Cincinnati Chili, Fudge Cake, Pastry Crust

DEAR SOS: You recently printed a recipe for Cincinnati chili, one of the things for which that wonderful city is known. I was told that chocolate was the secret ingredient. We love Cincinnati chili so much that several years ago, while driving home from New York at 4:30 a.m., we pulled over after spotting a billboard advertising Gold Star chili, to await the opening of one of the restaurants featuring it.

I thought your readers would be interested in the recipe that was published in the Cincinnati Enquirer. The name “5-way Chili” derives from the ingredients added to the chili, such as spaghetti, beans, onions and Cheddar cheese.

--JANE

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DEAR JANE: You are a reader after our own heart.

CINCINNATI 5-WAY CHILI

2 pounds ground beef or 1 pound very lean ground beef mixed with 1 pound ground turkey

1 quart water

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce

5 whole or 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon red pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

4 tablespoons chili powder

1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate

4 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 large whole bay leaf

5 whole cloves

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cooked spaghetti, optional

Cooked red or pinto beans, optional

Chopped onion, optional

Shredded Cheddar cheese, optional

Place ground beef in 4-quart pot with water. Stir until beef separates to fine texture. Bring to boil and simmer 30 minutes. Add onions, tomato sauce, allspice, red pepper, cumin, chili powder, chocolate, garlic, vinegar, bay leaf, cloves, Worcestershire sauce, salt and cinnamon. Stir to blend. Bring to boil again. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 3 hours. During last hour, cover pot after desired consistency is reached.

Chili should be refrigerated overnight to allow fat to congeal. Lift fat from top before reheating.

To serve, layer cooked spaghetti, chili, beans, chopped onion and shredded Cheddar cheese. Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

326 calories; 933 mg sodium; 91 mg cholesterol; 21 grams fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 26 grams protein; 1.49 grams fiber.

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DEAR SOS: Can you help me find a recipe for “tunnel of fudge” cake? I lost my copy and would be happy if somehow I could retrieve this recipe.

--PEGGY

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DEAR PEGGY: As you might recall, the recipe had only five ingredients plus a box of chocolate frosting mix. It won a $5,000 prize at the 17th Pillsbury Bake-Off contest in 1966. The recipe was so popular that housewares departments around the country were emptied of bundt pans.

The Pillsbury Co., bowing to the demands of its consumers who adored the prize-winning recipe, decided after a long dry spell to whet our appetites again with a tunnel of fudge cake made from scratch. This is it.

TUNNEL OF FUDGE CAKE

1 3/4 cups margarine or butter, softened

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

6 eggs

2 cups powdered sugar

2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 cups chopped walnuts

Cocoa Glaze

Beat margarine and granulated sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add powdered sugar, blending well. By hand, stir in flour, cocoa and walnuts, until well blended.

Spoon batter into greased and floured 12-cup fluted tube pan or 10-inch angel-food tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees 58 to 62 minutes. Cool in pan on cooling rack 1 hour. Invert onto serving plate. Cool completely.

Spoon Cocoa Glaze over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides. Makes 16 servings.

Each serving contains about:

536 calories; 233 mg sodium; 134 mg cholesterol; 32 grams fat; 60 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 1.04 grams fiber.

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Cocoa Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons milk

Combine sugar, cocoa and milk in small bowl until well blended. Store tightly covered.

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DEAR SOS: I would like a pie crust recipe using vegetable oil instead of shortening or butter.

--YVONNE

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DEAR YVONNE: Here’s one.

OIL PASTRY

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup oil

3 tablespoons cold water

Sift flour and salt together in bowl. Add oil and mix well with fork. Sprinkle cold water over mixture and combine well.

Press mixture into smooth ball. If too dry, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons oil, little at time. Separate dough into unequal portions if making double crust pie. Divide into halves for 2 baked pie shells.

Wipe countertop or board with damp cloth so waxed paper will not slip. Roll out dough ball to circle between 2 (12-inch) squares of wax paper to edge of paper. Peel off top sheet of paper and gently invert pastry over pie plate. Peel off paper. Fit into pan, flute for single crust. Repeat if making 2 pies. If making 1 pie, fill and cover with top crust made from remaining dough. Makes enough for 2-crust 9-inch pie shell, or 6 servings.

Each serving, without filling, contains about:

225 calories; 295 mg sodium; trace cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.09 gram fiber.

Only recipes of general interest will be printed. Send recipe request to Culinary SOS, Food Section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053. Include restaurant address when requesting recipes from restaurants. We are unable to answer recipe requests by mail.