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Spicy chili with a difference (and it’s not just the cocoa)

Recipe: Cincinnati chili is served over spaghetti; beans optional

Chopped onions and shredded cheese are traditional toppings for Cincinnati chili.

Chopped onions and shredded cheese are traditional toppings for Cincinnati chili. Debbie Arrington

The first time I saw Cincinnati chili served, I thought: This is crazy! Chili over spaghetti? And it smells like … chocolate?

But then I tasted it and this chili’s unique blend of a dozen spices and herbs all made sense. The pasta soaks up the flavorful sauce. Although some folks tuck beans under the chili, too, the spaghetti is enough for me.

This chili is more Greek or Mediterranean than Tex-Mex, and intensely aromatic. Unsweetened cocoa (not chocolate) combined with the chili powder reminds me of mole sauce; the cocoa adds a distinctive rich brown color to the chili.

Skyline, a chain of Cincinnati restaurants, made Cincy chili famous, and this recipe is based on best guesses of their secret spice mixture. Skyline also came up with five ways to serve it. For ordering purposes, “1-way” is straight chili; “2-way,” chili on spaghetti; “3-way,” chili, spaghetti and cheddar cheese; “4-way,” chili, spaghetti, cheese, onions OR beans; and “5-way” is the works.

Cincinnati chili

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

For chili:

1 pound lean ground beef

Salt and pepper to taste

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup red wine

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups diced tomatoes (canned or homegrown)

1 cup water

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

closeup-chili.jpg
This is a no-bean spicy chili. Beans are an optional
part of the serving.

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

For assembly:

1 pound spaghetti

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup yellow onion, chopped

2 cups pinto beans, cooked (optional)

Instructions:

In a large heavy pot over medium heat, brown ground beef; season with salt and pepper. While browning, add chopped onion and minced garlic; cook until onions are translucent.

Add red wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up the brown bits stuck to the bottom. Sprinkle flour over the meat-onion mixture; stir. Add diced tomatoes and water; stir to blend. Stir in tomato paste.

Add cocoa powder, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, turmeric, paprika, red pepper and oregano; stir well. Add vinegar and honey; stir.

Over medium heat, cook chili for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring often, until desired thickness. Add a little water if needed. Adjust seasoning (it may need more salt depending on how much the meat was seasoned while browning).

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Warm beans.

400-chili-cheese-onions.jpg
"Four-way" chili includes the onions on top or
beans underneath; "5-way" includes both.

To serve, put spaghetti in wide shallow bowls. Top with beans, if desired. Cover each serving with several spoonfuls of chili. Top with grated cheese and chopped onion.

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Garden Checklist for week of Feb. 16

Take advantage of this nice weather. There’s plenty to do as your garden starts to switch into high gear for spring growth.

* This is the last chance to spray fruit trees before their buds open. Treat peach and nectarine trees with copper-based fungicide. Spray apricot trees at bud swell to prevent brown rot. Apply horticultural oil to control scale, mites and aphids on fruit trees.

* Check soil moisture before resuming irrigation. Most likely, your soil is still pretty damp.

* Feed spring-blooming shrubs and fall-planted perennials with slow-release fertilizer. Feed mature trees and shrubs after spring growth starts.

* Transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.

* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots.

* Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and cauliflower – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).

* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.

* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions.

* Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.

* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.

* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.

* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.

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