In an effort to eat healthier, I bought a package of ground chicken at the store. I compared it against the hamburger I usually buy that is 93% lean and found the chicken to be 99% lean, so I thought that I would give it a shot. Of course as I turned around to put it in the cart, Mitch looked at me in horror and asked what I planned to do with “that” as he put it. I said that I thought I would make a pot of chili with it, just like I make it with beef only use chicken. I wanted to see how it would taste. By the look on his face, you would have thought I was buying leaches to bleed him with. So I decided to invite our friends over to try it out with us. I figured if it turned out really nasty, then I would order pizzas. I made the chili just like I make hamburger chili, tomatoes, tomato sauce, onions, peppers and lots of chili powder. It turned out pretty good, so good that it was all gone by the end of dinner. Mitch isn’t a convert yet, but I’m working on it.

To go along with the chicken chili experiment, our friends brought over a bottle of McManis Family Vineyards Syrah, 2011. The McManis Vineyards are a California vineyard that makes a variety of different wines. You can find them at http://www.mcmanisfamilyvineyards.com. The Syrah had a smoky aroma with dark fruit taste. It was spicy and tart. The wine went great with the chili, a nice accompaniment. I haven’t had too many Syrahs, mainly because when I first started drinking wine, I preferred the lighter reds, like Beaujolais, but now I’m making the effort to widen my tasting range. This was a nice Syrah and I will definitely be on the lookout for more to try.