When you say “Cincinnati style chili”, most people have no clue what you are talking about. But if you are from the Cincinnati area like we are, you know that chili cheese coneys are equally as important as air and water.
Even though we live in NJ now, we have chili cheese coneys, chili cheese spaghetti, or chili cheese tater tots 2-4 times a month. That is all thanks to seasoning packets.
Christy grew up a Dixie Chili kid (home of the Alligator). I grew up mainly on Empress Chili and Gold Star Chili, but we had Skyline Chili from time to time. After I was old enough to make my own decisions, I settled on Gold Star. I only ate there once, but I have to give a shout out to Camp Washington Chili, where during a 2AM run in my drunken youth I got them to put a slice of bacon on each of my coneys. It was amazing.
Since we don’t have any extended family out here, a few years ago I decided to make a buffet of sides on Christmas Eve to give that feeling of when you go to visit family and everyone brings something.
I’ll give the recipes for my cheese ball, meatball bites, beer cheese with nachos, sushi, and hot dogs in mustard sauce in other posts, but this one is focusing on the Cincinnati holiday tradition – Chili Cheese Dip.
It’s a super simple recipe, but first off, you’ll need to get Cincinnati style seasoning mix. Like I said, Gold Star is my favorite, but you do what’s right for you and your family. Since we live 600+ miles away now, we have to buy ours online. Depending on the prices at the time, Christy also buys the Cincinnati Recipe brand.
To make the dip you’ll need an 8oz package of cream cheese at room temperature, a batch of Cincinnati style chili (or leftovers), a finely diced onion, some finely shredded cheddar cheese, and a bag of tortilla chips.
The recipe
First preheat the oven to 375. While the oven is heating, spread the cream cheese into an even layer in an 8″ x 8″ or 9″ x 9″ baking dish.
Then add the chili. I don’t really measure things, so probably between 1-2 cups. You don’t need a ton, so just scoop on what you need to give you a nice covering over the cream cheese.
Then sprinkle on the amount of diced onion you desire. There’s no wrong answer…unless you omit the onions. That offense is punishable by death.
Finally cover with shredded cheddar. No cheddar you can buy at the store will ever equal the light pillowy mound of a Cincinnati chili parlor, but this is getting melted down, so who cares.
Cover with foil, bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 6 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Cream cheese gets awfully hot, so you may want to let it sit for a few minutes before you start digging in with the chips.
If you’re not from Cincinnati, this style of chili is loosey goosey. So if it seems watery, you didn’t fuck it up. If you are from Cincinnati, you probably just ate this a few weeks ago and are still trying to work off the weight.
Enjoy!