Sibling Rivalries: Chili Edition

[brave_heart_verity]

Flyers have been going up around the Forum and Commercial District for the last week or so. This morning,the lights in the VSW Meadhall came on. By noon, anyone getting close enough to an open door would know: chili's on!

Inside, everything's set up and waiting for the hungry and the curious: Clint's cooking in one corner, and Verity's in the other. Between them, tables are laid out with the necessities: bowls, plates, spoons, and plenty of napkins. There's beer and iced tea, some lovely tres leches cakes provided by the Nexus' favorite Japanese detective, and various toppings for the chili: bottles of sriracha and sweet Thai chili sauce, red pepper flakes, green onions and red, lime wedges, diced bell peppers and jalapeños, crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. Cornbread and tortilla chips round things out.

Long tables with a mix of benches and chairs fill the hall on either side of the fire pits. One has board and card games stacked neatly at one end (they were neat when they were put out, at least). Another has two boxes, one wrapped in purple paper and one in pink, for depositing voting slips.

Poll #17301 1st Annual Chili Cook-Off

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

View Respondents

Who gets your vote?

View Answers

Clint--Avengers Assemble!
3 (42.9%)

Truthfully? Verity.
4 (57.1%)

The fire pits are lit, the food is waiting, and there are games in want of players. What are you waiting for?
((There will doubtless be further Cupid-based shenanigans, but this weekend, it's all about the platonic relationships. Bromances, BFFs, and family ties rule the day! Let's celebrate! Threadhopping, tangents, games, and mischief are all encouraged. Just don't start a food fight or Verity will have to yell.))

Comments

Clint Barton's "Avengers Assemble" Chili

[aw_hawkguy]

Clad in a purple tee shirt, heavy apron, and welding mask, Clint Barton toils over a tall pot, stirring its contents and checking them regularly. "Come an' get it, kids!" he calls. "The chili that amazed Asgard! The chili that beat an evil robot! The chili that saved the world! Come and get it!"

The chili in question is rich and thick, a mixture of red kidney beans, black beans, stewed crushed tomatoes, and just a few lentils that's had the excess water slow-cooked out of it to the point that spoons stand up straight and every muscle on Hawkeye's not-inconsiderable arms stands out when he goes to stir. A veritable menagerie of ground meats add to that robust body, including beef, venison, bison, and alligator. As well as mouth-watering, it's also eye-watering--carmelized onions and garlic are only the beginning of the spicy flavor profile, which rolls up tabasco and diced jalepeno on its way to incur the curses of spice merchants with a blend of turmeric, cumin, worcestershire sauce, chili powder, and a note of molasses and liquid smoke to finish.

Those with gentler mouths are advised to take theirs ladled over a bowl of crumbled-up cornbread, topped with shredded cheese, a generous dollop of sour cream, and a few fresh minced chives. Those desirous of a hotter experience are welcome to some of this year's new experiment, his "Infinity Gauntlet" salsa: scotch bonnets, red savina habaneros, komodo dragon chili peppers, bhut jolokia, Trinidad moruga scorpions, and Carolina reapers, blended cold with chopped tomatoes to preserve enough heat to make Volstagg blanch.

[brave_heart_verity]

"I didn't know we were supposed to come up with fancy names..." Okay, so now she's feeling a bit whiny. Deal with it. "Do you always name your food?"

[aw_hawkguy]

"Well, I've been making this chili for team get-togethers for years," Clint explains. "Gotta distinguish my recipe from Tony's, or Cap's. And don't tell anyone, but Nat makes a mean white borsht. Like you could break out of a gulag with it. Besides, it's all just fun."

Did someone say Assemble?

[juststeverogers]

Steve's glad for the sizable amount of coat racks so he can unbundle from the cold outside once he's inside the hall. The last thing he wants to do is waddle around in his huge coat and mittens all afternoon while he's trying to mingle.

He's got on another of his Avengers teeshirts that he's been slowly collecting tucked into a pair of jeans with only a scant few charcoal smudges on it. Must have been cleaning today instead of arting. Verity had been the one to invite him formally to this shindig, but Clint's hollering draws him over there first.

"Gotta admit, that smells pretty good."

Damn right, someone said Assemble!

[aw_hawkguy]

"Steve!" Clint grins, putting up the welding mask (it's for show, really--damn thing wouldn't stop chili fumes, anyway). "How are ya, buddy? 'Cause you're lookin' good."

RE: Assemble

[red_room]

"Wow, this is a surprise." As usual, Natasha shows up almost entirely out of nowhere when she does decide to arrive. She's out of uniform, but that rarely tells if she's fresh off assignment or not.

"It's not the fourth of July, and it's sure as hell not the last day of school we're celebrating...what's the occasion?"

And, more importantly, does this Clint make a better chili than hers? Because she needs to know this. For science.

[aw_hawkguy]

"Nat!" Clint grins, and ladles up a bowl of chili for her. He's guessing she takes it without any cornbread to soften the blow. "This's Palentine's day--Verity's idea. The platonic love holiday. Turns out, making up holidays is fun!" God, look at that grin.

"How've you been? Classified, right?"

[bestdadinamestris]

"Chili that saved the world? How could a man resist?" Hughes approaches Clint with a bit of a chuckle and a smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Clint. How have you been?" He gestures to the chili in a silent request for a bowl. He'll definitely need to add some cheese and sour cream to his, but not too much. If it's spicy, he wants to enjoy it that way.

[aw_hawkguy]

"Oh, yeah. Skrull pretending to be Thor had a bowl. Heh, heh, he was tho thor, he couldn't thpeak! True story." He ladles up a bowl for Hughes. "I've been alright. Crime goes down a little in the early part of the year. How 'bout you?"

Of course Bugs is going to try the salsa

[shoulda_toined]

(And now he's literally spewing fire uncontrollably. Bugs running on the Rule of Funny, however, this is just Cartoon Fire that does no harm to anyone other than Bugs himself.)

Re: Of course Bugs is going to try the salsa

[aw_hawkguy]

Clint gives a lopsided smirk, watching Bugs' antics for a moment before twisting the cap off a beer and offering it to the poor, beleaguered rabbit. "Think it's hot enough?"

[smartass_captain]

"Nice getup." Jim quips as he makes his way over. He'd been at Verity's table for a bit, but hadn't had anything to eat just yet. Seems like he's more interested in greeting his siblings and wishing them best of luck before he gets down to fooding.

He's also carrying a small casserole dish under one arm that definitely isn't empty.

"Good response so far?"

[aw_hawkguy]

Clint spreads his arms, grinning. "Hey, presentation counts. How you doin'?"

The casserole dish gets a curious look, but he'll let Jim explain it in his own good time.

"Pretty good, yeah. Set a rabbit on fire, but other than that, yeah."

[fightlikehell]

The smell of that many meats together alone has his nose in a tizzy now combined with a sensation that is burning slightly in his sinus. Matt is up to the task to try both to be a good sport.

"I'm going to just have a fraction of a portion." And yes, Matt's sporting the glasses, the cane, the whole she-bang. At least he's looking relaxed while out and about.

[juststeverogers]

"Don't be modest, Matt." Comes a familiar voice of the tiniest Steve Rogers. It really is a shame Matt can't see, because Steve's collection of Avengers teeshirts is only getting bigger. "If I can manage a bowl apiece I know you can. You eat like a horse."

Correction. Matt eats like a vigilante crime fighter. Something Clint is sure to know, even if Steve is completely unaware.

"Oh! Matt, do you know Clint Barton? He's a friend of mine. Sort of. Well--not sort of. We are friends but he's also mostly friends with the other guy." The other Steve, he means. Alternate universes are confusing sometimes.

[hellburger]

Once Miller has polished off his sample of Verity's chili, he wanders his way over to Clint, a fresh beer in hand.

"Hey! Clint, right? From the Star Wars thing?" He flashes a smile and eyes the contents of the pot. "Sounds like your chili's got quite the resume."

[aw_hawkguy]

"That's me. Miller, right?" He points to the beer, adding, "it's Miller time."

Ladling up a bowl, he grins, slipping into his pitch. "Hell of a resume? Hell yeah! I made Thor sweat with this stuff. Actual god, I gave him a bowl and hid all the beer."

Mine is an evil laugh.

[sumarusfinest]

Once Katsuya's got his dessert station set up and coffee ready for anyone needing a break from all of this spicy food time, he'll make his way over to the chili tables to do his part in the voting process.

Also, who wouldn't get hungry smelling all of this?

"Barton." He gives the Avenger a polite nod in way of greeting. "Should I be concerned, given the welding mask?"

[aw_hawkguy]

"Hey!" Clint greets Katsuya with a grin. "I dunno, how hot do you like it?"

[onemorebounty]

Do I dare ask the caliber of robots where you're from?

*Samus' tone is wry, but amused.*

I'll try a bowl.

[aw_hawkguy]

"You kidding? They're world-class terrors. Or bona fide heroes. Not much in-between." With that ever-present cocksure grin, he ladles up a bowl for the bounty hunter. "You want some salsa with that?"

[brother_alone]

"Cooking competition, huh.." Well, that's a new one. Joshua Washington is still a relatively new face to the Nexus and one that has tried desperately to stay under the radar.

A free meal sounds pretty great to a homeless guy in the middle of winter though.

"Anyone welcome so long as they vote?" He's pointing to the flyer in his hand.

[aw_hawkguy]

Clint's been hungry a time or two in his life. He ladles up a heaping bowl, holding it out in judgment-free offer. "Kid, the vote's a bonus. Eat up, and I hope ya like it hot."

[ixis]

An ugly mage with a horn and claw is now here, slamming a bowl onto Clint's table and declaring way too loudly, "I WILL PROVE IT IS NOT TOO HOT FOR AN IXIS MAGE! YOUR SOUP DOES NOT INTIMIDATE ME!"

Whoa, dial it back like...thirty notches, weirdo.

[aw_hawkguy]

It's almost a good thing Clint's partially deaf. He does wince at the feedback his hearing aids give him, though. "Wh-whoa, okay," he responds, making a placating gesture. "Are you gonna want some'a the Infinity Gauntlet salsa in that? I had some myself, and it's, like, crazy hot."

Either way, he'll start ladling out the chili.