THE CHEF FROM HELL

Take a lot at it.  There it is.  A big fat plate of Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti!  Ah, the very sight of this culinary apparition brings to life my old college days in Dayton, Ohio.  Prior to walking into a local Frisch's Big Boy restaurant during my freshman year, I had always eaten chili in a bowl.  Never over spaghetti!  But in ye olde Midwest that is one of the most popular ways to enjoy this type of nosh.

The historical backround on this dish is as follows: According to most sources, a Macedonian imigrant named Tom Kiradjieff, the owner of a small Greek restaurant called The Empress, invented Cincinnati style Chili in 1922 when he started cooking chili seasoned with Middle Eastern spices and served the stuff up over a mound of spaghetti!  His original version of the dish included two hot dogs atop the mound of cheddar topped chili.  In the wake of Kiradjieff's success, a slew of chili parlors opened up around town and the rest, as they say, is history.  To this day, The Empress (now a chain of restaurants), along with the Skyline, Gold Star and Dixie chains, serve up tons of chili each year to the hungry citizens of Cincinnati.

I always figured a place like Texas to be obsessed with all things chili, but those Ohio folks are positively addicted to the stuff.  Let me count the ways, friends!  When ordering chili in Cincinnati, follow the numbers: 

• Two Way Chili is simply chili served over spaghetti
• Three Way Chili is chili with the addition of shredded cheddar cheese
• Four Way Chili means you add on chopped onions
• Five Way Chili adds on red kidney beans

Basically, an order for Five Way or "the works" will mean they slop everything above over your spaghetti.  Yes, indeed.

Let's fire up the stove and make a batch-- seeing (tasting) is believing, right?

Ingredients:

2 TBS Olive Oil

1 large Spanish Onion, chopped medium coarse

1 clove fresh garlic, diced fine

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork

Note-- most times, the traditional Ohio chili is made with ground beef only, but I like the combination meats myself...

1 can Tomato Sauce (16 oz)

1 TBS Tomato Paste

2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

1 TBS Malt Vinegar

3/4 cup Beef Stock or Broth

Note: If you want to make your own stock, go to Homestyle Beef Stock

1 lb Spaghetti (uncooked)

Dry Spice Mix:

1 TBS Dark Chili Powder

1 TBS Cocoa Powder

2 tsp Ground Cumin

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 tsp Ground Allspice

1 tsp Cayenne Red Pepper

1 tsp Kosher Salt

Cooking Procedure:

Combine all of the ingredients for the dry spice mix in a small bowl

Mix well & set aside

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat for 2 minutes

Add the onion & garlic

Let this cook down for 2 minutes

Add the Dry Spice Mix

Stir well & let this cook down until the onions have turned clear

Add the ground beef & pork

Brown the meat, breaking up any lumps in the meat as it cooks

Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, vinegar & worcesershire sauce

Stir well

Let this reach a high simmer

Add the stock, stir well & cook for 15 minutes more

Reduce heat to low

Let chili simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours over low heat

When ready to serve:

Cook the spaghetti to your desired texture (I like al dente...)

 Place individual portions of the spaghetti on oval plates

Ladle the chili over each portion of spaghetti

Top each portion with a choice of the following:  shredded chedar cheese, chopped onions and kidney beans

Serve some oyster crackers on the side

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