One Way at a Time Cincinnati Chili

The story of Cincinnati chili is really all-American, dream that is. Immigrants searching for a better life, settled in southern Ohio and concocted a spaghetti topping using spices (cocoa and cinnamon are they key) inspired by their homelands of Greece and Macedonia. And then they topped it with mounds of crap. Like I said, quintessentially American.  The most famous Cincinnati chili franchise is Skyline, where you can have a 3-Way (spaghetti covered with chili and topped with a mound of shredded cheddar cheese, not romano), 4-Way (a 3-Way with onions or beans, or a 5-Way (a 3-Way with onions and beans). Now I know what you are thinking, but get your mind out of the gutter, this is family blog. At our house we like it one way and one way only: spaghetti and chili (which technically would be a 2-way), oh and oyster crackers for a salty crunch. And this recipe comes from an original Cincinnati  kid, Kit Kitteridge:An American Girl (doll). Kit is a 10 year old girl living one day at a time through the Great Depression and of course has a cookbook full of meal stretching tips and table talker cards for easy dinner table conversation.  Sweeter than regular chili, and a nice change from spaghetti bolanese.

One Day at a Time, CBS 1975-84. Here's the story of  recently divorced mother, Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin), and her two teenage daughters Julie and Barbara (Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli, respectively), who move to a an apartment in the big city (Indianapolis) to forge a new life. Ann's job at the PR firm Connor & Davenport constantly has her beating her head against the glass ceiling. As does the teenage angst at home, which required constant visits from the smarmy building super, Schneider (Pat Harrington). As with most Norman Lear sitcoms of the era, this show too reflected the ever evolving role of women in the 1970s, and featured some awesome bell-bottomed fashions to boot. Of course Barbara and Julie got older (and Phillips went to rehab) and the inevitable occurred: The Cousin Oliver Syndrome. The writers brought in the cute kid, Glen Scarpelli (a poor man's Scott Baio), to liven things up as Ann's stepson. The show did manage to eke out nine seasons, which is not too shabby for taking it one day at a time.




The Recipe:

2 pounds ground beef

2 medium onions, chopped

1 tblsp vinegar

2 tblsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp unsweetened cocoa

1/4 tsp cayenne (optional, if you want to heat things up)

15-oz can tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 pound spaghetti

Crumble beef into a large pot or dutch oven. With the heat on medium-high, stir and cook meat until it is brown. Drain the fat an return the meat to the pot on the stove. Add the onions, vinegar, chili powder, cumin, cayenne and garlic powder and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and the cinnamon, allspice and cocoa. Bring to boil. Turn heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook the pasta and drain. Serve the chili over a bed of the spaghetti any way you like it. Serves 6.

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