Cincinnati Chili

I got this recipe from a friend of mine. She and I do mega-cooking together. Her family loved this recipe but it is a lot of work to make so she wanted to do it once and get four or five meals out of it. We had never tried it but I agreed to add it to our list - she could do x4 the recipe and I would do x2 (and if my family hated it, I'd give the extra to her for her family).

When I first served this to my family, they said, "This isn't chili." And they are right, it isn't exactly like what you think of when you say "chili." But it is still really good, and now I make x4 the recipe, too.

One note about this recipe: If you aren't a hard core baker/cook, you might not have all these spices in your cupboard. Don't stress. As long as you have most of them, it will still be good. It is better, and more complexly flavored, if you have all of them, but if you don't have cardamom in your cupboard, make the recipe anyway.


Cincinnati Chili
(the amounts given here are for one batch - do the math if you want to make more)

In a pan, brown:

1 lb ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped

When it is just about done, add:

2 cloves minced garlic (don't let the garlic burn)

Add to the pan:

1 cup thick barbeque sauce
1/2 c. water
1 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp pepper
1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate, grated (I've used cocoa powder before with good results)
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all these together and add:

tomato juice, enough that it you create a mixture that ladles easy, you know, it's "pourable." Don't worry about getting it exact, just add enough but not too much.

Stir and simmer for awhile to allow the flavors to blend. Then cool and spoon into ziploc bags and freeze.

To serve:

Reheat the meat mixture, boil some spaghetti noodles, grate some cheddar cheese, and open a can of kidney beans. You can also serve it with chopped onions and oyster crackers. To serve "Cincinnati Five-Way Chili" you serve it with all five: noodles, cheese, beans, crackers and onions. We don't like the chopped onions and I almost always forget the crackers. It is better with the crackers, I think, but I just always forget.

Everyone puts a pile of noodles on their plate, tops it with some meat mixture and then adds the toppings of their choice.

Yum!

Jill