I had a wonderful birthday this year. It was on Monday after the family reunion
festivities were officially over so we slept in a bit and then decided to go
out for Cincinnati Chili. I may have
left the Cincinnati area to live in another part of the country but I have
never left behind my love for Cincinnati Chili.
Here’s what makes chili Cincinnati Chili: You start with a spicy (not hot, just spicy) chili
spooned over spaghetti noodles and topped with shredded cheddar cheese. That’s a 3-way. Then the fun begins. You can add red kidney beans or onions. That makes a 4-way. If you add both, you get a 5-way. It is served with oyster crackers and lots of
hot sauce. I’ll put the recipe I use
when I make it at home at the end of this post in case you want to try it.
The definitive Cincinnati Chili is had at one of the many Skyline
Chili restaurants around there. But there
are other Cincinnati Chili restaurants around that are good.
We discovered Blue Ash Chili while watching Diners, Drive-Ins and
Dives. It is worth a trip to Blue Ash to
check this place out. What I like is
that I can get a 4-way without onions but with jalapeno caps. I’m in heaven. Love those jalapenos. And if you have the chili with beans, onions
and jalapeno caps, you get a 6-way.
After our lunch, Greg took us to the Blue Ash Rec Center where
there is a replica of the Crosley Field scoreboard. Crosley Field is where the Cincinnati Reds
played baseball when I was a kid. We went to
quite a few games there over the years but I was lucky to attend the last game
they played in Crosley with my parents and a couple of siblings on June 24, 1970. The Reds won 5-4. Johnny Bench and Lee May hit back to back home runs in that game. After the game, a helicopter came down and home plate was transferred by air from Crosley over to Riverfront Stadium where the Reds played from 1970 until 2002.
Then instead of birthday cake, I got a scoop of Graeter’s black raspberry chip ice cream. Oh,
boy, it can’t be beat! Best ice cream on
earth. Ask Oprah.
But to top it off, we went to dinner that night to the Olive
Garden to celebrate my mother’s birthday, which is the day after mine and I got
to have dinner with 18 of my family. It
ended with Greg, my cousin Ken and my nephew Neil all singing happy birthday to
my mother and me. It made getting older
not so bad…at least for the day.
CINCINNATI CHILI
2 pounds ground beef
1 quart water
2 medium sized onions, grated
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
5 whole allspice
½ teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin seed
4 tablespoons chili powder
½ ounce bitter chocolate
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 large bay leaf
5 whole cloves
2 teaspoons Worcestershire
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Add ground beef to water in 4 quart pot, stir until beef separates to a fine texture. Boil slowly for half an hour.
- Add all other ingredients. Stir to blend, bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 3 hours. Last hour, pot may be covered after desired consistency is reached.
- Remove bay leaf.
- Chili should be refrigerated overnight so that fat can be lifted from top before reheating. Not necessary if using extra lean beef.
Serve it in one of the following traditional styles:
Chili Plain
Chili and Spaghetti
3 way – chili, spaghetti, and shredded cheddar cheese
4 way - chili,
spaghetti, cheddar and onion or beans
5 way – chili, spaghetti, cheddar, onion and beans
Coney Island – a frankfurter in a bun topped with
chili, cheese and onions or any of the above ingredients.
There is nothing in any of these combinations that an
antacid can’t remedy!
