Chili for the Championship

Many will make chili (above) today, one of the great foods of National Football League cuisine, up there with wings and nachos. Ali Slagle’s recipe is top-drawer: deep in flavor, spice and smokiness, and fairly easy to prepare. I like to make it with coarsely ground beef from the butcher instead of the more finely…

Super Bowl Snack Ideas

New York Times Cooking isn’t known for its sports coverage — you’ll want to head over to The Athletic for that — but one thing we do know is snacks. We know crunchy snacks. We know melty snacks. We know savory snacks and sweet snacks and salty snacks and sour snacks and spicy snacks. So…

My First Cigarette Was My Last

Our elementary school was set deep in the rural Ontario countryside, nestled in the forest beside the local dump. In the late 1990s, when I was in sixth grade, the school had a drug bust in which more than 20 kids were suspended and charged with possession of marijuana, magic mushrooms and ecstasy. I was…