Mole Man

A couple weeks ago in Elder's Quorum I announced to the group that I would be making a Mole (chocolate) Chile to represent us at the Ward Chili Cook-off. I was met with skepticism and doubt, seasoned with a pinch of mockery. Nevertheless, I persevered and used the following recipe.

http://www.food.com/recipe/eds-chicago-cocoa-chili-chocolate-chili-18414

Almost all of the reviews were positive and I was ready to start my quest to ROCK THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHILI. My first photo:

THE KILLER COCOA CHILI SPICE MIX

The first step was definitely the most tedious. Many of the spices called for were not in our pantry and thus, I wound up blowing a lot of time and coin at the store to make this dish... would the results justify the costs?

COOKING WITH CHANTICO & INDUCTION

 The above shows all of the wonderful color that goes into this dish before adding the spice mix and chocolate which tends to darken the color (just a little bit :). In case you are wondering, here is some background on Chantico from Azteccalendar.com

"She Who Dwells In The House, the goddess of hearth fires, personal treasures and volcanoes. Chantico broke a fast by eating paprika with roasted fish, and then was turned into a dog by Tonacatecuhtli. Chantico is closely related to Xiuhtecuhtli. In the tonalpohualli, Chantico rules over trecena Ehecatl (wind)."

CHANTICO - MY CHILI GODDESS

 I especially like her mustache.

The final touch - 2oz of 100% Ghirardelli dark chocolate. I watched as they settled on the top of the mix and slowly devoured the stew. After the Boss intervened and doubled the brown sugar, my creation was ready for competition. I was aware that presentation would be considered, so I searched the house for something Mexican that would add a layer of artistic appeal to the dish beyond salivating, sweaty men greedy for a fattening stew.

Over the past year, I've been cleaning out the ol basement and came across a figurine that was prominently displayed in our home for many years. He was gawked at and often dismissed as "lame" or "weird" by my associates. But he hung in there against the establishment. My chili must do the same. And so he became the symbol of my passion.

I took everything to La Iglesia for final judgement and was forced to wait in a sealed chamber while the judges practiced their analytic skill on the 13 entries. I honestly expected nothing as my work was outside the norm for typical Mormondom. As I said, I only hoped to rock people's world view. To my surprise the chili actually won second place in the judges voting. In the popular vote, I got nothing. Many confided to me afterward that they shunned my chili due to the bizarre owl man and the "DARKNESS" of my offering.

So in American political terms, I had a good run in the electoral college but got slaughtered in the popular vote. But it still felt like a strong moral victory for Mole Man and the art my father preserved for years despite its unpopularity.

Hopefully Dad got to take a quick peek at his creation draped with a silver medal and a side of chips.