The Bolognese Blues

I have the Bolognese blues.

This weekend's Bolognese sauce battle has been in the works for months at my request, and I am home instead of being in Connecticut at a farm house with my beloved families (my two friends since grade school and their parents).

The head cold I had from 3 weeks ago manifested itself into my body, and I am on the mend from not having an appetite for a week now and only eating simple foods (hence lack of posts here on A Twist of Spaghetti). After getting scolded this morning by my doctor for not taking care of myself and being run-down, I sent my beautiful Bolognese sauce to battle without me.

I slept throughout the day and will sleep early tonight, drinking lots of water in between.

I did make some pasta to be topped with my sauce so I could post it here. I had a few bites, and I have to say this is a winner. I think I have a good shot at first place this despite my absence and hope that my family enjoys it. I miss them so very much tonight.

Bolognese sauce is a wonderfully rich "sugo" that takes time and attention to make right and perfect. You cannot rush the sugo, and the trick is to layer the sauce at each phase with lots of flavor. This is my recipe adapted from others - I am proud of how it has grown since I started making it over 8 years ago! It really is better the day after since it has time to sit with all the flavors and aromatics.

Amy's Winning Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 slices of thick, center cut bacon

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped carrot

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon sage

2 pounds of ground beef, pork, and veal mixture

1 cup dry red wine (I used Shiraz)

1 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 14 ounce cans of beef broth

1 1/2 cups canned tomato puree

3 splashes of Worcestershire sauce

3 splashes of low sodium soy sauce

splash of heavy cream or half and half

grated pecorino romano, for serving

Directions:

1) Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add bacon and saute until beginning to brown, about 6 minutes.

2) Add onion, celery, carrots, thyme, and sage, sauteing for 5 minutes.

3) Add ground meat mixture to brown, breaking up meat with back of fork, for about 10 minutes.

4) Add wine and bay leaves, simmering until liquid is slightly reduced, 10 minutes.

5) Add broth and tomato puree. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce thickens, about 2 hours, stirring constantly.

6) Once sauce has thickened, add the splashes of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and the nutmeg.

7) Blend sauce with a few pulses in the food processor for a good texture.

8) Splash in some cream before serving and top with grated pecorino romano. You can use whatever pasta you wish...I really like mine with rigatoni or rotelli.

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti

Giulia Melucci, author of I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti (a memoir of good food and bad boyfriends), is not just an amazing writer and amazing cook, she is an amazing person.

If you have not read the book, I suggest you go on Amazon immediately or head to your local bookstore. Whether you are male or female, heartbreak is universal, so I recommend this book to anyone, especially a foodie!

Why is she an amazing person? I had emailed her last week and she responded within 24 hours with words that were kind, supportive, and truly funny! I am meeting her next week at a book signing and cooking demo and look forward to writing more about my interaction with her and posting some photos from the special event.

In the meantime, I am making her recipes! And wow, are they fantastic! This weekend I made an adapted version of a delicious pasta sauce called Lachlan's Rigatoni with Eggplant. He was a bad boyfriend but a good cook. Enjoy!

Lachlan's Rigatoni with Eggplant (adapted from Giulia Melucci's ex-boyfriend)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

pinch of hot red pepper flakes

1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1 large (28 ounce can) crushed tomatoes (I used Red Pack's Italian style)

1/4 cup red wine

1 tablespoon sugar (tomatoes, wine, and eggplant are acidic, do not omit this!)

1 pound rigatoni (I used rotelli primavera to be healthier), cooked al dente

freshly grated Romano cheese

Directions:

1) Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and red pepper and saute until onion is translucent.

2) Add the eggplant and 1 teaspoon salt and cook for 20 minutes, allowing the eggplant to get a little brown.

3) Add crushed tomatoes, wine, sugar, and the remaining salt. Place lid half open on the pot and simmer for 1 hour.

4) Serve over hot, cooked pasta with grated cheese on top.

I Would Have Licked the Wok!

A few weeks ago, Mark Bittman posted a recipe in the beloved Dining Out section of The New York Times for vegetable pad thai. It inspired me to make my own despite having a good Thai restaurant not too far from where I live.

I was going to try his recipe, but I wanted some kind of protein in the mix. I then started looking for recipes that included chicken and shrimp, and as I read more and more, they all varied greatly! There are no two pad thai recipes alike on the interwebs! Some called for tamarind paste, some for honey, some for fish sauce, others for oyster sauce. Some had egg on top, others did not. All had cilantro, and I hate cilantro, so that was not happening on my plate. I did not want rice noodles at all. I am now officially a Dreamfields fan and prefer that as my noodle choice, and linguine worked just fine!

I was getting discouraged and then decided to Thai in all the recipes together and create my own based on what I had and what my tastes were. I also wanted to make this a weeknight meal...some of the recipes were complicated. This took me 45 minutes start to finish. It would have taken a bit longer had I opted to add the egg, and I would go back and do that on a weekend! That being said, I had one bite and wanted to lick the wok, let alone the plate after I was done!

What is your favorite dish to cook in your wok?

Chef Aimee's Pad Thai

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon peanut satay sauce

1 teaspoon Sriracha

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

3 tablespoons wok oil (available in Asian aisle - has some great flavors)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup of zucchini, sliced julienne style

1/4 cup Chinese chives, diced (these are my FAVORITE kind of chives)

2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut up into bite sized pieces

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 pound linguine noodles (Dreamfields is my choice), cooked and drained

1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Chopped peanuts, for garnish

Directions:

1) In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, satay sauce, hot sauce, and oyster sauce until smooth.

2) Salt and pepper the chicken and then coat with ground ginger.

3) Heat a large wok with the wok oil and make sure oil is very hot. Once hot, add the garlic and let cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add the chicken and vegetables and stir fry until chicken is cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. Add noodles and toss to coat.

4) Add satay/spice paste, brown sugar, vinegar, and lime juice and toss to distribute. Cook until heated through, another minute or so.

5) After plating, top with chopped peanuts. (You can also add mung bean sprouts and cilantro)

Soup's On!

I was under the weather during the week and decided to make some soup that was healthy but flavorful. Any Asian-style soup is one I have an affinity for. There is nothing like a good hot pot to warm the soul. This recipe caught my attention because it has one of my favorite beans: edamame! I am quite fortunate to live so close to an HMart (a wonderful Korean supermarket) and I bought some other items for some fun stir-fry this week, including Chinese brown rice cake and some firm tofu. I also got some oyster sauce since I saw a recipe for pad thai that Mark Bittman wrote about in The New York Times.

Asian Chicken, Edamame, and Noodle Soup (courtesy of Weight Watchers)

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped roasted chicken breast

1 (10-ounce) package frozen, shelled edamame

1 (32-ounce) can low sodium, fat-free chicken broth

1 (3-ounce) package of chicken flavored ramen noodles

1 cup thinly sliced Chinese chives

Directions:

1) Heat first three ingredients in Dutch oven for 3 minutes.

2) Add soup noodles and spice packet and cook according to directions.

3) Add chives and ladle into bowls. Eat with chopsticks and enjoy!

Cooking Light with my Supper Club!

Tonight was another wonderful supper club gathering with the most amazing women who also happen to be amazing cooks. Our theme this month was Cooking Light recipes, and every single dish tasted wonderful. There was so much variety and each dish was decadent. Conversation was enjoyable, as always, and certain subjects came up that were especially pleasing (i.e. Anthony Bourdain)! Here is what we all cooked...most of the recipes are linked to the Cooking Light website.

Jo made Deviled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Herbs. I popped them in my mouth like they were candy...so good! I love dill and there was plenty in the seasoning of the egg filling. It was the perfect spring appetizer plate.
Jo also made a wonderful Kofte with a yogurt harissa sauce. Being Armenian, I absolutely loved these and the sauce was a great accompaniment.
Jo made Green Beans with Orange and Hazelnuts, another spring dish that would be perfect along side any dish. The zest of the orange and rich hazelnut flavor were complex and added so much to the beans.
Alex made a Provençale Pepper-Chicken Salad that looks even better than the photo does on the Cooking Light website! And oh it tasted so good! The herbes de provence and sun dried tomatoes gave each bite-full such a pop of flavor, and the sweetness of the peppers was delicious.
Alex also made a Spicy Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew that was perfectly spiced; she even made her own Berbere spice mix! I look forward to making this as well...the spices were phenomenal.
Jo made a basmati saffron rice dish with some green onions to compliment the kofte. There is just something about the color that saffron creates that makes a dish even that more enjoyable to eat.
I made a fun dish called Dracula's Revenge that was a garlicky mix of pasta and sausage! I loved that the recipe called for roasted garlic mashed up into the creamy cheese sauce.
Marianne decided on a Fresh Coconut Cake that was so decadent, it was hard to believe it was light! The frosting was heavenly and had a slight meringue taste that made it over-the-top rich and creamy. I could have eaten her entire cake in one sitting.
Stephanie made a dessert I would be too scared to attempt and gave her lots of credit for: sour cream donut holes! They were absolutely wonderful and the maple glaze just made them all the more appealing since I love anything and everything with maple!
I also tackled a cake recipe and absolutely enjoyed both making it and eating it! Its a Nutty Graham Cake that had orange notes. I look forward to eating a slice tomorrow morning with a cup of coffee. I would definitely make it again.

Alice's Chicken

My brother-in-law's cousin, Alice, is an amazing cook. Even she needs a break once in a while after a long day at work and looks to make something quick and easy. She served this once for my sister and brother-in-law, who served it to my other sister (twin), who then served it to me. The recipe goes back to Alice to gave it to my sister who gave it to my twin sister who gave it to me! Its from the back of the Lipton Onion Soup box! I had another packet left over this week after my last recipe and said, why not?

There has been so much going on lately professionally and personally, but this weekend is supper club and I look forward to diving into some more complicated dishes. On deck is a pasta dish with lots of garlic and a nutty graham cake (both from Cooking Light). I am shopping around for a new barbecue and look forward to menu planning once that nice little gas burning baby is on my patio, ready to roll for weeknight grilling!

In the meantime, its cold here again and hence some good comfort food! Many thanks to Alice for taking the time to look at the back of the box!

Alice's Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup of white or brown rice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 packet onion soup mix

2 1/2 cups boiling water

1 pound of skinless, boneless chicken (white or dark meat)

pepper to taste

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs

Directions:

1) Preheat over to 375 degrees.

2) Add rice, olive oil, soup mix, and water to a 9x13 glass baking dish and mix well.

3) Place chicken on top (pepper the chicken to taste) and then dollop the mushroom soup on each piece of chicken, spreading it out evenly.

4) Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then add breadcrumbs on top.

5) Place back in the oven for another 15-25 minutes, until chicken juices run clear, rice is fully cooked, and liquids are absorbed.

The Spaghetti Series - Bacon Cheeseburger Spaghetti (#4)

After a long work week, I am craving comfort food.

I wanted to make a spaghetti dish that was easy since I am exhausted, but one I could also indulge in! What could be better than bacon cheeseburger spaghetti? I browsed the internet and found many variations of this, and I pulled ideas from each one. Some really took it literally and added pickles and such, but I was rather skeptical about that element. I also did not want to feel guilty about eating fatty red meat or dealing with the calories of a homemade cheddar cheese sauce, so improvised with ingredients!

The result? A perfect plate of pasta!

Bacon Cheeseburger Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 pound of 92% lean ground beef

salt

pepper

1 can of cream of cheddar soup

1 cup 1% milk

1 packet of onion soup mix

2/3 cup diced tomatoes in juices

3/4 pound cooked spaghetti

Bacon bits for topping

Directions:

1) In a large nonstick skillet, brown meat over medium heat, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2) In a large saucepan, combine soup, soup mix, milk, and tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add in meat and stir well, simmering another 2 minutes.

3) Add pasta to the large saucepan and combine pasta and sauce well.

4) Serve immediately with bacon bits crumbled on top.