That Craving Feeling

When I first moved to Sydney nearly six year ago, I didn't think that I would miss much about the States. My family and friends, of course, but, given the amazingly wonderful lifestyle in OZ, I couldn't think of much else. Soon thereafter, however, I realized that transition wasn't going to be so easy. I began to miss certain foods.

It started with cravings for Central and South American flavors: tamales, pupusa, empanada, tomatillos, chipotle peppers, corn tortillas (for the love of god someone please teach the Aussies to make real corn tortillas). My stomach had me marching from the inner city to the outer suburbs in search of ingredients – ancho chilies, corn husks, masa. The latter I managed to pick up at a Spanish deli in the city and quickly set about rolling out tortillas, stuffing tamales, and patting out pupusa.

Over time my cravings took a bizarre turn. I began to crave junk food. Some of the cravings I could understand. For instance, even now, five-and-a-bit-years on, every time I am hungry I think about a hamburger. Namely an In-N-Out Double-Double Animal Style. Amen. Those of you who know, well, you know.

Other cravings are a bit harder to explain. I began to desire root beer. This is especially strange since I didn't even drink root beer in the States when it was available to me all the time. I don't think I'd had a root beer sine I was about twelve. Nonetheless I again found myself wandering around the various import shops and specialty suppliers of Sydney in hopes of a soda fix. When that fix came it arrived in the form of an entire case of the stuff. The result? A confused realization that root beer isn't that good, really, unless you're making a float.

One of the strongest of all my recurring cravings is for something that I often found myself craving in the States as well. My parents are from Cincinnati, home to a special kind of chili that is cooked almost nowhere else in the world. It looks more like a bolognese sauce than chili and it is full of so-called “sweet spices” like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, and, strangely, chocolate. One particular chain of fast food restaurants in and around Cincinnati, Skyline Chili, spoons this chili over miniature hot dogs, tops them with cheese and sells them under moniker “cheese coney.”

I grew up in Wyoming, and, when we visited the family in Cincinnati every few years, we were always sure to eat about a dozen cheese coneys each. The time between trips was marked, true for the entire family, by a desperate yearning for this particular bit of junk food. Now that I live, for all practical purposes, on the other side of the planet, the cravings are worse.

Perhaps there is some sort of craving equation, or 'equravetion', if you will. It must be something like: the strength of the craving is proportional to the distance from the source, multiplied by the inverse of the frequency one once had said object of craving added to the time since one last satisfied the craving.

Look, if I were any good at math do you think I'd have to be a cook for a living?

Anyway, this craving reciently became far too great for me to live with, so I made cheese coneys.

One more thing: Australians don't eat hot dogs in the quantities Americans do. As a result, good hot dog buns are hard to come by. Luckily for me, they are easy to make. Even if you can get good buns, it's fun to make your own. The recipe below makes a perfect, buttery, slightly sweet, fluffy bun. I made 8 mini buns – about half the length of a hot dog, to create an authentic fast food feel.

Oh, and just so Australians don't feel too picked upon: Americans, your cheese is dyed. No, I didn't say “your cheese has died,” I said it's been dyed. There is no natural reason that mass-manufactured cheddar cheese should be orange. It comes colored so because of the addition of artificial colorings, annatto in most cases. There are a few naturally deep yellow cheeses, but this is the result of a high beta-carotene content in the milk of pasture-fed cows coupled with a long aging process of the cheese. Thus my cheese coneys are adorned with white cheddar. It's only natural.




Mini Hot Dog Buns

125ml warm milk
2 tsp instant yeast
1 egg yolk
200g plain flour
30g sugar
½ teaspoons salt
25g room temp butter, cut into small squares

Sprinkle the yeast into the warm (not hot) milk and let stand for 10 minuets, until it begins to foam a bit.

Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the egg yolk and the milk and yeast. Stir until a sticky dough has formed. One piece at a time, drop in the soft butter and work it into the dough until it is all incorporated.

On a lightly floured board knead the dough for about 10 minuets, until it is smooth and elastic. Place it into a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about an hour.

Punch the dough down and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 6 cm log and place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Cover with cling film and let rise until at least doubled, about an hour.

Bake in a preheated 190º oven 14-17 minuets, until they are golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Cincinnati Chili

2 Tbsp oil
½ brown onion, brunios
2 cloves garlic, fine chop
500g beef mince
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sweet paprika
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried oregano
¼ nutmeg, grated
1 bay leaf
¼ tsp whole celery seed
1 whole clove
5 black peppercorns
250ml tomato puree
2 tsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 c finely grated cheddar cheese

Begin by preparing the spices. Lightly toast the celery seed, black peppercorn, and clove in a dry pan. Grind them in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Add to this mix the rest of the spices (not the chocolate).

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan heat the oil on medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Sweat until they are soft and translucent, but not colored. Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds, and then add the beef and spice mix. Cook on medium heat until the beef is browned, breaking it up as much as possible as it cooks.

Add the chocolate, tomato puree, and 1 cup of water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for about 2 hours, or until the beef is very soft. Uncover and simmer until thick, about another 15 minuets.

Heat up some hot dogs. You'll probably have to cut them in half to fit your mini buns. Cut the buns open, place the hot dog inside, add a smear of mustard if you like, then top with your hot chili and a mountain of fluffy grated cheddar cheese. Splash the top with a bit of a vinegary hot sauce and get to work eating. You'll eat at least 4 of these, no problem.