Cincinnati Chili

So, this isn't your typical chili. This chili was made famous in Cincinnati, as the name suggests, and has a Moroccan flavor to it. It's a unique blend of spices and you might really like it, even if you don't like chili. If you want to lighten it up, you can substitute the ground meat with ground chicken, ground turkey, or just use kidney beans or pinto beans in place of meat. It is traditionally served over pasta, which works really well but you could use rice or any grain that you wanted or eat it as a stew.

Note: traditionally this chili has chocolate in it but I left it out for obvious reasons...plus I think it's weird.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 small onion chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 pounds ground beef (chicken, turkey, or beans okay too)
1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 bay leaf
1 cup or small 10 oz can beef broth
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional, for heat)
shredded Cheddar cheese
cooked spaghetti for each serving

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 6 minutes. Add beef and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until browned. Then add chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, beef broth, tomato sauce, and red pepper. Stir to mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1/2-1 hour stirring occasionally.

It is the best if you now refrigerate overnight to develop the flavors but with the smell in the house, I can't wait! Remove the bay leaf. Reheat gently over medium heat. Serve over hot, drained spaghetti. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and raw onion if desired (I don't but I could see it).

No pictures because it was too yummy to stop and take a pic!

Special thanks to Kevin for introducing me to the idea and thanks to allrecipes.com for giving me a start on the recipe for which I adapted.

Yummy Almond Pastry Dessert

I came up with this as an excuse to use up a sheet of puff pastry in my freezer as well as a good reason to eat almonds. :)

1 sheet puff pastry
1/2 c sliced almonds
1/2 c sugar
1 egg beaten (egg wash)
1 tspn vanilla
1 c whipping cream

powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat your oven to 375F.

Place the puff pastry on a sheet of wax paper cut to fit your baking sheet. Cut the puff pastry into any shape you prefer but keep them to under 3"x3". I did rectangles of approximately 2"x3". Brush with egg wash and sprinkle on almonds, making sure to cover each one and making sure that they are flat (only 1 layer of almonds). Sprinkle tops lightly with sugar. This will make them candy coated when they are done. Put into preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and sugar has melted to the almonds. Meanwhile, beat up whipping cream with whisk until soft peaks form. Add in rest of sugar to the cream and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks.

Let the almond pastry cool completely. This will harden the sugar on the almonds and allow for the cream not to melt.

Place an almond pastry on a plate and top with a heaping spoonful of whipped cream. Enjoy!

Me making the pastries

Pastries!

Olivier's dessert

My dessert

Check this out!

I found this website that lists just about every food blog. It's worth a browse and you never know, you may find a new favorite! One of mine is on there: La Tartine Gourmande.

http://www.foodblogblog.com/

Also, I found this site that has recipes from around the world on it and so far the ones I checked with people, check out as authentic.

http://www.recipehound.com/

Special Apple Crisp

I think all of us recognize an apple crisp, sliced apples covered with a crumbly topping and typically served with ice cream or whipped cream. I wanted to make a similar dish that is still a crisp but much prettier for presentation at a party. So, I called on my good friend, puff pastry. :)

1/2 packet, 1 sheet of Puff Pastry (thawed)
5-6 apples peeled and sliced (I used Fugi apples)
2-3 Tablespoons sugar + more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 375F.

Put the sliced apples into a 9x11 baking dish or a 9x13 or 9x9 would work too, depending on the size of your apples. Toss the apples with hands in the sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch then added the water and stirred around with a spoon (I didn't want to get cornstarch on my hands). I placed my puff pastry on the counter and sliced it into 8-12 even slices, depending on the size pan you chose (mine needed 9). If you're using a 9x9, just make sure you have an even number since it's a square. ;) Weave the slices to cover the apples. So, lay out the horizontals first across your pan and then alternate lifting every other slice and lay down a vertical slice. Repeat until pretty lattice is made. Trim any edges that are sticking out because they will only stick out further once they puff. Sprinkle with some white sugar to make it sparkly when it's cooked and cinnamon if you like. Place in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, again, depending on what pan you chose and how your oven keeps heat. Pull it out and check that the apples are softened, they sit in a bubbly gooey sauce, and the pastry is a light golden brown. Let cool to near room temperature, or as long as you can wait to dig in. Serve plain or with your favorite dairy accompaniment. :p


Here's the crisp before it bakes up.

After baking, see the gooey sauce. :)

Top view of lattice.


Warning! The smells during cooking are intoxicating so be ready to invite the neighbors if the windows are open!