Ellison's World-Famous Chili

Twenty-eight years ago, I met this really cute boy the first night of classes for my graduate program at George Washington University. Said cute boy asked me out, and whilst we were dating, he made chili for me, using a recipe card his mother had helpfully tucked into a small tan plastic box for him, filled with version of his favorite foods. At the time, I despised beans, but we were very new to one another, and I didn’t want to seem picky. Imagine my relief and delight when he pulled out a box of spaghetti and dumped it into the pot. Turned out, neither of us like beans, and both our moms had discovered the joy of Cincinnati style chili to feed their picky kids. I already had a feeling about Mr. Ellison, but the spaghetti in the chili sealed the deal. Here’s Mrs. Ellison’s original recipe, now adjusted to both our more expanded tastes.

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground protein (beef, pork, turkey, or chicken)

• 3 ounce can diced green chilis

• 1/2 large onion, diced

•  Salt and pepper to taste

• 2 tablespoons chili powder (more to taste)

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 2 capfuls of apple cider vinegar

• 3 12 ounce cans tomato sauce

• 1/2 package spaghetti

Options:

• 12 ounce can kidney beans

• 12 ounce can chili beans

• Shredded 5 cheese Mexican blend

• Fritos or Oyster crackers

Directions:

1. In a deep soup pot, brown the meat, onion, and green chilis, seasoning with salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of chili powder.

2. Add the three cans of sauce, plus two cans of water.

3. Add chili powder, cayenne, and vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste again. Stir well, bring to a boil. (Chef’s note: At this point, I add more chili powder to get it to the color I know means we’ve hit the right spice level. A trick with the chili powder: if you get it too spicy, you can add another capful of vinegar to cut it.)

4. Cook for at least thirty minutes to let the flavors meld.

5. If adding beans, do so 20 minutes before serving time.

6. If adding spaghetti, do so 10 minutes before serving time. If you think adding spaghetti to chili is sacrilege, too bad. :)

7. Top with shredded Mexican cheese and Fritos or Oyster crackers.

This recipe was originally shared on J.T. Ellison’s newsletter.