It was a rainy, cold Saturday when I made this Cincinnati chili. It rained so hard that Bennett’s soccer game was cancelled. And that’s saying a lot, because normally they play “rain or shine”  — which actually means mostly rain, seeing as we are on the west coast of Canada. And you’d think I’d be unfazed by the rain by now, but I have to admit that I was more than a little excited to get to stay in our cozy warm home instead of having to venture out to the soccer field in the pouring rain that day.

Suddenly I had unexpected free time on my hands! Whatever would I do? The obvious answer (for me, anyway) was to head to the kitchen and do some cooking. And the obvious recipe for a dreary fall weekend had to be chili. Nothing warms you up and adds some spice to your day like a big bowl of hot chili.

This Cincinnati chili from Ricardo was particularly appealing, with its unique combination of spices that filled the house with comforting scents of cinnamon and allspice as it simmered away on the stove. I know what you’re thinking, because I was thinking it, too — cinnamon and allspice in a chili? Aren’t those baking spices?

It reminded me of the story my family always tells about my sister making beans with cinnamon. I was too young to remember it, but to this day, my parents and older sisters still joke about how awful it was. She’ll never live it down, the poor woman.

I was a tad afraid I might be following in her footsteps, the brunt of another family joke, by making chili with cinnamon, allspice, and — gasp — cloves. But I was also very curious to give it a try, and my curiosity won out.

I made a half-batch just in case nobody liked it, but that didn’t turn out to be a problem. My family ate it all! Cole said it was “strange, but in a good way.” He even had a second helping. Ayla wouldn’t sit at the table at first, which is typical for her, but when I told her dinner had spaghetti and cheese in it, she finally sat and ate it. Everyone was interested in the spaghetti with chili, because that was something new for us. It was a great change, and I think I’ll be serving chili with spaghetti more often now.

To my relief, no one seemed to be bothered by (or even notice) the cinnamon or other spices. I even asked the boys if they could tell me what spices were in it, and Bennett mentioned Taco seasoning, so clearly he picked up on the chili powder and cumin, but nothing else. I enjoyed the different spices. The Mexican spices were still the star of the show, as they should be in a chili, and the mildly sweet baking spices were a pleasant addition to the dish. They reminded me of fall. It was a deliciously cozy chili that soothed and warmed us on a cool evening.

To make this Cincinnati Chili for yourself, visit Ricardo – Cincinnati Chili

I followed the recipe pretty closely, except for using black beans instead of kidney beans because that’s just what I had on hand. I’m sure it would be just as good with kidney beans.

If you’d like to try more chili recipes from Ricardo, visit Ricardo – Chili Recipes

Disclosure: I received monetary compensation for sharing my review of this recipe from Ricardo Cuisine. All opinions in this post are my own.