ELECTION DAY CHILI

Election Day Chili

During the 1960's I was in high school and went with the same boy all that time.  His Mother was a fun lady and as I also worked for them too we all went "home" to their house quite often for lunch or dinner.  Their family had a wonderful tradition I have always remembered and often repeated as my own.  Every time election day rolled around Arlene got a big pot of chili on the stove and everyone settled around the TV with their bowls and crackers to watch the election returns come in through out the evening.

Shocking Tomatoes

Yesterday I got out and picked what will no doubt be close to the last basket of fresh tomatoes and a good quantity of poblano peppers, some green and some red.  So it only seems fitting to do something special with this last bounty from the garden.

Charring Pep

This morning I decided to slip the skins from the tomatoes and roast the 6 or 8 red poblanos and get started on the election day chili.  It could lazily simmer all this afternoon and tomorrow so we would have that," Oh wow, it's even better today that it was the first time we ate it chili!!!"

Here is how it came together:
1 1/2 lb. ground pork
3 lb. ground round
2 large yellow onions diced
1 whole head of garlic chopped
4-5 pounds mixed fresh tomatoes blanched, shocked, peeled .and halved
1 quart canned tomatoes
6-8 poblano peppers roasted and seeded
2 t. house seasoning
1/2 C. Chili powder
2 t. cumin
1 t. cocoa powder
1 C. catchup
2 t. sugar
2 cans of chili beans ( I use one hot and 1 mild)

Using a large heavy bottomed kettle combine the meat, onions, garlic, and house seasoning and brown it all together.  Combine in the bowl of the food processor the fresh tomatoes and *roasted poblanos and whirl until the peppers become blended into the tomatoes forming a sauce like appearance.  Add the tomato peppers mix and a quart of canned tomatoes to the meat kettle and stir together.  Add the remaining ingredients stirring well and continue to simmer over the lowest heat.

House seasoning:  1 C. kosher salt, 1/3 C. lemon pepper, 1/3 C. garlic powder, 1/4 C. black pepper.
Mix and keep in airtight container.

Roasting Peppers:  Char the peppers over a flame and place them in a heavy plastic bag and seal.
The steam will loosen the skins and you just scrape them off under running water.  I probably left them sitting 20 minutes to loosen them.