ChiliRamirez said he has been cooking all his life. A native of San Antonio, he knows a thing or two about chili.

He also knows a thing or two about hearts. He operates the heart/lung machine for the open heart surgery team at St. Francis Medical Center. His job brought him to town about a year ago.

Ramirez, Joe Miller and Bill Dunn collaborated on a recipe for a chili contest at St. Francis and won. He tweaked the recipe a bit for this competition.

His recipe is spicy, but not as hot as you might think when scanning the ingredients."If you want to reduce the heat, take the center stem and seeds out of the chiles," he advised. "You get all the flavor, but not all the heat."All the ingredients, including the New Mexico red chili pods, were purchased at local grocery stores. The recipe calls for three pounds of lean beef. Ramirez prefers Angus beef, because of its flavor. The bacon drippings also add much to the flavor."I probably make chili three or four times a month," he said. Ramirez' wife, Susan, is from Louisiana. She's part Cajun Indian and makes a great gumbo, so "we like things spicy."But he also enjoys baking cakes and other ethnic foods such as Italian, Chinese and Mexican.

Ramirez said the "heart stopping chili" can easily be frozen. In fact, he said the flavor gets a little stronger and better each time it's reheated.

Second place: Pork ChiliCruse fashioned her recipe from her days living in California. She picked up the dish from an old man who owned a restaurant. The Mexican people called it chili stew.

Her dish uses pork, which is a common meat in authentic Mexican dishes. "They use pork for tamales and many other Mexican dishes," she said. "I think pork gives it a better flavor than beef."Cruse uses pork butt or shoulder cuts because she thinks they're more tender.

Her dish also serves up the beans on the side, another common practice among Mexican people in California, she said.

Third place: Chocolate Chili by TwoGibbs enjoys cooking with his family. He and his 12-year-old son, Alex, came up with this particular recipe in which all the ingredients feature the number 2.

The recipe has a sweet twist, thanks in part to two Hershey's chocolate bars."I had heard of using chocolate in chili, but I had never tried it. I had added sugar in the past, so we decided to try chocolate," said Gibbs. It was a hit with the kids. He and his wife have five. Of course, the youngest, at 9 months, is not quite ready for chili tasting.

In the winter months, the family probably eats chili every few weeks. "It's savory and a relatively easy-to-prepare dish," he said. Gibbs admits he had a passion for cooking, although his duties as a brain surgeon and father of five keeps him busy."When I was much younger I worked as a chef in a pasta restaurant," he said. "I started as the dishwasher, was promoted to (salad boy and eventually became the pasta chef. I still have a passion for cooking.")