Cincinnati Chili Dip

Whether you make this recipe as a dip or entree for dinner, the collection of spices used will cover your countertop! Yes, there are the typical chili seasonings including chili powder, cumin, red pepper but why stop there, particularly if you enjoy depths of flavor from multiple spices! Or so thought, as the story goes, a couple of men from the Middle East who immigrated to Ohio and concocted this recipe. Why stop with Mexican seasonings when Middle Eastern spices can add a delicious spin to the classic - so in went the cinnamon, allspice, and chocolate!

Oddly enough, it was not in Cincinnati that I first tasted this chili. In fact, I thought it was unique to Amman, Jordan having first encountered it there in a restaurant called "Chili House". Yes, we immediately liked the chili but this was also one of the few places in town that served a hamburger that tasted as it should, minus the cinnamon and allspice they add to every other meat dish.

In fact, as in Cincinnati, they served the chili 5 ways - most over a pile of spaghetti. My husband's favorite was the 5-ways chili which included chopped raw onions and cheese. Myself and the kids honed in on the chili fries - crispy fried french fries covered with the chili and mounded with shredded cheddar. Then there was the Slushee machine.....the only one we knew of in Jordan.

It may have been a debate over how much cinnamon to add to the mixture that caused the split between the owners and in later decades there were Chili House restaurants as well as Chili Ways, both of which tasted the same to me.

Upon visiting my brother in Cincinnati I first discovered that someone had let the cat out of the bag or the spices out of the cupboard because we found ourselves eating 5-ways chili and chili fries! Which came first, the chicken or the egg seemed appropriate to our musings as we wondered who started it where. But I like the version of the two men coming from the Middle East and cooking in Cincinnati then returning home to Jordan and introducing the same recipe there.

But most of all I'm so relieved to find it in the states and even more so upon finding a recipe for it. Every time I eat it the warmth of all those seasonings purr to me from among the mounds of cheese and fries! This dip version makes it more accessible for sampling at parties and to take to potlucks and the cream cheese adds another layer of satisfaction to the concoction. (Oh, and the finger in the picture is not mine, but a breadstick witch finger - what fun for Halloween!)

cincinnati chili dip

1-6 ounce can tomato paste

2 medium onions, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 pounds, 80% fat ground beef

4 cups beef broth

1 - 15 ounce can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons water

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

2 tablespoons vinegar

3 tablespoons chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon flour

pepper to taste

12 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 - 3 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese

chips or crackers to serve with dip

-In a medium skillet, over medium-high heat, add the tomato paste and cook constantly scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon until the tomato smells rich and toasty and you start to see browned patches in the bottom of the pan (2 - 3 minutes). Scrape out paste with rubber spatula into a bowl and set aside.

-In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and add onion and garlic. Cook and stir just until softened (2-3 minutes). Add the ground beef and cook until just browned, breaking up lumps, then drain off fat. Add 4 cups beef broth, tomato sauce, Worcestershrie sauce, reserved tomato paste, cinnamon and allspice. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes.

-In a small bowl, make a thin paste with the chili powder, cayenne, cumin, flour and 2 tab. water. Add to the beef mixture and stir well. Add bay leaf, ground cloves, vinegar, cocoa mixed with the 1 tablespoon oil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for at least 1 hour stirring occasionally. Add more water if chili becomes too thick and begins to stick to bottom of the pot. Taste for seasoning for salt and pepper.

-To assemble dip: Beat cream cheese with fork until soft enough to spread then spread on bottom of 8 x 10" ovenproof casserole dish. Spread 21/2 - 3 cups warm chili over cream cheese and top generously with grated cheddar cheese. Heat in oven at 350 degrees until cheese on top begins to melt and softens (about 10 minutes.) Serve with chips, crackers or breadsticks.

Spread softened cream cheese over bottom of casserole dish.

Pour chili over cream cheese layer.

Mound with cheddar cheese and bake.