It's Chili Time! Day One.

Yesterday, I started out bright and early to concoct some type of chili to enter in a contest next Saturday. And as usual, I'm winging it. This is going to be a hybrid chili: a bit unorthodox and just not your conventional chili. But then when has anything I've done been conventional?

I started out with 1/2 cup each of Great Northern Beans, Kidney Beans, and Black Beans.

I rinsed the beans off, put them in a pot of salted water, brought the water to a boil, covered the pan, turned the heat off, and just let the beans steep. Then I was off to Harris Teeter to get ingredients for my chili.

When I came back to my truck, this car was parked right next to me. And I just have to say, This? Frosts.My.Butt. Damnit, a handicapped person has parked in one of MY parking spaces. I don't park in theirs. Ever. And now, this person has the gall ... the audacity ... to park in MINE? Unbelievable. HRRRRMPH!

File this under "Jobs I'd Hate To Have." Poor schmuck is dressed up like a soda. Also included in this file folder would be this job:

Honestly now, if you needed somebody to do your taxes, would Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty waving to vehicles on Highway 168 be like Odysseus' Sirens and lure you right in? I didn't think so.

I'd bought 6 dried ancho chilies and poured boiling water over top and let sit for at least 30 minutes while I prepped the rest of the ingredients.

On the left, I have 3.5 ounces of venison sausage Mr. Hawthorne and I made. In the middle is 12 ounces of deer rump roast and on the right is 6 ounces of bacon. If you make this, forget the ounces and just use whatever you have. A Sandyism there if there ever was one. Once again, use some discretion, restraint, and common sense.

First, I cut up the bacon. And that's some crappy bacon. Looks like all fat.

I cooked up the bacon, then added the venison sausage to the pan.

1.2 pounds of 80% lean ground beef went in.

I browned the hamburger meat, then added it all to my crock pot with the liquid.

While all that was going on, I diced the 12 ounces of deer rump roast.

In addition, I had 1.37 pounds of stew beef.

I sliced the stew beef into smaller pieces and pepper and sugared them and the deer dices. I wait until after I cooked them to salt them. I know salting vegetables before sauteeing brings out the moisture and makes the veggies steam instead of sauteeing and I wanted to be sure the meats caramelized nicely.

I heated a large pan, added butter and olive oil, then added the beef, one piece at a time.

Do not crowd your pan. You want the meat to sear, not steam, and too much at one time lowers the temperature and you get a gloppy mess. Resist the temptation to push the meat around. Don't touch it for at least 30 seconds. This is what Mr. Hawthorne has a problem with. He always wants to come in and poke the meat. After 30 seconds, you can turn the meat over.

The drained beef pieces got added to the crock pot.

Put the other half of the beef in, one at a time, being sure they don't touch.

And the rest of the beef is ready to go into the crock pot.

Next, I added the deer dices in, one at a time, searing.

When the deer was nicely browned, I de-glazed the pan with a Cabernet Sauvignon.

My semi mise en place, from front left, clockwise: whole cumin seeds oregano ground cumin ground coriander chili powder hot Mexican chili powder 28 oz. Muir Glen chopped tomatoes 4 1/2 oz. chopped green chilies 12 0z Corona 1 cup V8 juice 15 oz tomato sauce (I didn't need the second can of tomato sauce.)

From top left, clockwise, yellow bell pepper with poblano, 1 1/2 green bell peppers, celery stalk, onion serrano peppers, Anaheim pepper, 6 garlic cloves.

I chopped the onions, the celery, and finely minced the garlic. Tip: Rinse your knife in warm water when mincing garlic. It helps to keep the garlic from sticking to the knife. Also, the more you work your garlic, the stronger the flavor will be.

My peppers are ready for the crock pot.

About an hour of soaking the Ancho peppers, they were ready to puree.

The Ancho peppers went into my Magic Bullet along with some of the steeping liquid.

Ancho chili puree gets added to the meat. Looks nasty, I know. But it adds great flavor. (Sandyism)

Peppers go into the pot.

Onion, celery, and garlic go in.

One 28-ounce can of Muir Glen chopped tomatoes.

One 4 1/2 ounce can of chopped green chilies.

One 15 ounce can of tomato sauce.

And the Corona.

One cup of V8.

My spice mixture: 1 tsp whole cumin 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp coriander 1 tsp salt 2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Spices go into the pot.

Now, the beans. I had brought the beans to a boil, then turned off heat, covered, and set aside until cooled. Then I rinsed them, put them in a pot of salted water again, brought to a second boil, covered, took off heat, and cooled. And they're ready.

Here's my crock of goodness. At 1:46, I covered my crock pot and turned it on high.

And here's my secret ingredient. (OK, I really didn't use pumpkin pie spice, but if I were a Fandra, this would certainly go in.) At 5pm, I turned it to low and added 1 TB salt.

Now, I'm making CHILI, right? So where's the chili powder? I called up Mr. Hawthorne at work and asked him, "You know all those chili cookoffs you've watched on the Food Network? Didn't they hold something back until the very end?" Mr. H.: "Yeah, it was the chili powder." Me: "Wha ??!!?? Well, what the hell do they know?" Mr. H.: "Apparently $10,000 more than you."

And I think I actually read something about adding pepper and chili powder at the same time and it actually makes it much hotter. Soooo, at 6pm, I added 1 TB each of chili powder and hot Mexican chili powder and turned it back on high. At 7pm, I tasted and added another TB each of the chili powders and turned the crock pot off at 7:30. I let it cool, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated until this morning ...

... when I got the chili out and was getting ready to freeze it. At this point, Mr Hawthorne stumbled into the kitchen and asked me what I was doing. "I'm getting ready to freeze all this chili." Mr. H.: "Well, you CAN'T freeze it in THAT container!" Me: "OMG! What WAS I thinking? I don't know WHAT I'd do without your help." Idiot.

It made 4 1/2 quarts. I went to my crock pot cookoff entry instructions and found out I needed 6 quarts for the contest. So, I'll be making more chili Sunday. 4 quarts went into the freezer and I put the 1/2 quart in the fridge to taste test for lunch today.

Here's my venison chili, with toppings, and my seasoned tortilla triangles with corn salsa.

The chili has chopped cilantro, sliced green onions, grated cheddar cheese, and a tart creme fraiche with lime juice and zest, minced jalapeno, and cilantro.

My seasoned tortilla chips with my corn salsa.

Oh my goodness.

So many layers of interacting flavors. And they all work together and complement each other. This is GOOD! Dare I say DELICIOUS?

Now, I need some help. I need to turn in my entry tomorrow and I need a name for my chili. And remember I have yet another post coming up with the second batch of chili I did today, which is totally different from the first. I will be combining the two chilis in a chili fusion, if you will. Hmmm.... Should I name it Fusion Chili? Any suggestions would be appreciated.