Cincinnati Chili

The cold is creeping in through the thin walls of my one bedroom apartment and the days are growing shorter. As I sit in my small kitchen, I look out the window through the barren tree branches into a fading black-blue sky. The crescent moon hangs crisply overhead, as if asserting it place in the winter sky. This time of year always causes me to crave the foods of my youth. I'm not whether it's a craving for comfort and warmth, or if it's the desire to capture the feeling of my childhood, but I have become a hedonist when it comes to my dinners; I listen to my cravings and I embrace them whole-heartedly and unabashedly. Tonight my stomach was calling for Cincinnati Chili. 

I grew up in Cincinnati, OH, and though I was a picky eater at that age, I loved my father's Cincinnati Chili. I'm not sure who had the genius to combine cinnamon, cocoa, and ground beef, but I have to give them a big "Thank You." Though Cincinnati Chili is technically a chili, I almost like to think of it as an alternative to spaghetti. It can be served several ways, but I tend to keep it simple and top with cheese and raw onions. 

Cincinnati Chili

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 T. olive oil

1 T. chili powder

1 t. cumin

1 t. chipotle powder

1 - 15 oz. can tomato sauce

2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 t. salt

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

1 t. allspice

1/2 c. water

spaghetti noodles

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onions, garlic, and ground beef. Saute until onions soften and meat is browned. Add cumin, chipotle, and chili powder. Slowly saute with beef until coated. Stir tomato sauce and stir until warmed through. Slowly add cocoa. The mixture should be a chocolatey brick red. Add salt, cinnamon, allspice and water. Let chili simmer until consistency is reduce almost completely. Serve over cooked spaghetti noodles with shredded cheddar cheese, raw onions, and kidney beans as toppings.