Vermont Maple Spiked Chili

Ingredients
1 pound dried cranberry beans or kidney beans (for speed, substitute 4 cups drained canned kidney beans)
1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 pounds ground chuck
1 ½ tsp. black pepper (or 1 Tbs. Maple pepper)
1 ½ tsp. Salt
3 Tbs.chili powder
1 tsp. ground allspice
15 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
12 slices sharp Cheddar cheese (2 inches by 2 inches by 1/4 inch thick)

Directions
Soak the beans in water overnight; discard any bad beans and stones. Rinse the beans and place in a large pot with fresh water. Cook 1 hour, until tender. Drain and reserve 4 cups of beans.
In a Dutch oven, saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add meat, stirring to keep it loose and crumbly, and cook until browned. Drain and discard fat. Add pepper or maple pepper, salt, chilli powder, allspice, tomato sauce, maple syrup and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer and cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Add the reserved beans and cook 15 minutes more.
Use a cookie cutter to cut stars. from the cheese slices, or cut stars freehand with a small knife. To serve, spoon the chili into bowls and top each serving with two or three stars. Makes 10 cups; serves 6 as main course.