on our last trip to Michigan
we of course went through Cincinnati and i was determined to finally taste this dish.
it was odd....took a few tastings to get the mouth to accept the taste. but i did like it.
it is served over the spaghetti
then the beans or cheese or onions etc are topped on the sauce.
but i asked for a larger plate, because i like mine all mixed up together....they looked at me like i was weird..
i would order it again...
i would make it, but i really do not think Larry would eat it.
Linda in Tennessee

After reading up on it a bit on the Internet, I see that it is of Greek inspiration, which probably explains the cinnamon. I think I'm going to make it in the crockpot, and not follow the Cook's Illustrated recipe (frankly there's nothing special about them, IMHO). Then I can make the spaghetti when I get home from work, easy peasy.

Being vegetarian, I'm going to use fake meat crumbles and dark red kidney beans instead of ground beef. I make a similar greek stew to this, with more vegetables. It would even be good served over a baked potato.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cincinnati style chili

A former acquaintance who was from Cincinnati introduced me to the stuff and my family has loved it ever since. I buy the mix, not really widely available here in Houston, but I have found them at Kroger stores.

Here is a link that might be useful: cin chili mix

I grew up eating the stuff (I'm from Ohio). Traditionally, a bit of onion and garlic are sauted along with the meat (or fake meat crumbles as you plan to use) and then the spices and tomato sauce are added, usually with some vinegar as well.

But the rest of the stuff is separate: spaghetti, canned red kidney beans (rinsed and drained but not cooked), chopped raw onion, and shredded yellow cheese.

5-way Cincinnati chili goes like this: spaghetti, cooked chili sauce, kidney beans, chopped onions and cheese. You can back off from there, and have it 4-way, 3-way, and 2-way.

Some people cay "that's not real chili" but I say it's real good, call it what you want. I like to use Renzi dark red kidney beans, they're not mushy and have good flavor. I also like a sweet onion chopped for the topping.

Hope it comes out delicious!

seagrass

Linda, I'm glad to see you here again, it's been a long time.

I've never tried Cincinnati style chili, but I'm sure I'd leave the cinnamon out.

L, be sure to let me know how it is, I might actually get around to trying it sometime, over whole wheat pasta, maybe.

Annie

If you leave out the cinnamon and cook the beans in with the chilli, I'm sure it will be good chili.....but it won't be Cincinnati Chili. When I make it I omit the beans entirely and just put it on spaghetti with a blanket of cheese on top.

Oh, and little round oyster stew crackers are the cracker of choice.

Ok, look. I'm a Texan through and through. Texas Chili is Texas Chili, and Cincinnati Chili is Cincinnati Chili, and never the twain shall meet.

HOWEVER, That doesn't mean that either one isn't good. They're both really good, just totally different.

I like mine "4-way" -- no beans. If you make it without cinnamon it ain't Cincinnati Chili. I'm going to go to Kroger and see if they have those flavor packets in stock. If they do I'll buy a bunch of them and will come back & offer to send out to anyone who wants to try it.

As I say to my kids, you don't have to eat anything you don't like but you're not allowed to say you don't like it till you've tasted it! It's good stuff.

I love the stuff. I did have a Greek dish once that had cinnamon in it and hated it, but the combination of spices in Cincinnati Chili are great.

I somewhat followed a recipe I got here. I don't add the full amount of spices at first. I adjust as I'm cooking.

My dad who is a meat and potatoes kind of guy and doesn't like to try anything new loves it. When I make it, I make enough to take to them.

My kids won't eat it, but they won't eat anything with ground beef.

I like it over angel hair pasta with chopped sweet onion and cheese on top.

Go ahead Annie, try it with cinnamon.

Tracey

From the pictures I've seen online, with all that cheese on top, no wonder people like it! (I have a serious cheese addiction, lol!). I get most of the "ways" but not the oyster crackers. Pasta and crackers? A true Midweatern dish, all your important food groups, meat, starch, and cheese, with a spicy sauce.

Tracey, based on your recommendation, I'll try it with the cinnamon, but I'm not optimistic. I made a greek tomato sauce with cinnamon and didn't like that cinnamon/tomato combo at all. Chili is one of the few ways I'll actually eat ground beef, I don't care for meat loaf or meat balls or even burgers very much, but I'll eat chili. Go figure.

L, I'm smiling because I thought the same as you did, "pasta and crackers?" Add a bit of cheese, what more could you want. (grin) Midwestern heaven.....

Annie

I like the stuff too. I know it's Greek inspired, but it's also reminiscent of some mole sauces that use a touch of cocoa & cinnamon & chili peppers. I'm Greek, so the combination of tomato sauce & cinnamon seems natural to me. But the cinnamon is only supposed to perfume the sauce, not overpower it. I can certainly understand objections to that flavor combo, especially if you've eaten at some Greek restaurants. I once had a moussaka that tasted more like a creamy dessert than a savory eggplant casserole. It made me want to gag!

lpinkmountain - Can you please share your Greek stew recipe. It sounds really good. Thanks..Christine

See I made pastitsio(sp?) and it made me gag too, so I understand Annie

I don't have the recipe I use on this computer. If I get a chance later I'll get into the other one. I cook the ground beef in the sauce because I like the texture better. Like I said I start off slowly with the spices.

I've given the recipe to a few people who initially said yuck and they loved it. I did warn them they might hate it. Taste is subjective.

Tracey

My DH makes Cincinnati chili, four ways. He boils plain spaghetti, tops it with his very own secret recipe chili, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped onions,rinsed kidney beans and sour cream.

Mmmmmm....5way..... I live in Columbus, Ohio, and I swear Cincinnati chili doesn't taste quite right here -- just 90 miles to the north! (If oyu can't get to Camp Washington Chili, then the Skyline parlour on th corner of 7th and Vine is the best place to go!

I have to say, while I know cinnamon gives Cincy chili it's charactoristic flavour and aroma -- I never knew that's what it was. It's that subtle, Annie.

According to purists: The spaghetti should be prepared seperately, and the chili ladled on top. Beans and onions between the two, if you go that way. And a fluffy heap of cheddar cheese (think microplane-fine grate) on top. All in distinct layers. (True aficionados, carefully slice down thru the stack so you get some of everything in every bite. I'm much sloppier!)

I think the meat and the sauce are done together -- at least I know the meat is boiled, rather than fried.

Mmmmm... I know what I having when I go home for Easter!

OK help me out, need to make sure I have lingo down for our "some day" road trip. I plan to eat the State/City specialty every place we stop. Gonna start a thread on the some day.

For the chile, basic layers, 5 ways are :

spaghetti
chile
beans
onions
cheese

So if you want it four ways, three ways etc...do you say what the 3, 4 , 2 things are you want? Ypu can 't just say 4 ways can you...which four would you get? How do you order it?

Sharon .....who is still trying to figure out how to order Michigan Hot Dogs and Philly Cheese Steak, never mind Lobster Rolls in Maine!

You left out oyster crackers on top. Below is a link to a picture. Looks kinda weird to me. I'm just going with cheese, I don't like raw onions, and crackers is just too much starch for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cincinnati style chili from

That makes it "six ways".....or does the spaghetti not count as a "way"...? Life is complicated in Ohio! LOL

I'm also from Ohio and one of the popular party dishes I've seen the last few years is Skyline Chili Dip which uses the cans of Skyline Chili. It's pretty good, perfect party food.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cincinnati Chili dip recipe

First, for Christineny, here's the vegetable stew, greek style. The recipe comes from "The Enchanted Broccoli Forest" by Mollie Katzen.

Influenced Vegetable Stew . . . similar to a Greek "stifado/stifatho" but meatless, and containing more vegetables . . .

3/4 cups raw kidney beans, soaked overnight, then cooked in twice their volume of bioling water until tender (1 1/2 - 2 hrs.) and drained.
Yeah right. I use a can of dark red kidney beans!

3 TBLSP olive oil
4 med. cloves crushed garlic
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup THINLY sliced potatoes
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cumin
lots of fresh black pepper
crushed red hot pepper, to taste
juice from one large lemon
2 large carrots, thinly sliced
1 SMALL head of cauliflower, brokien into small flowerettes (good luck finding a small one!)
4 med. sized fresh ripe tomatoes, cubed (I use a can of diced ones most of the time)
2 tsp. honey

In a very large skillet, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil, with salt, for 5 min., or until the onions are soft and translucent.

Add potatoes, spieces, and lemon juice. Cover and cook 8-10 min., stirring occasionally. Add small amounts of water, if it appears to be sticking. (It almost always does!)

Add remaining ingredients exept beans. Cover and let it stew over med. heat about 30 min., stirring occasionally.
Add the cooked beans, stir, and cover and let simmer about 10 min. more.

Good with tsatsiki, greek olives and crusty bread, or over rice.

I only made this dish once out of desperation because I had a head of cauliflower going bad in the fridge. That's how I end up trying most of my new recipes--desperation. I was very leery about the cinnamon in a savory dish too, but I actually love it. This would be a good opportunity to try one of Penzey's fancy "varietal" cinnamons, if you were so inclined. I bought some once, but now in an attempt to get a handle on my spice shelf, I am trying to avoid Penzeys.

Speaking of Penzeys and spice shelves, the only reason I am considering this Cinci chili is I have a plethora of chili powder due to a comedy of errors. I lost my chili powder, ordered more, and then of course found it. So I'm looking for novel ways to use up chili powder, other than straight ahead chili. I also have a plethora of paprika, which is another reason some of these recipe appeal to me. I got two kinds from Penzeys and then a friend went to Hungary and brough me back a bag. No more Penzeys!!! :)

OK, now for the Cincinnati Chili recipe from Cook's Illustrated Cover and Bake. They bill it as a skillet dish. The ingredients in this one seem a little scary to me.

2 TBLSP vegetable oil
1 lb. 90% lean ground beef
2 med. onions, minced
salt to taste
2 med. cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 TBLSP chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 TBLSP cider vinegar
2 tsp. dark brown sugar
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup water (here's where they loose me)
1/2 lb. spaghetti, broken in half
ground black pepper

Heat 1 TBLSP oil in the pan and cook the beef until it is no longer pink. Then drain the meat and wipe the pan clean. Saute the onion and garlic in the remaining oil until translucent. Then add the meat and spices, broth, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato sauce and water. Simmer until the chili is deep red and the beef is tender, about 1 hour.

Stir in the spaghetti and continue to cook, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, intil the pasta is tender, about 20 min. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with diced onion, grated sharp cheddar cheese and tabasco sauce as accompaniments. (No mention here about kidney beans).

Personally, I would reduce the water and cook the spaghetti on the side. Easier to freeze the leftovers.

Since I'm making this with fake meat crumbles, I'm going to brown them, add the kidney beans ahead of time, and cook the whole mess up in the crockpot, with less water and broth. I might not get to this until this weekend. I really hate how hectic my weeks are these days!

For even more interesting takes on this style of stew, Google "stifado" or "stifatho." Lots of variations, some with cinnamon, some without. I love Greek food!

Thank you so much lpinkmountain!!!! I am trying to limit meat to once a week. I am trying out vegetarian recipes, those with very limited dairy.

I heard about the Enchanted Broccoli Forest. Is it worth purchasing? Thanks again!!

Well, that depends. I've had the book for over 20 years (got it in college), and have made many of the recipes in it. They are very good, for the most part. I don't know if I would single it out as the definative vegetarian cookbook, but there is some outstanding stuff in there, particularly if you are new to the idea of gourmet vegetarian. When Mollie's good, she's very good, when she's bad, she's just so so, which is not all that bad, lol! It's a varied assortment in there, which is also nice. Quite comprehensive. I'll bet you could find a cheap used one. Mine has fallen all to pieces, which is actually probably a good sign.

I have become a big fan of the "Moosewood Restaurant Lowfat Favorites" cookbook. Got it for free from an ex boyfriend, the best part of that relationship! It suits more the style of eating I do now in my 40's. Some of the recipes in that are only so so as well, but some are excellent.

What I like about both the Moosewood cookbooks and Mollie Katzen's books, is there are lots of menu ideas in them.

BTW, in that stew above, drain the canned kidney beans. I make this stew quite often, it is not only delicious, but low fat! It with the savory sauce and potatoes, it tastes rich even though it isn't. This would be very good with some kind of spinach dish, which is how I served it once at a party. I think I made spinach pie with phyllo, this stew, baba ganoush with pita for an appetizer, and I don't remember what for dessert. Maybe apple cake.