Music selection: Alabama- Song of the South, Tennessee River, High Cotton
The first thing I do when I make Cincinnati Chili is put on my warm and comfy sweatpants and turn up some country music. My grandparents currently live in Tennessee but I think of Ohio when I cook this recipe. I moved to Ohio in the mid nineties and I was only 30 minutes away from my grandparents when they lived there. My dad was born in Cincinnati and my husband was born in Cleveland so Ohio is a state I hold dear to my heart. We used to visit restaurants like Skyline Chili and White Castle when we lived there, my mom used to get cravings for White Castle around midnight and when I first learned to drive I can remember driving my parents through the drive-thru late at night for some onion chips and sliders. The smell of the chili simmering for hours smells up the entire house and it has a welcoming scent just like grandma’s house.
Cincinnati Chili
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef/turkey
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon red (cayenne) pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa or 1/2 ounce grated unsweetened chocolate
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (8 oz can) diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 (16-ounce) package uncooked dried spaghetti pasta
- Toppings (see below)
Combine the following ingredients in a crock pot and simmer over medium-high heat: ground beef, garlic, and chili powder until ground beef is slightly cooked. Add allspice, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, unsweetened cocoa or chocolate, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and apple cider vinegar. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, at least 3 hours. The longer the better!
Cook spaghetti according to package directions and transfer onto individual serving plates (small oval plates are traditional).
Ladle chili over spaghetti and serve with toppings of your choice. Oyster crackers are served in a separate container on the side.
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| Mandy's Chili! |
Toppings:
Oyster Crackers
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Chopped Onion
Kidney Beans (16-ounce) can
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Cincinnati chili lovers order their chili by number. Two, Three, Four, or Five Way. Let your guest create their own final product.
Two-Way Chili: Chili served on spaghetti
Three-Way Chili: Additionally topped with shredded Cheddar cheese
Four-Way Chili: Additionally topped with chopped onions
Five-Way Chili: Additionally topped with kidney beans
A History Lesson
Chili Powder
In 1890, DeWitt Clinton Pendery developed the first known mixture of chili powder in Cincinnati, Ohio. Called "Chiltomaline," he mixed chiles, cumin and oregano. Later, he traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, introducing the mixture to towns along the way.
In 1890, DeWitt Clinton Pendery developed the first known mixture of chili powder in Cincinnati, Ohio. Called "Chiltomaline," he mixed chiles, cumin and oregano. Later, he traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, introducing the mixture to towns along the way.
Surveyor John Filson gave the area, originally settled by John Symmes, the name "Losantiville." In 1790, General Arthur St. Claire, the first governor of the Northwest Territory, renamed the settlement 'Cincinnati' in honor of an organization of Revolutionary Soldiers called The Society of the Cincinnati, of which he was a member. The Society took its name from Quinctius Cincinnatus, an ancient Roman military leader.
Food for thought
Cincinnati is the Chili Capital of the United States and, likely, the world. The city has more Chili parlors per capita and square mileage than any known city on the continent. But, the Chili produced, sold, and consumed in the Cincinnati area is not truly "Chili"as we know it. Cincinnati Chili is unique and quite different from its western cousin. In fact, about the only relation it has are the meat, cumin and chili powder it contains. After that, the recipe takes an interesting twist.
Cincinnati is the Chili Capital of the United States and, likely, the world. The city has more Chili parlors per capita and square mileage than any known city on the continent. But, the Chili produced, sold, and consumed in the Cincinnati area is not truly "Chili"as we know it. Cincinnati Chili is unique and quite different from its western cousin. In fact, about the only relation it has are the meat, cumin and chili powder it contains. After that, the recipe takes an interesting twist.
How it all came to be
In 1922, a Macedonian immigrant named Tom Athanas Kiradjieff settled in Cincinnati with his brother, John. He opened a hot dog stand, which he named 'Empress' and sold hot dogs and Greek food. His business did poorly because, at that time, the large majority of the inhabitants were of German heritage, and nobody in the area knew anything about Greek food, and weren't thrilled by it. Tom was not to be defeated; he took a Greek stew, maintained the Mediterranean spices of Cinnamon and Cloves, changed the meat to ground beef, and added other spices, such as chili powder, to the mix and began to sell this stew over spaghetti and called it 'Chili.' It proved to be a successful experiment. He also came up with the idea of selling his Chili in 'ways', which is also unique to the area.
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| The "Cheese Coney" |
Around the same time, the Coney Dog was also developed by Kiradejieff. On his way to Cincinnati, he stopped by Coney Island in New York and attempted to duplicate the hot dog popularity he saw there. Adding mustard, chili and cheese, the Coney Dog is highly
popular.
Love,
popular.
Love,
Mandy
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