Chili

Gerry Strey's Chili
Andrew Midkiff's Chili
Mark Fowler's Chili
Edmund Burton's Chili
Jan Garvin's Chili
David Harwell's Chili
Don Myatt's Chocolate Chili Mole

Gerry Strey's Chili
I'm a firm believer in dicing the meat (beef, pork or even lamb) that goes into chili. Make a tremendous difference, not only in texture but taste as well. Fresh hot peppers to taste, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, fresh cilantro chopped, sometimes red beans, and an ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate make up my usual recipe. And enough water or stock to get things going. Chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned, are optional.
I grew up on something called chili, which was a small amount of frizzled hamburger, tomato juice, and elbow macaroni, with perhaps a teaspoon of very mild commercial chili powder for flavoring.

Andrew Midkiff's Chili
[Gerry's] recipe for the chili [she] grew up on sounds similar to the one I grew up with, but substitute spaghetti for the elbow macaroni. Personally, my own recipe sounds a lot like yours except I don't particularly like kidney beans. I prefer to use a small, white bean like black-eyed peas or field peas. They hold their shape better, don't get mushy, don't have that "floury" taste and add a subtle hint of nuttiness to the mix. For a thicker chili add just a little bit of masa (corn flour) to the meat before adding any liquid. I do usually add some chopped tomatoes, but not tomato sauce.
Serve it up with corn scones with white raisins and bob's your uncle, you've got a great meal!

Mark Fowler's Chili
The best chili I ever had was one made from one of the oldest recipes: cubed venison rather than beef, enough cayenne to smoke off the roof of your mouth and not much else, and not a hint of a bean or stewed tomato, just a touch of masa harina for body; the whole business simmered in a great iron pot for about five hours and served with heaps of scratch cornbread, and washed down with sufficient Dos Equis.

Edmund Burton's Chili
From the back of a jar of Adams Chili Powder:
"Texas Style Chili
1T Salad Oil
1 lb. coarse ground beef
3 T. flour
1 t. salt
2 T. Adams Chili Powder (contents chili peppers, comino, garlic, oregano)
2 C. Water
Heat oil. Brown beef and flour. Stir in other items. Cook on low heat for 1 1/2 hours on low heat."
Maybe too pure even for me. I would probably add a little onion.

Jan Garvin's Chili
Three pounds of 1/2" cubes of beef (varies, depending on who you are talking to between chuck roast and round steak, just not hamburger), rolled in wheat flour, browned in a skillet, then add 1 cup of chopped onion, 3 cloves of freshly chopped garlic, 1tb oregano, 1t cumin, pure ground red chili (not the prepared type) to taste, and a quart of water. Simmer till the meat is tender. If you simply must have beans, serve the meat over beans in a bowl.

David Harwell's Chili
Chili can vary some, but basically it consists of
Beef chuck (venison is also acceptable)
Chilies (I prefer ancho)
Onions
Beef stock
Garlic
Cumin
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
There are some other seasonings that work, paprika being one and chili powder another but the latter really doesn't add much if you are using chilies. If it's not hot enough you can always add some cayenne. One thing I do at the end is stir in a little masa harina (corn meal flour) to thicken it and round out the taste. And feel free to adjust the amount of chilies. It doesn't have to be super hot to be good. Serve with tortillas and a "side" of beans. If you want a good counterpoint to the chili, serve some fresh pineapple with it. Just don't put it in the pot.

Don Myatt's Chocolate Chili Mole
I never used it, nor can I vouch for the book, which has that slapdash air of a book to fill space in a cookery shop. The book is 'Chili Madness' by Jane Butel, published in 1980 by Workman Publishing.
The recipe caption says "chocolate added to the mixture creates a Mexican mole-like flavor"
The portions are: - for serving of 2
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 lb lean beef coarse ground
1 - 16oz. can kidney beans
1 - 16oz. can tomato puree
1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste
1/2 cup fresh whole domestic green chiles, (approx 4) parched, peeled, seeded, chopped
1/2 cup water
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate - 1 oz. pieces
2 tablespoons ground red chile powder
1tsp ground cumin
The cooking process is as you would expect - / oil onion/ brown beef/ stir in all rest - simmer. The recipe suggests half the chocolate with spices etc. The last half after cooked, added at last with seasoning to taste.