CHILI
Chili was the first dish I learned how to make back when I lived in Boston. I started learning by buying chili mixes and seeing what they included. Then I slowly started substituting my own spices for theirs. Ultimately, I make a variety of chilis, but this version below has kind of become my standard that I build from, a liquidy-sort of chili that's just bursting with complex flavors. Thanks to my friend Paul Bavier's mother, who first introduced me to the idea of maple syrup in chili:
Ingredients
FOR COOKING THE BEEF:
2-3 pounds of beef roast (any whole stew beef works), seasoned with salt and pepper
1-2 cubes of vegetable/chicken/beef boullion, dissolved in 1 C water
1 large onion, loosely chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced

FOR THE CHILI:
olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4-8 cloves garlic, minced
several assorted red/yellow peppers, diced (can be roasted and diced as well)
3-4 Pasilla or Poblano peppers (roast and remove the skins)
3-4 jalapeno peppers, minced
4-6 tomatoes, loosely chopped (can be blanched to remove skins if desired)
a large handful (or two) of sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
healthy amount of chili powder (maybe 2 tablespoons?)
healthy amount of cumin (maybe 1-1.5 tablespoons?)
healthy amount of paprika (2 or more tablespoons)
1-2 C of vegetable stock or broth
1-4 tablespoons of maple syrup
1-3 cans of black beans (you can use dried if you have the time)
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
Place the beef in a crock pot, along with the loosely chopped onion and the 4-5 cloves of minced garlic. Add to it the boullion water along with enough water to cover the rest of the meat. Cook this on Low heat for 8-10 hours. If you don't have a crock pot, you can cook on the stove top at the slowest simmer possible until the meat can be torn apart easily with a fork, probably several hours.

Once the beef has finished cooking, remove it from the crock pot and let it cool while leaving the liquid in the pot. Now you can start on the rest of the chili. First, roast the Poblanos (and the reds/yellos if you like). Rub the outsides of the peppers in olive oil and poke a couple of holes in the skins with a fork. Place them under a broiler until the skins have charred, and then throw the peppers into a brown paper bag for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, peel the skins off of the peppers and remove the seeds, but don't run the peppers under water as this takes away the flavor. Chop these peppers into bite-size strips.

Heat a healthy amount of olive oil in a large stock pot or cast-iron pot on medium heat. When it's hot, add the onions and cook for 10 or so minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Meanwhile, chop the garlic and then add it, continuing to stir occasionally. While that's cooking (another 10 minutes or so), chop up the red/yellow peppers (if they weren't roasted) and the jalapenos, and then add them. Stir this all together and let it cook down, as the onions become slightly sweet and carmelized.

As the peppers, onions, and garlic are cooking, chop the tomatoes and add them. Let all of this cook for a little while until the tomatoes have started to break down and the mixture has become more liquid. Add the dry spices, the sun-dried tomatoes, the roasted peppers, the vegetable stock, and 1-2 Cups of the beef liquid, stirring everything together. It should be slightly liquidy, but thick and chunky. Allow this to cook for 5-10 minutes and then taste the liquid. If you feel it needs more of any of the dry spices, add more. You can also add more of the beef liquid if you like that flavor. Add the maple syrup and taste again. Be careful not to add too much syrup or the dish will become too sweet and will be hard to salvage. At this point, turn the heat down to a simmer if it wasn't there already.

By now the beef should be cool enough to touch. Rip it apart with your hands into bite-sized chunks or strips. Use a knife as necessary to chop it, but rely more on your hands if possible. Once it's all been whittled down, add it to the pot along with the beans and stir. Let this simmer for 15 minutes.

FOR HOTTER CHILI:
This chili recipe produces chili with a mild/medium level of heat. For spicier chili, start by adding more jalapenos or using other hot peppers like serranos.

You can also create a habanero water that increases the heat level quickly and can be adjusted to taste for individual servings. Submerge dried habaneros in hot water to soften them, and then put them in a blender with some of their soaking liquid. Be careful not to touch them or to put your nose over the blender when you stop the blending process. This liquid will be very hot and can be added to individual servings for the ultimate in heat control!

GENERAL THOUGHTS:
In my experience, the most important parts of this recipe are:
1) using real tomatoes instead of paste or canned, though tomato paste can be used as a thickener if you like. I prefer a slightly more liquidy chili.
2) cooking a whole beef roast in the crock pot instead of using ground beef or pieces of stew meat
3) using a good vegetable stock and the beef liquid for the juice of the dish
4) using real maple syrup
The flavor of the chilis is also essential, but good chili powder can go a long way. No good chili is going to make up for water instead of stock or canned tomatoes or tough meat. And I just love the maple syrup, though not everyone does!