Editor's note: Before he launched Brasserie Pavil in December, popular San Antonio chef Scott Cohen co-authored a cookbook celebrating Central Texas food and flavors. Below are excerpts and recipes from the book--Jamie's Chili and Broiled Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit with Mexican Sweet Chile Salt and Cider Vinegar. These winter treats with a Texas kick are fun options for your Valentine's Day celebration!

Jamie’s Chili

This dish is a tribute to my wife, Jamie, whom I met while I was working at The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas. On our first date, we had a chili contest in her apartment complex. I offered to make it with fresh pasta, which I did for the restaurant, but Jamie, a Texas native, thought that was sacrilegious. She never saw kidney beans in chili, either, but I won her over, and it became this thing that we do together whenever we can because it reminds us of our first date. This dish also won first place in a James Beard chili cook-off. Make this chili ahead of time, and use a big pot. Serve it with some fresh crunchy bread and a dark beer such as Shiner Bock.             

Beans

16 ounces dried kidney beans

6 cups water

3½ teaspoons chile powder

4 ancho chiles, soaked, seeded, and finely diced

1 poblano pepper, seeded and finely diced

2 jalapeños, seeded and finely diced

½ teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

3 or more teaspoons salt

Chili

4 pounds ground beef

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1½ pounds canned stewed tomatoes, finely diced

5 ounces tomato paste

2 smoked ham hocks

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ red onion, finely diced

½ cup sour cream

1 diced jalapeño

¼ cup diced fresh tomatoes

Note: Increase or decrease the amounts for these garnishes according to the number of servings.

Broiled Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit with Mexican Sweet Chile Salt and Cider Vinegar

Our wonderful Ruby Red grapefruit is not grown in Hill Country, but farther south in the lower Rio Grande valley, where the air is sweet with citrus blossoms every spring. Red grapefruit is only picked when it is ripe, so it is heavy and juicy, with a superior sugar to acid ratio. It is available from November through April and keeps in the fridge for several weeks. This simple broiled grapefruit, sliced into wheels, is a nice way to begin your breakfast, but it also serves as a simple and elegant dessert. You can also make it ahead. Sweet chile salt is a condiment used in Mexico to flavor fruit and vegetables, especially cucumbers.

Chile Salt

3 tablespoons fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground lime rind (use a box grater)

1/4 teaspoon ground lemon rind

Grapefruit

1 Texas Ruby Red grapefruit

4 pinches Mexican sweet chile salt (from above)

2 teaspoons (approximate) cider vinegar

Fresh raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries for garnish

1 teaspoon julienned mint

For the chile salt: Mix together salt, sugar, cayenne, and citrus rinds; let mixture dry on a sheet pan overnight.

For the grapefruit: Remove skin from grapefruit, and slice grapefruit into ?-inch wheels. Sprinkle Mexican sweet chile salt over each grapefruit wheel; broil for 1 minute on a sheet pan until slightly warm. Remove pan from broiler, and drizzle cider vinegar over the wheels, about ? teaspoon each. Cool in refrigerator overnight or for 5 minutes in the freezer. 

To serve: Serve grapefruit wheels cold with raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and mint.

Serves 4

Please note that all recipes are reprinted from "Texas Hill Country Cookbook" by Scott Cohen & Marian Betancourt (Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 2007).