Cincinnati Five Way Chili

I have made this before and tonight I was trying as I was trying to figure out what to make on a cold rainy night, a thought popped into my head, what about chili?  I remembered that I had this recipe and thought I would make it again.

Cincinnati Five Way Chili
1 pound grass fed ground beef
1 medium onions, chopped
1 medium celery rib, chopped (I do not use celery in my dishes because of my allergy to it)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 - 28 ounce can peeled tomatoes with added puree
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate, grated
12 ounces spaghetti
3 tablespoons butter
1 - 16 ounce can kidney beans, drained, rinsed and heated
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
chopped raw onion and oyster crackers
In a large dutch oven, cook ground beef, 1 onion , celery, and garlic stirring often to break up lumps of meat, until beef loses its pink color, about 5 minutes.  Add chili powder, salt, cinnamon, cumin, basil, oregano, allspice, and pepper.  Cook, stirring, 1 minute.  Add tomatoes with puree, beef broth, vinegar, and chocolate; break up tomatoes with a large spoon.  Bring to a boil, reduce hear to low, and simmer until thickened, about 1 hour, adding more beef broth or water if chili gets too thick.  Meanwhile, in a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until tender but still firm, 9 to 10 minutes.  Drain well.  Toss in a large bowl with butter.  Place warm kidney beans, cheddar cheese, raw onion, and oyster crackers in separate bowls.  Serve spaghetti on plates and top with chili.  Let guests choose their own toppings.

Along with the chili we had a small salad with lettuce, tomatoes, green bell peppers, avocado slices, served with a blueberry balsamic vinegar and olive oil for the dressing.

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.

Cincinnati Chili

I wanted to make chili tonight but couldn't decide what I wanted to make.  I came across this recipe for Cincinnati Chili.  Of course I tweaked the recipe to make it my own.

1 pound ground beef (I always use grass fed beef products)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (I actually buy whole cumin and grind it myself, it has a much stronger taste.  Just use a coffee grinder to grind it to the consistency you want but DO NOT use the same grinder you use for coffee.  It is always better to have one dedicated to just spices)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 cans (14.5 ounce)can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 ounce (1/2 square) unsweetened chocolate, grated
12 ounces spaghetti, cooked (use any type of spaghetti - wheat, rice, etc)
3 tablespoons butter
1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans, heated (optional)
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated (I used sharp and extra sharp)
Chopped raw onion (optional)
Crackers (optional)

In a large dutch oven, cook ground beef, onion, and garlic, stirring often to break up lumps of meat, until beef loses 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 large spoon.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until thickened, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, adding more beef broth if chili gets too thick.

Toss cooked spaghetti into butter. 

Place spaghetti in bowls, top with chili.  Add onion, kidney beans, crackers and cheese to your liking.

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