A few weeks ago, Diablo III Community Manager Vaeflare reached out to me to do a Q&A session for the “Fan Creation of the Week“. I was trilled to be featured in one of the blog posts, but I had questions of my own… Specifically, I wanted to know what sort of Diablo-themed dishes the Diablo III team wanted me to create!

Chili was one of the suggestions proposed by the Diablo III team. There were a few others, but I’ll be saving those for later. 😀 (psst, one is a dessert!)

To make sure that this recipe was delicious, I sent the recipe over to the PTR (public tasting realm) over at Blizzard. Here, this recipe would be put to the test.

Wyatt Cheng, Senior Technical Game Designer on Diablo III (and resident team foodie/chef), took on the task of cooking up this devilish dish for the team:

MMM….FRESH MEAT. A view from Wyatt’s kitchen the night before the feast.

During lunch on a quiet Wednesday afternoon, Wyatt unleashed the behemoth feast upon the Blizzard campus. Chili samples for everyone!! Awwww yeeeeaaaaah!

Vaeflare kindly documented the glorious chili feast. She even showed off her interior decorating skills by creating this worthy table setting:

Food tastes better when you’ve got ambiance!

Use the sword to keep other people away from your food. Chili is not account bound.

Folks from all departments, including the Diablo III development team, the eSports department, Community Development, and more, gathered ’round to feast!

Wyatt Cheng looks on as nom nom nomming occurs.

Even some Diablo III heroes took a break from farming to have a bite:

Kevin Martens, Lead Designer, Diablo III, carefully feeds a Barbarian. Don’t Whirlwind on an empty stomach.

Overall, it seems like Diablo III Chili was a success in Blizzard HQ! Now it’s your turn to embark on your own delicious and diabolical chili-themed adventure. Let’s get cooking!

Lots of chili consumed at Blizz HQ.

More awesome pictures from the chili feast at Blizzard HQ after the jump. 😀 (There’s a lot!!)

Spider is hungry and ready to eat. He washed his hands and everything. (Skeleton guy is kind of impatient though)

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 1 tablespoon of paprika
4. 1 tablespoon of oregano
5. 1 tablespoon cumin
6. 1/2 tablespoon of chocolate powder
7. 1 tablespoon of cayenne chili powder
8. 1 teaspoon of oil
9. 1/2 white onion, chopped
10. green onions, chopped
11. 3 habanero peppers, chopped and seeded
12. 3 jalapeño peppers, chopped and seeded
13. 4 anaheim peppers, chopped and seeded
14. 4 cloves of garlic, mined
15. 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef (90/10 lean ground beef)
16. 1 lb of ground pork (85/15)
17. 1 can of black beans, strained
18. 1 can of kidney beans, strained
19. 1 can of diced tomatoes
20. 1 can of whole tomatoes
21. cheddar cheese (optional)
22. sour cream (optional)

WARNING: DO NOT CHOP HABANERO PEPPERS WITH YOUR BARE HANDS!! Use gloves or chop in a food processor. The oils from the pepper (capsacin) will burn your hands!!

(I’ve made this mistake before and it hurts. ): Gaming is difficult when your hands burn with capsacin.)

A friendly spider enjoys some chili and warns you of the hazards of capsacin.

EDIT: I’ve received a lot of feed back asking that the chili should be spicier. If you’d like to make this chili but you want more of a kick (or a punch in the face even), just swap out the habaneros with ghost chilies. These chilies are MUCH MUCH stronger than your standard habanero. Of course, the same precautions still apply when handling these chilies. 😀 

I will note that the amount of ingredients above will make a ton of chili — so be prepared to share! You can always put left-over chili in ziplock bags and place them in the freezer for later use.

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time is about 30 minutes. Total cook time is about 1 hour. This will make 8 servings.

Calories per serving: ~475 calories (without cheese and sour cream) / ~554 calories (with cheese and sour cream)

Kevin Martens serves up some chili!

OPENING 

1. Set a large pot on high heat. Add in half of your oil. When the pot becomes hot, saute your onions and garlic. Remove the garlic and onions when the onions become translucent. 
2. Add in your remaining oil and add your ground beef and pork. Season with half of your salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne, and paprika.
   

MID GAME

1. Allow ground beef and pork to brown in the pot.
2. Reduce heat to low and add in your diced and whole tomatoes. Return your garlic and onions to the pot. Add in remaining salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne, paprika, oregano and chocolate powder.

LATE GAME

1. Add in your chopped anaheim, habanero, and jalapeño peppers.
2. Add in your strained kidney and black beans.
3. Allow the chili to simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning. 
4. Garnish with green onions, sour cream and cheddar cheese.
5. Eat!
   

And that’s a GG WP for Diablo III Chili! Try out this chili while you barrel through Act II on the quest for Demonic Essences.

And as I promised earlier, here are some more great pictures courtesy of Vaeflare. 😀

Jason Regier, Technical Director, Diablo III, (left) and David Pendergrast, Senior Gameplay Engineer, Diablo III, (right) put on their best chili eating faces.

 

John Hight, Production Director, Diablo III (left), gives a thumbs up for chili. Jill Harrington, Senior Artist, Diablo III, (right) showcases her bowl of chili.

I want that Diablo III display stand. I have no idea what I’d do with it though, but that’s OK (all that art in that background would be awesome too!).

Stephen Chang, Project Manager, eSports, (left) is caught mid-nibble! Kaivax, Community Manager, Community Development, (right) sneakily eats chili.

(From left to right) Vaeflare, Kevin Martens, and Wyatt Cheng pose next to the awesome table spread.

I’d like to give a big thank you to the Diablo III team for suggesting this recipe and major props to Wyatt Cheng for cooking up this recipe!