Tagliatelle Bolognese

When it comes to pasta, I feel like you really can't go wrong with bolognese sauce...unless you're vegetarian, but I'm the complete opposite - I really love meat.

Today's MLK Day. I had made plans to go to work today, but was pleasantly surprised when I got an email on Saturday letting someone on the team know that I won't be in the office on Monday. How exciting! It's like a snow day! And it really was a snow day, too. The snow has been pouring down heavily all day. Lemon-slice and I braved driving on roads covered with 1-3 inches of powdery snow (how come there were no salt trucks?!) to buy crafts and to go grocery shopping. Lemon-slice wanted to make a fried pumpkin pastry for her Spanish class and I wanted nothing more than some warm bolognese in my stomach. Her pastry proved a greasy failure, but oh boy, I was more than pleased with the bolognese sauce...even if I had to do a few subs.


Tagliatelle Bolognese
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 peeled carrot, diced
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed, finely chopped
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
3 thin slices of pancetta, finely chopped
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground veal
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 c white wine
2 c light meat stock/beef stock
5 fresh sage leaves
1 bay leaf
1/3 c heavy double cream
1 lb tagliatelle or purchased fettuccine
1 c grated Parmesan cheese

1) In a large casserole dish over medium-low heat, melt 2 tbsp of the butter with the oliveoil. Add pancetta and saute until just starting to crisp (~3 min). Add onion, carrot, and saute until aromatic and lightly golden (~8-10 min).
2) Add ground beef, pork, and veal, stirring to break up. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add a generous pinch of nutmeg. Raise the heat to medium and saute until meat is lightly browned.
3) Add wine and summer until amost completely evaporated. Add stock and cook until reduced by half.
4) Add tomatoes, sage, and bay leaf. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
5) Add cream. Adjust seasoning to taste.
6) In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Salt thewater, addpasta, and cook until al dente. Drain and put in a bowl. Add 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp cheese. Toss so butter melts. Add sauce and toss again gently. Serve immediately.

I got stuck on a few of these ingredients at the grocery store. For one, they didn't have pancetta so I used thick bacon (which seemed to have completely disappeared after the sauce was done...). I also couldn't find ground veal, so I just added in more pork and beef. Lastly, I used ground sage leaves rather than fresh ones. One thing to note is...I felt like I put in a lot of tomatoes, and then during dinner, there was some commentary on their disappearance. I blamed it on Lemon-zest, who claims to be allergic to fruits and vegetables, but it's actually a mystery to me. I assumed they got crushed while being stirred around in the pot, but when I looked inside to investigate...they left no trace! Tricky tricky.

Well, the bolognese sauce was well received. Definitely a keeper as is. The 2-3 hours spent committed to the kitchen though...not high on my priorities list so this recipe will probably only come out on special occasions when I need to impress someone!

xoxo,
lemonie

Cajun Chicken Pasta, Baguettes, and Berry Cobbler!

It's a pretty quiet day...for some reason, I keep feeling like it's the calm before the storm. Maybe because it is! Things are going to get hectic for a few days, so I guess I was a little restless in anticipation. Lemon-slice and I channeled that energy into making Sunday dinner.

I think it came out pretty well! We had a lot left over though. We were a little too ambitious and completely made enough to feed a village. Looks like we'll be eating leftovers tomorrow. Everything was delicious and I don't mind.


French Baguette
1 c warm water
2 1/2 c bread flour
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp yeast

1) Mix together water, bread flour, sugar, salt, and yeast to make dough. I used the dough hook on the Kitchen Aid.
2) When dough pulls away from the sides, place dough ball in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.
3) On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into 16x12 inch rectangle. Cut in half (2 8x12 rectangles). Roll up tightly. Let rise until doubled.
4) I completely forgot to do this step...but you can put slashes on the loaf. Then mix an egg yolk with 1 tbsp of water to make the crust crispy.
5) Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Cajun Chicken Linguine
3/4 pound linguine pasta
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter
3 red bell pepper, sliced
3 green bell pepper, sliced
12 fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 green onion, chopped
3 cups heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Note: This was to serve a family of five, but there was a good chunk left over...

1) Boil pasta in lightly salted water until al dente (~8-10 min)
2) Place chicken and Cajun seasoninng in plastic bag, shake to coat. Saute chicken in butter on a large skillet until almost tender (5-7 min)
3) Add peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Saute and stir for 2-3 minutes.
4) Reduce heat and add cream, basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder, and ground black pepper. Heat through. Add linguine, toss, and eat through. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Three-Berry Cobbler
Filling:
1 1/2 c hulled, sliced strawberries
1 1/2 c raspberries
1 1/2 c blackberries
1/2 c sugar

Biscuit crust:
1/3 c unsalted butter (roomtemperature)
1/3 c sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 c all purposeflour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c milk

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a deep baking dish.
2) In dish, combine berries. Sprinkle with sugar, toss, and set aside.
3) Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
4) In another bowl, sift flour, salt, and baking powder. Add alternatively with milk to butter/sugar mixture.
5) On a lightly floured surface, roll out or pat the dough into the shape/size of the baking dish. Lift the dough to cover the fruit. Crimp or flute the edges and cut slights for steam to escape. Sprinkle with sugar.
6) Bake about 50 minutes or until the top is golden and the berries are bubbling.

Note: tastes delicious with ice cream!

xoxo,
lemonie