V Day = Chili Day

John and my Valentine's tradition is to spend the day cooking chili, play games, and just hang out together around the house.  This takes all day, so it is rare that we get to celebrate on the actual holiday, but this year we made chili on Valentine's day.  Every year, John says I think this is going to be the best chili and I dutifully agree, but this year, I know that it was the best chili I have ever tasted.  I think this is due to John's special chili preparation technique that he implemented for the first time.  He roasted the chiles, soaked them in water, and then scraped the innards from the skin to use just the soft insides of the chiles to prevent any bitterness from entering the pot  (this is serious business folks!).  In years past, I have been the sous-chef, but luckily John has dropped my role from the chili preparation, so I could just eat cheese and drink champagne (see post below).  Once the chiles were extracted from the skin he grinded them with fresh bell peppers and roasted garlic in the blender.  At the same time, he individually cooked the tri-tip with masa harina so the meat was browned before the chiles and wine was added.  This mixture cooked for three hours and was then served with aged cheddar, avocado, and scallions.  V Day Chili 2009 was the best I have ever had!