I can remember the first time I was in Mexico and had a bowl of chili. It looked like the broth off of chicken noodle soup and had no beans. Can you say hot! Part of me still quivers just thinking about it.

Celery just don't say or suggest Southwest and/or Mexican flavors to me.

True. I just thought it'd be interesting to add it. Then again, it would not chili in the traditonal sense.

I might use the celery as part of the cajun trinity, use cayenne pepper instead of chili powder, and see how that tastes. A sort of cajun stew.

I know there's many different chili recipes, and different people put different things in it. Do you put celery in chili? Maybe something different, that makes it stand apart from the standard chili recipe?

We've started making chili at our house with a mixture of beans, typically at least 50% black beans. I like the dynamic flavors that it adds. A couple years ago we tried a version of black bean chili that was served with polenta (sort of like serving it over rice). I thought that was a cool twist, and really enjoyed the flavor.

I've also been known to add corn to it if I'm going for a "sweet heat" version. Fresh corn works great, or if you want more sweetness, use an undrained can.

I might have tried celery once or twice, but it didn't leave enough impression on me to recall the details.