Cincinnati Chili
Yesterday, Ben and I put in both leaves of our walnut-stained-with-black-painted-and-distressed-legs wooden dining room table (the first big furniture purchase for our house that I absolutely love) so that it would seat 10. We only have six matching chairs, so I also used the four chairs from the cheap light-oak-and-white kitchen table set that I received gratis from a moving coworker last year.
We invited over two couples, plus their combined total of six kids, plus one couple’s out-of-town guest, for a dinner of Cincinnati Chili last night. I never made it myself until I moved away from Cincinnati and couldn’t find any Skyline or Gold Star Chili resaturants within spitting distance, like I had become accustomed to. Brianna’s going away gift of some canned Skyline chili didn’t last long into our move to Utah. So I found several recipes online and have experimented a little with their various ingredients over the past two years, and I have settled on a recipe as the one that I have personalized and will keep in my collection.
I made a double batch of it last night for our 11 guests (we squeezed in one extra 9-year-old at the table and set up two 6-year-olds at a folding TV-tray table in the kitchen) and it went over very well. They were all very shy about the cheese, even with me telling them to pile it on. The oyster crackers (Premium brand was the only kind I could find at the store… in Cincy there were always many brands from which to choose) were the biggest hit with the kids. It was a challenge to serve everyone at once, and I ended up having to make a second pot of spaghetti.
The most exciting thing about serving that many people was to finally be able to use the looooong black tablecloth I had purchased for the looooong table, which I dressed up with a sparkly red table runner from Target and a quickly-made centerpiece (a tall, thin glass vase–that originally held flavored olive oil–filled with red glass pebbles and a fake poinsettia flower). It looked awesome, and I was so happy that I had chosen a black tablecloth because there weren’t any stains after I washed it today! Overall, I enjoy playing hostess… I guess those 4 years working at a hotel weren’t totally without long-term benefit.
Anyway, here’s the recipe!
Cincinnati Chili
(serves about
Chili Ingredients:
1 tbsp. canola oil
½ cup chopped onion
2 lbs. ground beef
½ cup chili powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
½ oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
2 cans (10.5 oz each) beef broth (low sodium preferred)
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
2 tbsp. cider vinegar (or white vinegar)Other Ingredients for Serving:
Spaghetti
Kidney beans
Diced onion
Lots of finely shredded cheddar cheese
Frank’s RedHot (or other liquid fire sauce)
Oyster crackersHeat oil in large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently until tender, about 6 minutes.
Add half a can of beef broth. When that starts simmering, add the beef in batches, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned. Add the rest of the beef broth slowly, as the meat is cooking, to keep it very moist. Continue breaking up the meat in the simmering broth until it is all browned.
Add chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, cayenne pepper, bay leaf, chocolate, tomato sauce and vinegar. Stir to mix well. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.
Serve immediately or refrigerate overnight and then gently reheat over medium heat. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
Serve in a wide bowl over hot, drained spaghetti. Top with warm, drained kidney beans and/or diced onions (both are optional), then pile on the cheddar cheese. Splash on some RedHot if desired. Serve a small bowl of oyster crackers on the side, which are great when soaked in the juices at the bottom of a near-empty bowl.
Makes great leftovers (if you’re lucky enough to have any).
