Cincinnati-style Chili, Five Way

[ts]
We caught an episode of Cook's Country on TV one day, the theme being "Midwestern Favorites." Frankly, I had no idea what Midwestern Favorites could be, so I was very curious.

Bridget and "Bow-Tie" (their nickname for Christopher Kimball) first made Chicago-style Ribs. That was very intriguing as I didn't know such an entity existed! Afterwards, Julia and Bow-Tie made Cincinnati-style Chili. I remembered that I do know about Cincinnati-style Chili, seeing some show or another featuring the dish on the Food Network years ago.



[ts]
It looked so good! We saved the show on our PVR and then, finally, a couple of weeks later, we had the opportunity to make it.

I took notes while watching the episode, but I noticed that they would leave out the measurement of a few ingredients. Very crafty indeed. In any case, it was easy enough to guess.

I made the sauce: no browning or boiling of the ground beef beforehand, and the only flavorings were oregano, cinnamon and allspice. It was quick, needing only about 15 minutes of simmering.

And that was it! Very easy.



[ts]
I have transcribed the recipe below, as it's not available from Cook's Country.

To make this a "five-way", we ate our chili with spaghetti, kidney beans, diced raw onions and cheddar cheese. And, I think it does have to be assembled in that specific order!


Start with spaghetti and top with the chili...


...then add the beans, diced onions (raw)...


...followed by grated cheddar cheese. We used strong cheddar.

Here's a massive serving.


[ts]
It. Was. Good.

Imagine spaghetti with "sauce" -- already good by itself -- with heartiness added by the kidney beans, a fresh crisp flavor from the onions, then the strong cheddar to add some saltiness.

Now, we -- especially our brother, who insists that serving this over spaghetti is "weird" -- are looking forward to topping hotdogs with this chili!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_chili

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Recipe
Cincinnati-style Chili
as seen on Cook's Country;
written recipe as transcribed by TS of [eatingclub] vancouver

2 onions, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups tomato sauce
2 cups chicken tock
brown sugar (a touch, 1-2 tablespoons)
cider vinegar (a touch, 1-2 tablespoons)

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

accompaniments:
cooked spaghetti
kidney beans
diced onions
grated cheddar cheese

Heat some oil in a pot. Sauté diced onions until softened and a little brown around the edges. Then, add the garlic, tomato paste, chili powder, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper. Cook for about a minute.

Add the tomato sauce, chicken stock, brown sugar and cider vinegar. When the sauce starts to bubble, add the ground beef. Break up the beef into small pieces with a potato masher.

When the sauce resumes bubbling/boiling, turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the beef is cooked.

Serve on top of spaghetti, and then, in this order, top with kidney beans, diced onions, and cheese. Enjoy!