Spaghetti alla Bolognese

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spaghetti alla bologneseI am actually not sure if this is really spaghetti alla bolognese.  But is it really tasty, and when given to me was only named Ragout.

Story time.

We always are on the lookout for good restaurants, especially those little ones in out of the ay places with really good food.  When we lived in Florida we found many like that, but one of our favorites was this small Italian place tucked into a strip mall behind a grocery store.  (It was off of Waters and Dale Mabry in Tampa, if that helps anyone with a local map).  The people running the place were very welcoming, professional, and friendly.  They spoke with a heavy accent, and I am pretty sure the lady that ran the kitchen didn’t speak much English.  It had the feel of authentic food, and everything we tried there was delicious.

The best, of course, was their Spaghetti alla Bolognese.  Rich with flavor, full of vegetables, and obviously slow cooked over a several hours, it was incredible.  I couldn’t get enough of it.

Then we moved across the country.

I have tried several recipes for Spaghetti alla Bolognese.  And they were good, but not as good as that place in Tampa.  And then my friend offered his wife’s recipe to me.  I knew it was authentic Italian, since he and his wife are authentic Italian.  In Italy.  So I made her sauce.  And it is AWESOME.  In fact, it is better than the one in Tampa (although if I find myself in Tampa, I will still go back to that restaurant).  It is one of my more cherished recipes.  And now I have permission to share it with the world.

I’ve included the original in Italian at the end of the port, plus it’s Google translated version.  My version here trades out the wine.  Feel free to use the original, as it’s even better!

Also, I usually triple the recipe, as my kids eat a lot, and for this, I like leftovers.

Start by chipping all your vegetables.

spaghetti alla bologneseMelt the butter. (I never said it was low fat)

spaghetti alla bologneseadd the vegetables.

spaghetti alla bolognese  Saute them until they are wilted, or onions are translucent.

spaghetti alla bologneseAdd pork, beef, and pancetta. Cook for ten minutes.

spaghetti alla bologneseAdd beef stock, and balsamic vinegar. Reduce slightly.

spaghetti alla bologneseAdd crushed tomatoes, and half the vegetable stock. Stir it together.  Cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally, and gradually adding the other half of the vegetable stock.

spaghetti alla bolognesespaghetti alla bolognese

Once the sauce has reduced enough to be sauce, add the cream (or milk).

spaghetti alla bologneseCook the pasta al dente and season generously.

spaghetti alla bolognese

 

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Spaghetti alla Bolognese
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Authentic Italian ragout
Ingredients
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 sticks celery, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 3½ ounce lean ground pork
  • 3½ ounce lean ground beef
  • 1¾ ounce pancetta
  • ½ cup beef stock
  • 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 9 ounce crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon heavy cream (may replace with 2 Tablespoons milk)
Instructions
  1. Saute onion, celery, and carrot in the butter until wilted, or onions are translucent.
  2. Add pork, beef, and pancetta. Cook for ten minutes.
  3. Add beef stock, and balsamic vinegar. Reduce slightly.
  4. Add crushed tomatoes, and half the vegetable stock. Cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally, and gradually adding the other half of the vegetable stock.
  5. Once the sauce has reduced enough to be sauce, add the cream (or milk).
  6. Cook your pasta al dente and season generously.

 

Original ragout recipe:

Pulire e tritare grossolanamente  una cipolla media, una costola di sedano e una carota e farle soffriggere in 50 G di burro.

Quando si sono appassite aggiungere la carne macinata ( 100 G di polpa di maiale, 100 G di polpa di vitello, 50 G di pancetta) e cuocere per 10 minuti.

Versare un bicchiere di vino rosso e farlo evaporare per metà; aggiungere 259 G di passata di pomodoro, sale, pepe e 1/2 bicchiere di brodo vegetale (fatto facendo bollire nell”acqua le verdure: carote, patate, sedano, etc. e poi togliere le verdure e usare il brodo).

Incoperchiare eabbassare la fiamma al minimo facendo cuocere almeno per 2 ore, aggiungendo man mano 1/2 tazza di brodo.

Quando il ragout si è ristretto abbastanza (a fine cottura) aggiungere due cucchiai di latte o un cucchiaio di panna.

Cuocere la pasta al dente e condire generosamente.

Translated to English

Clean and coarsely chop a medium onion, a stick of celery and a carrot and fry them in 50 g of butter.

When you are wilted add the minced meat (100 g of lean pork, 100 g of lean beef, 50 g of bacon(panchetta)) and cook for 10 minutes.

Pour a glass of red wine and let it evaporate to half; 259 G add tomato puree, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup vegetable broth (made ​​by boiling in “water vegetables: carrots, potatoes, celery, etc.., and then remove the vegetables and use the broth).

Put the lid and reduce heat to low and cook for at least 2 hours, gradually adding 1/2 cup of broth.

When the ragout has shrunk enough (after cooking), add two tablespoons of milk or a spoonful of whipped cream.

Cook the pasta al dente and season generously.

World’s Best Pancakes

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pancakesI love pancakes. In fact, I adore pancakes.  If it took no time to make them (and no calories), I would eat pancakes twice a week.  Unfortunately work and children conspire to take up my pancake time, and I settle for lesser food in the mornings.  (And I gladly make that choice, but I think it is ok to occasionally lament the good things we give up for better things).

This is another food that I would make ok at home but head to a restaurant for better on the weekends.  I even went through a phase when we used a powdered mix to save time and effort.  I learned that some things are worth the effort, or left alone until the time can be set aside to do them right.  Save yourselves from box mixes and instant foods!
So one day I finally had sufficiently bad pancakes to push me the the Internet in pursuit of the perfect recipe.  And there are a lot of them; some good, some terrible.  I tried twelve different pancake recipes, all claiming to be the best.  And some were really good.  We finally found one that headed toward great, but not quite there.  We tweaked, and we adjusted.  We tested and we adapted.  What we ended up with was different than all the others, with a little borrowed from a lot of different ideals.
We call them the World’s Best Pancakes.  It is a little bit hyperbole, but not much.  I think you’ll like what we came up with.

Notes.
We are at 4200 ft altitude.  You may need slightly less flour, and maybe a pinch less baking soda if you are at sea level.  Please post a comment on any success or failure at different elevations.
Also, this makes a LOT of pancakes.  Most people have extras at the end.  They freeze well and heat up nicely in a toaster or oven, or you can half or third the recipe.
One other thing, the syrup makes a big difference.  Either use a high end syrup, or at least get one made from sugar (like Log Cabin) and not made from corn syrup.  Or try these with strawberries and caramel sauce.

pancakes

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World's Best Pancakes
Author: 
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 40 - 3" pancakes
 
These pancakes are so good, they will ruin your appetite for all other pancakes.
Ingredients
  • 3¾ cups all purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1½ teaspoons baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 3½ cups milk
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 ½ tablespoon vinegar
  • 3 eggs
  • ⅓ cup butter, melted
Instructions
  1. In a medium glass bowl (4 cups or larger) make the sour milk, starting with the lemon juice and vinegar, and adding the milk until a you have a total of 3½ cups. Let sit at least five minutes while you mix the dry ingredients.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In the glass bowl with the sour milk, and the eggs and beat or whisk together. Once combined, slowly beat in melted butter. Keep the wet and dry mixtures separate until just before cooking.
  4. Heat your electric griddle to between 325 and 350. You know it's ready when you can flick water drops onto the surface and they bead up, sizzle, and dance for a moment before evaporating.
  5. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture, and whisk together. Do not over stir; mix just enough to bring together, a few small lumps are ok.
  6. Pour in ⅓ to ½ cup per pancake and brown on both sides, as if you are cooking pancakes. Which you are.
  7. Serve hot.

 

Red Sauce with Italian Sausage

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res sauceI think if we are to be honest with ourselves, most of us have had a love of a basic Red Sauce since we were too young to put a name to it.  I was enamored with Spaghetti-O’s, Chef Boy-R-Dee Beef Ravioli, and even those way too cheaply made pizzas sold in the deli section of the local grocery store.  You know the kind not really frozen pizzas, but may have once been?  I could not get enough of them.
As I got older, I progressed to slightly better sauce, the kind in those jars in the Italian aisle.  If I was truly lucky, my mom would make a homemade spaghetti, but not often enough.  Not by far.
When I got out on my own, I discovered Olive Garden, Spaghetti Factory, and Brick Oven.  It was amazing what a good Red Sauce could taste like.  I discovered some white sauces, and even a lemon butter sauce (both still great sauces in their realms) but eventually I would return to the Red Sauce.
One day, in all my arrogance, I proclaimed “How hard could it be? There are only a few basic ingredients!”  I was then in for years of searching and experimenting for the right ratios of those basic ingredients.  Had I known then how much effort and time it would take me, I am not sure if I wouldn’t just keep going to restaurants and work on other foods.  I am glad I did.  I think i am a better cook for the experience.

Don’t get me wrong, I made some ok sauces, and I got to eat a lot of Red Sauces along the way.  I also made some sauce that was only good with Parmesano-Romano cheese.  A lot of cheese.  And really strong garlic bread.
I finally came upon some Italian sausages at the local Costco.  When mixed with the pretty good sauce I had been playing with, I ended up with something spectacular.  It had balance, nuance, and flair.  And it was pretty simple to make.

In other words, it was a truly great Red Sauce.

 

Dice the Onion.  Crush the garlic.  Grate the carrots.  Open the cans of tomatoes.  Brown the sausages.

I will warn you that this makes a good sized batch.  Feel free to cut it in half or even quarters.  And patience will reward you.  It is not a five minute recipe by any means, but will take several hours, depending on how high a simmer you have it.  If you do it higher, please stir more often; you don’t want it burned, that’s not good sauce.

Oh, and Food Handler warning.  I only brown the sausage before cutting it and adding it to the sauce.  Please follow safe practices and don’t taste the sauce with undercooked pork or chicken in it; Once the meat is in, be patient and simmer it for a few hours before you taste test it.

italian sausagesred saucered sauce

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Red Sauce with Italian Sausage
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
I use the Torino Italian Sausages sold at Costco. They are really amazing in this sauce.
Ingredients
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium or large onion, diced
  • 5 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 4 – 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes – or one #10 can crushed tomatoes
  • ½ cup carrot, finely grated
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1¾ Tablespoon dried Oregano
  • 1¾ Tablespoon dried Basil
  • 1¾ Tablespoon dried Parsley
  • 2 Tablespoons brown bugar (or to taste, sometimes up to 3 Tablespoons)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste (roughly 1 T salt and ½ t pepper)

  • 20 Torino mild Italian Sausages
Instructions
  1. In a large stock pot, saute the diced onion in olive oil until translucent, 8-10 minutes. Add crushed garlic and saute slightly (be careful to not burn it).
  2. Add the tomatoes, carrots, and all the seasonings (the rest of the ingredient list, minus the sausages). Stir together, and set the burner for a simmer.
  3. In a skillet, brown the sausages on all sides. It is OK if they are still raw in the middle, we just want them browned to add flavor. Cut them in thirds (depending on their size) and add to the sauce.
  4. Simmer the sauce for 2-4 hours, stirring every half hour or so, then taste and adjust salt, pepper, and brown sugar as needed.