Oh, I was being silly. There’s nothing wrong with cheese on chili.

I did grow up in Texas, so I do have strong feelings about chili, but I also think people should eat what they like. But to me, for example, things like “white” chili are… tasty dishes but not chili. But I also accept that they are, in fact, chili, too. If that makes sense. :)

Ironically, I’m not one of these chili “purists” who says it should be basically cubed beef cooked in spices, which is closer to the original. For one, I must have tomato products in there. Also, although I’m from Texas, while my current recipe does not have beans, I am all for beans in chili - as a lot in Texas actually are, just the more vocal aren’t.

So in that sense of playing around and being a bit silly, chili should be meat, spices, some sort of tomatoes, can have onions and aromatics, can have beans, can have some sort of thickening starch (I use grits), but things like cheese or chopped onions or sour cream on top are for pansy non-Texans or non-real-chili-eaters or some sillines like that.

So completely being silly about the cheese, it actually looks very tasty :)