Rusty,
Here's one from Alton Brown, which is very good and one from Kevin Kruger. I haven't tried Kevin's yet.
Alton Brown’s Chili Powder (Makes about 2/3 cup medium-hot chili powder)
3 ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
3 cascabel chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
3 dried arbol chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano (preferably European type) *
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1. PLACE THE ANCHO CHILES into a medium nonstick sauté pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
COOK, moving the pan around constantly, until the chiles smell aromatic. Remove from the pan to a bowl to cool completely.
2. PLACE THE REMAINING CHILES AND the cumin into the pan over medium-high heat. Cook, moving the pan around constantly, until you begin to smell the cumin toasting, approximately 4–5 minutes. Set aside and cool completely.
3. ONCE COOL, remove the stems from the chiles and place the flesh (and seeds) and cumin into the carafe of a blender along with the garlic powder, oregano, and paprika. Process until a fine powder is formed. Allow the powder to settle for at least a minute before removing the lid of the carafe. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
And this one from Kevin Kruger (10/4/06):
K Kruger, November 04, 2006 – With the exception of complicated complex blends like raz el hanout with its two dozen ingredients (several of which needing prepping before grinding), berbere, achiote pastes and the like, I don't find the need to make blends ahead of time. However, if a chili blend is in the cards I'd suggest basing it on a chile with good depth, like guajillo, and building from there, perhaps with cascabel for its berry notes and/or ancho for its lighter tones. Granulated garlic and onion are good additions but, frankly, I'd skip the cumin common to chili powder blends. I love cumin but its addition to the pot is best made toward the end of cooking (it could be included in the blend for the last 'dump'). Also, though oregano is common it is important not to use Mexican oregano because it cannot handle long cooking; use Greek or one of the other European oreganos. Better still, to me--forgo the oregano and use marjoram and thyme instead. Top-of-the-head suggestion:
3 parts ground guajillo
1 part each ground cascabel
1 part ground ancho
1/2 part granulated onion
1/2 part granulated garlic
1/2 part thyme
1/4 part marjoram
Rita
