Cincinnati Chili

The weather has turned cold and windy.  When it is cold the kind of food I want is comfort type foods, something that fills you up and satisfies your appetite.  So this evening my choice for dinner was chili over spaghetti.  Having chili this way (over pasta) became famous in the Cincinnati Ohio area in 1922 by immigrant restaurateurs from Macedonia.  If you have never tried it I highly recommend it.  Serving this chili over a pasta serves several parts of the comfort food.

Here is the recipe:
1 pound of grass fed ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt (if you are using store bought broth you may want to wait to taste and then add salt)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 (28 ounce) can peeled tomatoes with added puree or 2 14 ounce cans of chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 ounce (1/2 square) unsweetened chocolate, grated
12 ounces spaghetti (wheat, or whatever type of pasta)
16 ounces of kidney beans (you can use a can of beans but I soaked kidney beans and cooked them to use in this recipe), warm kidney beans in a separate pan
Cheddar Cheese, grated

In a large dutch oven, cook beef, onion, and garlic, stirring often to break up lumps of meat, until beef looses its pink color, about 5 minutes.  Add chili powder, salt, cinnamon, cumin, basil, oregano, allspice, and pepper.  Cook, stirring, 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, beef broth, vinegar, and chocolate; break up tomatoes with a large spoon.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until thickened, about 1 hour, adding more beef broth or water if chili get too thick. I have found that if you cover the pot with a lid for the first half of cooking you won't have to add more broth.  Remove the lid and continue to cook until thickened.  Cook pasta until the desired done-ness and drain.  Add pasta to a bowl and add a little bit of butter to help the pasta from sticking together.  Serve spaghetti on plates and top with kidney beans, chili and top with cheddar cheese.