Crisp Carnitas Burritos

Crisp Carnitas Burritos

makes about 16 burritos

(America)

This is a real All-American Burrito . . . . All-American?  What could possibly be more All-American than Coke-Cola?  This adaption of Mexican carnitas uses coke as one of its main ingredients to create a truly delicious fried burrito.  Additionally, after removing the meat, adding lime juice, and thickening the remaining liquid with a corn starch slurry produces a great tasting dipping sauce.

 

Ingredients

for the carnitas:

 3-4 pound pork butt

2 tablespoons  vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

1 12-ounce  can of coke (not diet)

2 cups orange juice

2 tablespoons  brown sugar

2 cups salsa, homemade or commercial

Kosher or sea salt, to taste

freshly ground  black pepper, to taste

Juice of 1 lime

thickening slurry composed of 2 tablespoons corn starch mixed into 2 tablespoons of COLD water

for the burritos:

16 medium flour tortilla shells

16 wooden tooth picks

vegetable oil for frying

Preparation

the carnitas:

the carnitas:

1.  Heat the vegetable oil in a deep, heavy frying pan  over medium-high heat. While it’s getting hot, rub the pork with salt and pepper.

2.  Gently place the pork in the hot oil and sear all sides until nicely browned.   Meanwhile in a large bowl  or large measuring cup combine the coke, the orange juice, the salsa, the cayenne, and the brown sugar and add it to a large slow cooker set to high.

3.  Remove the browned pork to the slow cooker containing the cooking liquid, cover and cook until the pork is literally falling apart when poked with a fork, about 2-3 hours.

4.  Remove the meat to a clean work surface and, when it is cool enough to handled,  shred it in a similar fashion to the way you would for pulled pork.

5.   Remove the liquid to a large sauce  pan over high heat, stir in the lime juice and bring to a boil.  When the sauce comes to a boil stir in the thickening slurry and continue stirring until the sauce thickens.  Correct seasoning with salt, black pepper, and cayenne.

6.   Remove the pan from the stove and transfer 3/4 of the thickened sauce to a serving dish, lower the heat to low and return the sauce pan containing the remaining 1/4 of the sauce to the heat, add the meat and stir to thoroughly coat the meat.  Turn off the burner under the pan.

constructing and frying the burritos:

1.  Working with one tortilla shell at a time, place a tortilla shell in front of you, spread about 3 or 4 tablespoons of the carnitas evenly over the surface of the shell and,  beginning at side closest to you, tightly roll the shell (jelly roll style) away from you until it is fully rolled up, push one toothpick through the roll pinning the loose end in place.   Continue until all the shells and carnitas are used up.

2.  Heat about 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat until the ripple stage.

3.  Add 1 or 2 of the burritos to the hot oil and fry for about a minute on each side until each burrito is golden and crispy.  Remove the fried burritos to a paper towel lined dish to absorb excess oil.

4.  Serve the burritos immediately accompanied by the thickened  sauce and guacamole  for dunking.

constructing and frying the burritos:

1.  Working with one tortilla shell at a time, place a tortilla shell in front of you, spread about 3 or 4 tablespoons of the carnitas evenly over the surface of the shell and,  beginning at side closest to you, tightly roll the shell (jelly roll style) away from you until it is fully rolled up, push one toothpick through the roll pinning the loose end in place.   Continue until all the shells and carnitas are used up.

2.  Heat about 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat until the ripple stage.  

3.  Add 1 or 2 of the burritos to the hot oil and fry for about a minute on each side until each burrito is golden and crispy.  Remove the fried burritos to a paper towel lined dish to absorb excess oil.

4.  Serve the burritos immediately accompanied by the thickened  sauce and guacamole  for dunking.

New Orleans Stuffed Pizza Rustica

New Orleans Stuffed Pizza Rustica

serves 8

(America)

When we visited New Orleans several years ago we fell  in love with its signature sandwich, the Muffeletta at the Central Grocery on Decater Street,  we also love pizza of all  sorts.  This recipe is a homage to both; it is the marriage of the ingredients of a New Orleans Muffeletta sandwich (good Italian Cold Cuts, cheeses, and olive salad) and a Sicilian stuffed pizza.  All though we used mozzarella, provolone, Genoa salami, cappacola, pepperoni, and prosciutto ham you can use cold cuts of your choice and the quantities can also be  adjusted to your appetite.

 

Ingredients

pizza crusts:

1 cup warm (110 degrees F) water

1  envelope active dry yeast  

2 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cup bread flour, plus additional for work surface

2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

olive salad:

1 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped

½ cup drained Kalamata olives, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

2 tablespoons drained and rinsed capers

1 celery stalk, chopped

¼ cup marinated cocktail onions, roughly chopped

½ teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

¾ teaspoon ground black pepper

Kosher or sea salt, to taste

¼ cup red wine vinegar

¾ cup olive oil

filling:

11 (3 1/4-inch diameter) slices mozzarella or smoked mozzarella

11 (3 1/4-inch diameter) slices Genoa salami

11 (3 1/4-inch diameter) slices cappacola

11 (3 1/4-inch diameter) slices pepperoni

1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto ham

11 (3 1/4-inch diameter) slices deli-sliced provolone cheese

corn meal for the peel

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water

Preparation

pizza dough:

1.  In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine the water and sugar stir to combine and sprinkle the yeast over it. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.  If the yeast doesn't "proof" (get "foamy") pour it out and start again it is important to have a live yeast mixture.

2.  Meanwhile place the 2 cups of flour and the salt into a sifter and sift it into the medium bowl  of a stand mixer.  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the olive oil and the "proofed" yeast mixture.  Turn the mixer, fitted with dough hooks,  to high (labeled  knead on my mixer) and turn on.  Continue kneading (mixing) until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball around the dough hooks (scrap the sides of the bowl to move flour into the path of the hooks as needed).

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky (add flour gradually as needed to reach the slightly tacky state), 3 to 5 minutes. 

4.  Lightly oil a large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap cloth and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

olive salad:

1.  In a medium bowl, mix together the olives, garlic, capers, celery, cocktail onions, celery seed, oregano, basil, vinegar, olive oil.   Correct seasoning with black pepper and salt.

2.  If not used immediately, transfer the mixture into a covered glass jar (or other covered, nonreactive container), and refrigerate otherwise cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to marinate for at least 1 hour before using.

stuffed pizza construction:

1.  Place an appropriately sized pizza stone on the bottom (not on a shelf, putting the stone in contact with the oven bottom will allow it to get hotter and provide the SLIGHT charring on the bottom of the pizza that is the signature of a good Italian pizza) of your oven and pre-heat the oven to 450° F.

2.  Turn the dough out onto floured surface. Knead gently and shape into a 12-inch log. Cut the log into 2 equal pieces. Knead each piece into smooth ball, set one of the balls aside covered by inverted bowls to  keep it from drying out while working with the other.   

3.  Working with one of the dough balls at a time, place the dough ball  in front of you on  the lightly floured work surface and, with fingertips, press it into a disk of dough approximately 10 to 12 - inches round about 1/8 inch thick (if necessary use a rolling pin to achieve the 1/8-inch thickness [don’t worry if the pizza isn’t perfectly round . . . that’s called “rustica” and it’s the way “real” Italian pizza looks in Italy]). 

4.  Distribute some corn meal over the surface of a pizza peel (this will act as “ball bearings” and allow the dough round to move easily over the surface of the peel) and transfer the formed pizza base onto the peel; alternatively place the pizza base on a 12-inch round, metal pizza pan which has been previously sprinkled with some corn meal.

5.  Evenly distribute (spread) several tablespoons of the olive salad over the base leaving a clean 1-inch edge all around the pizza base.  Top this layer with the slices of salami, then the slices of provolone, then the slices of pepperoni, then the slices of mozzarella, then the slices of cappacola, and finally with the slices of prosciutto taking care of respect the 1-inch clean edge

.

 6.  Working with the remaining dough ball, place the it  in front of you on  the lightly floured work surface and again, with fingertips, press it into a disk of dough approximately the same size as the one created for the base and also about 1/8 inch thick (if necessary use a rolling pin to achieve the same 1/8-inch thickness.  

7.  Lightly brush  the 1-inch clean margin with some of the beaten  egg and carefully place this second disc over the first,  pressing and rolling the edge of  the stuffed pie to seal it.  Evenly brush the surface with some of  the egg wash.

8.  Gently shake the peel to insure the pizza moves freely (if it doesn’t gently lift the edges of the pizza and distribute additional corn meal until it does), using the peel slide the pizza onto the stone  or alternatively place  the round, metal  pizza pan into the oven (on the pizza stone or on the lower deck of the oven)  and bake the pizza until it turns golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 20-25 minutes in a 450°F oven (keep an eye on the bottom of the pie . . . . slight charring is desirable heavy charring is burnt!).  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then cut into eight wedges and serve accompanied by a  green salad.

Vegetable Samosas

Vegetable Samosas

Makes 48 Samosas

(India)

Samosas are delicious little Indian dumplings we first enjoyed at various Indian Restaurants while we lived in Southern California.  While you can  go to the trouble of making your own dumpling skins, commercial wan-ton skins do an excellent job and while the recipe calls for circular wan-ton  skins square ones are more  common.  The only trick here is to be sure that the potatoes are thoroughly cooked. 

Ingredients

48 3 1/4 x 3 1/4-inch Won Ton Wraps

vegetable filling:

4 tablespoons of Ghee*

1 pound of potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 – inch dice

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1 cup peeled and finely chopped yellow onions

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons of Garam Marsala

1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander

½ teaspoon of turmeric

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

1 cup of frozen peas, thawed

Kosher or sea salt, to taste

Preparation

vegetable filling:

1.  Heat a large frying over low heat and add the Ghee, potatoes, garlic, onion, and ginger.  Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes, stirring several times, to sweat the potatoes,  do not allow the potatoes to brown.

2.  Add the remaining ingredients and continue cooking, covered, until the potatoes and peas are tender (about 5 minutes).  Taste and adjust seasoning, remember potatoes require lots of salt.  Set aside and allow to cool before filling the pastries.

filling the pastries and frying the Samosas:

1.   Working with one wrap at a time, position the wrap directly in front  of you oriented as a diamond with each point pointing in a compass direction.    Place a generous teaspoon of the filling in the center of the diamond, wet the edges of the diamond with a little water and fold the bottom half of the diamond up over the top half and the filling  forming a triangle, press the edges slightly to seal and place on a dish.   Continue this process until all the wrappers and the filling have been used up.

2.   After all the Samosas are formed, either heat about 4-inches of oil in a large pot  to 375 degrees F.  over medium high heat or place the manufacturer's suggested amount of oil  in the container of a deep fryer and heat it to 375 degrees F. 

3.  When the oil comes up to temperature add the Samosas to the oil, several at a time, and fry until golden brown (for the oil in pot method) or per manufacturers suggested time (if you are using a deep fryer), about 4 minutes.  After they are fried , remove the samosas from the oil with a slotted spoon and place them on a dish lined with paper towels to drain.

4.  Serve warm accompanied by your favourite Chutney, alone  or as an accompaniment to your favourite Indian dish.

*clarified butter

Classic Stromboli

Classic Stromboli

makes 2 servings

(Italy)

Stromboli is basically the traditional (and more tasty) Italian version of the commercially produced “Hot Pocket”® sandwich.  This version contains the ingredients that we find most appealing and which are most traditional.  You may add almost any content which is to your taste it is recommended however, that whatever you stuff this sandwich with keep it kind of dry.  My wife likes it served with a spicy tomato sauce for dipping.

Ingredients

stromboli dough:

1 cup bread flour

1/2 cup lukewarm water (110° F)

1/2 package (1 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

stromboli filling:

½ pound hot Italian sausage, removed from casings and crumbled (optional)

1 cup sliced yellow onions

½  cup thinly sliced red bell peppers

½  cup thinly sliced green bell peppers

8 slices ham

8 slices (3 1/2-inch diameter) thinly sliced pepperoni

8 slices (3 1/2-inch diameter) salami

8 slices (3 1/2-inch diameter) provolone

8 slices (3 1/2-inch diameter) mozzarella

½  cup sliced Kalamata olives

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water to make an egg wash

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation

stromboli dough:

1.  In a 1 cup measuring cup, combine the water and sugar stir to combine and sprinkle the yeast over it. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.  If the yeast doesn't "proof" (get "foamy") pour it out and start again it is important to have a live yeast mixture.

2.  Meanwhile place the 1 cup of flour and the salt into a sifter and sift it into the medium bowl  of a stand mixer.  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the olive oil and the "proofed" yeast mixture.  Turn the mixer, fitted with dough hooks,  to high (labeled  knead on my mixer) and turn on.  Continue kneading (mixing) until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball around the dough hooks (scrap the sides of the bowl to move flour into the path of the hooks as needed).

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky (add flour gradually as needed to reach the slightly tacky state), 3 to 5 minutes. 

4.  Lightly oil a large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap cloth and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

stromboli construction and baking:

1.  Preheat the oven to 425° F. and lightly oil a large baking sheet and set aside. 

2.  In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until browned and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towels. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. 

3.  Add the onions and cook over medium heat until onions begin to caramelize.  Add  the balsamic vinegar, bell peppers  and cook, stirring, until very soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.   Remove from the heat and cool. 

4.  Meanwhile, remove the stromboli dough from its bowl and divide into 2 equally sized portions.  Form each portion into a ball.  Lightly flour your work  surface and, working with one ball  at a time, flatten the ball into a disk.  Using your hands and a rolling pin, work the disk into a thin (about 1/8" thick) larger disk about 10 to 11 inches in  diameter (as if you were  making a thin, round  pizza).  Using a 10" dinner plate as form, center the plate on the dough  disk and using a sharp knife trim and discard the excess dough, remove the plate.  You should now have a perfectly round 10" disk  to work with.

5.  Working with the 10" disk  in front of you, and using a pastry brush, brush olive oil over the  surface of the dough leaving a  1/2-inch margin uncoated on  the edge of the disk.  Overlapping the slices slightly, layer half of the ham, salami,  pepperoni, olives, provolone and mozzarella cheeses, and onions over the bottom half of the dough circle respecting the clean, 1/2-inch margin along the edge.  

6.  Spread  half of the cooled sausage mixture evenly over the cheese and sliced meats again respecting  the 1/2-inch clean margin.   Lightly brush  the 1/2-inch clean margin with some of the beaten  egg/water mixture and  fold the upper half of the disk over the lower half pressing  the edge together to seal (the tines of a fork can be used to a crimped edge for visual appeal).  

7.  Remove the newly formed stromboli to the lightly oiled baking sheet and repeat steps 4 thru 6 with the remaining dough ball.

8.  Lightly brush the tops of each of the stromboli with some of the beaten eggs being careful not to allow any of the egg to seep under the stromboli (this will tend to cause the stromboli to stick to the baking sheet as they cook and make  removal difficult).  You may cut 2 or 3 1-inch slits into the top of each stromboli to allow steam to escape if you think  it necessary.

9.  Place the baking sheet containing the stromboli in the center of the preheated oven  and bake until the stromboli are nicely, golden browned, 30 to 40 minutes.  Serve immediately if you're going  to eat the stromboli with a fork and knife or allow to cool slightly if you are going to eat them as sandwiches to avoid burning  your mouth.  The stromboli may be served accompanied by  a spicy marinara sauce for dipping.

Italian Cold Cut Stromboli

Italian Cold Cut Stromboli

makes 2 servings

(Italy)

Stromboli is basically the traditional (and more tasty) Italian version of the commercially produced “Hot Pocket”® sandwich.  This version contains the Italian "cold cuts" (luncheon meats)  that we find most appealing and which are most traditional.  You may add almost any content which is to your taste it is recommended however, that whatever you stuff this sandwich with keep it kind of dry.  Mom likes it served with a spicy tomato sauce for dipping.

Ingredients

stromboli dough:

1 cup bread flour

1/2 cup lukewarm water (110° F)

1/2 package (1 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

stromboli filling:

8 (3 1/2-inch diameter) slices hot Italian Cappacola  ham

8 (3 1/2-inch diameter) slices pepperoni

8 (3 1/2-inch diameter) slices Genoa salami

8 (3 1/2-inch diameter) slices provolone

1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water to make an egg wash 

Preparation

stromboli dough:

1.  In a 1 cup measuring cup, combine the water and sugar stir to combine and sprinkle the yeast over it. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.  If the yeast doesn't "proof" (get "foamy") pour it out and start again it is important to have a live yeast mixture.

2.  Meanwhile place the 1 cup of flour and the salt into a sifter and sift it into the medium bowl  of a stand mixer.  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the olive oil and the "proofed" yeast mixture.  Turn the mixer, fitted with dough hooks,  to high (labeled  knead on my mixer) and turn on.  Continue kneading (mixing) until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball around the dough hooks (scrap the sides of the bowl to move flour into the path of the hooks as needed).

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky (add flour gradually as needed to reach the slightly tacky state), 3 to 5 minutes. 

4.  Lightly oil a large mixing bowl with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil the ball on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap cloth and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

stromboli construction and baking:

1.  Begin construction of the stromboli when by preheating the oven  to 450° F. and lightly oiling a  baking sheet.

2.  Meanwhile, remove the stromboli dough from its bowl and divide into 2 equally sized portions.  Form each portion into a ball.  Lightly flour your work  surface and, working with one ball  at a time, flatten the ball into a disk.  Using your hands and a rolling pin, work the disk into a thin (about 1/8" thick) larger disk about 10 to 11 inches in  diameter (as if you were  making a thin, round  pizza).  Using a 10" dinner plate as form, center the plate on the dough  disk and using a sharp knife trim and discard the excess dough, remove the plate.  You should now have a perfectly round 10" disk  to work with.

3.  Working with the 10" disk  in front of you, place 4 of the provolone slices (in an overlapping  manner) across the lower half of the disk leaving a 1/2-inch margin uncovered between the provolone and the edge of the disk.  In a similar manner layer 4 slices  of cappacola,  4 slices of salami, 4 slices of pepperoni, and  4 slices of Genoa Salami respecting the clean, 1/2-inch margin along the edge.   Lightly brush  the 1/2-inch clean margin with some of the beaten  egg/water mixture and  fold the upper half of the disk over the lower half pressing  the edge together to seal (the tines of a fork can be used to a crimped edge for visual appeal).  

4.  Remove the newly formed stromboli to the lightly oiled baking sheet and repeat steps 2 and 3 with the remaining dough ball.

5.  Lightly brush the tops of each of the stromboli with some of the beaten eggs being careful not to allow any of the egg to seep under the stromboli (this will tend to cause the stromboli to stick to the baking sheet as they cook and make  removal difficult).  You may cut 2 or 3 1-inch slits into the top of each stromboli to allow steam to escape if you think  it necessary.

6.  Place the baking sheet containing the stromboli in the center of the preheated oven  and bake until the stromboli are nicely, golden browned, 30 to 40 minutes.  Serve immediately if you're going  to eat the stromboli with a fork and knife or allow to cool slightly if you are going to eat them as sandwiches to avoid burning  you mouth.  The stromboli may be served accompanied by  a spicy marinara sauce for dipping.

Pizza Gana alla Momma

Pizza Gana alla Momma

(Mom's Meat Pie)

Makes 1 pizza 13x9x2 inches

(Italy)

This is a family Christmas tradition, it is rich and relatively expensive to make but well worth the cost.  Its rich, subtle flavour is addictive to those that taste it, so much so that one friend of ours travels 400 miles each Christmas to trade her special fudge for it.  The recipe multiplies nicely; merely keep the proportions the same.  Pizza Gana is also known as Pizza Rustica or Pizza Carne in some regions.

Ingredients

filling:

1/2 pound Prosciutto ham, sliced very thin

1/2 pound Cappacola ham, sliced very thin

1/2 pound Genoa Salami, sliced very thin

1/2 pound good Pepperoni, sliced very thin

1-pound Mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated

3 pounds Ricotta cheese

6 eggs

1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

pie crust (or use your own recipe or a commercial pie crust):

3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/6 cups shortening

9 to 12 tablespoons cold water

Preparation

Filling  preparation:

1.  Preheat oven to 400º.  Into a large bowl, tear individual slices of each cold cut (except pepperoni) into pieces about the width and length of one's thumb (about 1"x 2" pieces).  Add the slices of pepperoni without tearing.  Toss the mixture to evenly distribute the different meats.

2.  Add the grated Mozzarella, Ricotta, eggs, and nutmeg and mix thoroughly with your hands until all ingredients have been evenly distributed.  Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper to taste, insure you mix thoroughly after adding the salt and pepper.

Pizza crust preparation:

3.  Sift flour and salt together; cut in shortening with a fork until the pieces are the size of small peas.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over part of the mixture and toss with fork, push the moistened flour mixture to side of bowl.  Repeat until all the flour mixture has been moistened.  Divide mixture and form into two balls.

4.   On a lightly floured surface, flatten one of the balls of dough.  Roll the dough out, starting from the center, to a rough rectangle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a lightly greased, rectangular, glass baking dish (approximately 13x9x2 inches in size) and about 1/8 inch thick. 

5.  Place dough sheet into baking dish and form to cover the bottom and sides.  Add the filling mixture and distribute evenly.   On a lightly floured surface, roll out the second ball of dough to roughly the same size as the first and about 1/8 inch thick.  Cut into strips of dough 1/2 to 3/4 inches wide.  Lay strips on filled pie at about 1 inch intervals across the width of the pie, fold back alternate strips and begin forming a lattice by interweaving strips placed at 1 inch intervals down the length of the pie (beginning 1 inch from the upper edge) with the strips along the width.   After the lattice has been formed, trim excess dough around the edges of the dish by running a sharp knife along the outer rim of the dish.  Seal edges.

6.  Place the pie in the middle of the preheated oven and bake until the latticed top of the pie is golden brown, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.  Allow the pie to cool and set completely before cutting and serving (the pizza is customarily made the day before it is to be served and allowed to cool over night.  It is normally cut into 3-inch cubes for serving).

Cincinnati Chili

Cincinnati Chili 

serves 4

(America)

Cincinnati-style chili is an enduring American classic that I first tasted in the Cincinnati  airport while on  a business trip.  Whether prepared two-way (chili over spaghetti), three-way (with cheese), four-way (with onions), or five-way (with a finishing flourish of kidney beans) it's an interesting twist on both chili and spaghetti.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/4 teaspoons granular garlic

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1 dried bay leaf

Kosher or sea salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper,  to taste

2 cups tomato sauce

1 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup water*

4 cups finely grated cheddar cheese (optional)

2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped (optional)

1  15-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed  under hot water and drained (optional)

3/4 pound dried spaghetti

Preparation

1. In a large (12-inch) sauté pan over medium-high heat bring oil to the ripple stage.  Add garlic and half of the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 5–6 minutes. 

2.  Add beef and cook, stirring, until  it  begins to brown.  Add the chili powder, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cumin, oregano, nutmeg, celery seed, bay leaf, and salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 6–8 minutes. Tilt skillet and spoon out and discard any accumulated fat. 

3.  Add tomato sauce, cocoa powder, and water; bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, partially covered, until somewhat thick*, about 25 minutes.

4.  For a two-way, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, until al  dente, 6-8 minutes; drain.

5.   Meanwhile, for a four way, heat beans in a small pot and cook over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until hot throughout. 

6.  Divide spaghetti between 4 large bowls.  For a two-way, top each bowl of spaghetti with 1/4 of the chili;  for a three-way, top with cheese; for a four-way top each bowl  with some of the remaining onions; and for a five-way top with beans. Serve hot, with oyster crackers on the side.

*additional water can be added if chili is too "tight"