Week #35: Ohio - Cincinnati Skyline Chili Pizza

State: Ohio

Ohio is known for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Lebron James, and Cincinnati's Skyline Chili.  The difference between this chili and other chili’s, is that this is more of a sauce that you would use on spaghetti.  Apparently, Skyline already makes a pizza, so I decided to give it a try.  I am glad I did, because it came out very good.  This is a must try pizza!!

Ingredients:

1 pounds lean ground beef

1/2 cup of water, or amount to cover meat

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1/2 (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate

1/4 cup chili powder

1 teaspoons salt or to taste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon allspice

1 bay leaf

Other:

1/4 cup diced onions

1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1 pizza crust

1 package of cream cheese  

Chili:

Place the ground beef in a large pan with a little oil and cook until brown. Add around 1 cup of water or enough to cover meat, and bring to a boil.  Add tomato sauce, vinegar, seasonings, chocolate, and bay leaf.  Cover and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Water should thicken a little.  Remove from heat and allow to cool before putting on pizza.  

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cook crust for 5-7 minutes or until browned slightly.  Remove from heat and allow a few minutes for the crust to cool down a little.  While the crust is still warm, add a layer of cream cheese to the base of the pizza.  Next, cover the cream cheese with a layer of the chili.  Be careful putting too much liquid on the pizza, as you don't want this to overflow onto your hot oven floor.  After you spread the chili along the base, add a layer of onions and then cheddar cheese.  Put back into the oven and cook for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Remove from heat and allow pizza to cool before eating.

Pairing:

When pairing a chili, you need a good pale or tart ale to counter the acidity of the sauce.  I decided to go with a Rivertown Brewing Company Sour Ale from Ohio.  This beer was terrible and horrible by the way!  I am not into sour ales and unfortunately, this beer was very sour.  I would go with an IPA or a pale Ale in this case.  This was the only beer I could find from an Ohio Brewery.  For a wine, go with a nice sweet wine like a Riesling or a Pinio Grigio.  Cheers!

Learning Moments:

So I have never at Cincinnati chili before, but I really enjoyed it.  This Chili is definitely different from a Texas or Colorado chili, because it is more of a sauce for pasta.  The chili with the cheddar and cream cheese tasted amazing!  I would highly recommend making this pizza at least once.  Enjoy!