Chili's a dish that's as American as apple pie, except chili's more American because more Americans have experimented with chili in their kitchens than have ever devoted such attention to apple pie. Personally, I've never made an apple pie, but I have worked for a couple of years to get my chili the way I want it.

When I started thinking about chili, I wondered what it would take to stick to the basics and not rely on a long list of possibly unusual ingredients. And what would it taste like to make a chili from dried chiles from scratch? Beyond that, chili may have originated in Texas, but my recipe takes its cues from New Mexico.

If you want to see what my simple chili is like – it's a chili made from dried chiles, beans, tomatoes and lamb – your first step is to make a sauce out of chiles de ristra, water and a blender – and that's all. Except, you'll want to throw in a few chiles de arbo, along with the chiles de ristra. Chiles de ristra are usually mild-flavored, despite what the package might say about them being hot. You need the chiles de arbo to add some heat, where your goal is to create a warm dish, rather than a scorching one. If you want, you can make the sauce a day or two ahead of time.

After that, follow the recipe below. I recommend using lamb, but pork is also good. I've never tried beef. The thing is to let the chili cook for the entire afternoon. If you taste it periodically, you'll see how the flavor progressively improves, even during the last hour of cooking.

Ingredients
15 New Mexico chile de ristra ($3.49 per 5 ounce package of approximately 30 dried red chiles)
3-4 chile de arbol ($1.99 per 1½ ounce package of small, 3-inch long dried red chiles)
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil ($7.49 per 25½ ounces, on sale)
1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
¾-1 pound lamb for stew meat ($6.99 per pound)
3 cup homemade pinto beans ($1.79 per 1 pound bag of dry beans, on sale) (follow the procedure for white beans but omit the rosemary)
2 14½-ounce cans diced tomatoes ($0.53 per can)
2 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
a few good shakes of black pepper
grated cheddar cheese for garnish
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Procedure
Carefully break the stems off the chiles. Wash each chile under a running faucet to remove seeds. Place chiles into a covered pot with three cups of water. Use a saucer to submerge the chiles. Bring to a boil, and then remove from the heat and keep covered. Let the chiles rehydrate for 30 minutes or longer.

Remove the chiles from the soaking liquid and place in a blender or food processor. Strain the soaking liquid through cheesecloth to remove the seeds and other debris, and then pour the liquid over the chiles. Liquify in the blender. Pass the resulting slurry though a food mill. The finished sauce will have a vibrant red color and will practically look alive.

In a Dutch oven, sauté the onion in olive oil until translucent. Add lamb, and brown. Add oregano, salt and pepper, and cook for a minute or so. Add chile sauce, beans and tomatoes.

Bring to a boil, and then simmer gently for five hours or longer, stirring occasionally. When done, serve the chili garnished with cheese and cilantro.