Buffalo Chicken Chili With Blue Cheese-Corn Mug Toppers

From Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan (EVOO)
• 2  tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
• 2  lbs ground chicken
• 2  garlic cloves, chopped
• 2  celery ribs, finely chopped
• 1  medium onion, finely chopped
• 1  carrot, finely chopped
• 1  jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cumin (half a palmful)
• 1  teaspoon ground coriander (one-third palmful)
• 6  ounces beer (your favorite brew)
• 1⁄4 cup  cayenne pepper  hot sauce
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 8 1⁄2 ounces  jiffy-brand  corn muffin mix
• 1⁄3 cup milk
• 1  large egg
• 2  scallions, finely chopped
• 3⁄4 cup  crumbled blue cheese (about 4 ounces)

Directions

1. Heat a medium Dutch oven or large skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, and the butter and melt together. Add the chicken and cook, breaking up the meat, for 6 minutes. Add the garlic, celery, onion, carrot and jalapeño. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and coriander, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beer and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Concentrate the flavor of the beer by reducing the mixture over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the hot sauce and the tomato sauce. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the chili for 15 minutes.
2. Prepare the corn muffin mix with the milk and egg according to package directions for corn pancakes. Stir the scallions and the blue cheese into the pancake batter. Heat a nonstick griddle pan or large skillet over medium heat. Nest a small piece of butter in a paper towel and rub over the pan. Drop rounded tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Cook the pancakes until bubbles form at the edges, then flip them and cook until golden all over, about 2 minutes per side. You will have enough batter for about 20 pancakes.
3. Serve 2 pancakes with each mug of chili. (I shove a second one in the mugs halfway through). Serve extra mug toppers and hot sauce at the table.