Who Will Win the Chili Cook-Off Today at Chatsworth's Pioneer Day?

Today is the 22th Annual Pioneer Day in Chatsworth, celebrated at the Homestead Acre from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The Los Angeles Fire Department will be there to defend their 2011 Chili Cook-Off crown. And the Los Angeles Police Department and other neighborhood entrants will be trying to sieze those laurels.

The event, presented by the Chatsworth Historical Society, celebrates the lives lived in old-time Chatsworth.  Highlighting this year's festivities will be tours of the historic Minnie Hill Palmer Cottage, an official Los Angeles cultural monument. There will also be local wood carvers, blacksmiths and needle workers, many of whom will also be selling their wares. Additionally, there will be a live spinning wheel demonstration as well as the opportunity for visitors to create their own quilt squares to take home. For those of a less artistic inclination, gold panning has returned as another activity. 

The activities will take place at the Homestead Acre, 10385 Shadow Oak Drive, near the entrance to Chatsworth Park South.  Parking is available at the Chatsworth train depot with free shuttles running every 15 minutes between 11 a.m and 4 p.m.  Admission, which benefits the Historical Society, is $5 for adults and $1 for children, with kids under 5 getting in free.

Want to try and re-create prize-winning Firehouse 96 Chili at home? Here's the recipe.

Recipe by Eric Mendoza, 
Fire Station 96, LAFD

1 lb. of Salvadorian chorizo

1 lb. of longanisa

1 lb. of ground pork

1 lb. of ground beef, 85% lean

1 lb. of roman tomatoes

2 large white onions

3 jalapeños; burn or roast in the oven

2 pasilla chilies; burn over stovetop and peel

2 heads of garlic

2 red bell pepers; burn over stovetop and peel

2 large can of pinto beans

2 small cans of kidney beans

3 small cans of garbanzo beans

Garlic powder, salt, black pepper

Combine all the meat in a large pot with garlic and chopped onion; heat until browned.

Add beans with their liquid; bring to a boil and reduce heat.

Add vegetables and simmer on low for two hours.

Season to taste with garlic powder, salt and black pepper.

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