Joe's Spaghetti Bolognese

My roommate makes the most amazing, homey, hearty, rich, robust, delicious spag bol I've ever had in my life. Aside from the wild boar ragu at Myth (* sob *). note to self to get resos at Zinnia for Sean O'Briens wild boar meat sauce; nom.

He's made it twice now and every time I smell it cooking I come running. The first time I just had to have a taste, even though I had already eaten. The second time I was lucky enough to get my own gigantic portion. I determined then and there, that I simply must have this dish for my birthday dinner. He seemed to think I was teasing him, but oh no. This spag bol is the way I think spag bol was meant to taste. It's perfect.

Since he'll be off in lalaland (psh) for my birthday, I can't demand he make it for me and my friends as a gift in honor of the kickoff to my 32nd year on Earth. Damn.

What's a girl to do except to insist that he divulge all of his Mexican-English based Italian cuisine secrets? Last night was the night that he looked over my shoulder and walked me through it and well; I came close. There is just something that I can't quite grasp. Some weird, teeny tiny little spark that I was just unable to capture. Is it umami? Bay leaf? Acidity? I cannot tell but it was woefully absent from last night's attempt. To say I'm devastated is to put it mildly. That spark is what I wanted to serve! Without it, it's just spag bol! Good spag bol, but not Joe's LIFE ALTERING spag bol. It's a depth of flavor that I can't quite figure out, but I know I felt like I wanted to add a little wine to the sauce thinking that's what it was.

My birthday sucks already. :o( I hope someone brings cake.

Joe's Spaghetti Bolognese
serves 4-5
1 half of a medium/large white onion, finely chopped
1 half of a shallot, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, smashed
8 oz of sliced mushrooms
1 lb ground beef (80/20 or 85/15 - you need some fat)
Mild Italian sausages - enough for each person to have one (I also used some of those Aidell's sundried tomato ones)
1 jar of Ralphs/Cala Foods tomato basil pasta sauce
pasta of your choice
olive oil
1-2 tbsp butter
salt & pepper
dried basil
oregano
4-5 bay leaves
Italian seasoning
red pepper flakes
Parmesan cheese

Put a tbsp of olive oil into a large saute pan over med-hi. Add the butter and let melt.
Toss in the clove of garlic, the shallots, and about half to 2/3 of the onion and saute for a minute. Add mushrooms and saute just til the mushies get some color and start to soften. Pour the onion/mushie mixture into a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, add a teeny bit more oil (only if necessary to prevent sticking), and add the ground beef and remaining raw onion. Cook until browned and then pour off fat.
While meat is cooking in one pan, cook the sausages in another pan. Add a little oil so they don't stick, and sprinkle them with some Italian seasoning.

Add the jar of pasta sauce to the drained meat and stir the onion/mushie mixture back in. Toss in a tbsp or so of dried basil, a few dashes of red pepper flakes (you don't want it SPICY per se, just with a little bit of an undertone from the peppers), some oregano (1 - 2 tsps maybe?), and the bay leaves, and give it a good stir.
If the sausages are done, nestle them into the sauce as well, if not, you can do so once they are ready.

Let the sauce come to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover. Let simmer for 45 minutes or so; stirring a couple of times.

With 15 or so minutes left, get your pasta going.

Drain pasta, serve, and top with a generous portion of pasta sauce and a sausage. Top with a sprinkling of cheese.

Cry because of some undetermined depth of flavor that is missing that makes it not quite Joe's.
No wait, you don't even know what you're missing, so just enjoy it. I'll cry.

The clever gang over at Chowhound has plenty of nommy sounding suggestions too.

Twain Harte Pasta

I don't know what else to call this since I think it was the pasta sauce that was the magical ingredient here. I have scoured the interwebs trying to find this sauce to refer to it here, but I can't remember what it's called and Twain Harte Market's website doesn't work quite like Safeway's. (Mel, if you feel like digging through your trash and reading the label for me, please post it in the comments!).
Melissa & Piia and I had some girl talk to catch up on so we decided to have a nice healthy South Beach dinner over at Mel's. She had all sorts of goods to choose from in whipping something up, and I brought over some of my homemade pesto. We cooked up some whole wheat rotini. I baked some chicken with Italian spices and gourmet sea salt on Mel's gorgeous Le Crueset grill pan which I covet, even though some of my fellow home cooks struggle with them. I browned the chicken on both sides (four breasts) and then popped it in the oven at 350 until it looked done.
We heated up this magical sauce from TH Market, and I added about 3/4 of a cup of my homemade pesto to the full can of sauce. We cut up the chicken, tossed that with the other 1/4 cup of pesto that I thinned out a bit with some extra olive oil and then added it to the sauce and pasta. A sprinkling of parmesan and voila. It was possibly the best pasta I have had in a long time. Thank God Mel sent home leftovers since I am about to pull a Dickerson and eat it for breakfast.
We also had a great salad with oranges (expertly supremed by Piia), sliced dried apricots, avocado, tomatoes, and red onions with a citrus vinaigrette. Num.

Sloppeh joe, slop, sloppeh joe

No, this is not my first sloppy joe entry. Seems I'm obsessed. In any case, I got the fixins for the most part (except the Sriracha which I really wanted to include, boo, though I guess I could always go to one of those "grocery store" things I've been hearing so much about lately) and I need to cook this meat up asap. Now who wants to come over for dinner tomorrow?

Here's what I'm thinking of pulling together:

2 lbs ground beef (lean thanks)
1 diced onion (but I may not use all of it depending on how big it is)
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup ketchup
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 can tomato paste
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 -2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
celery powder or celery salt
salt and pepper to taste

(If I had Sriracha I'd hold off on the garlic, tomato paste and vinegar until after I had added the Sriracha and then tweak from there, maybe going with garlic powder at that point rather than fresh.)

I'll start the onions and garlic (mmmm, I can almost smell it) and once soft I'll add the meat, cook til almost all the pink is gone and drain off the fat. Then I'll stir in all the rest of the ingredients, and let it simmer, stirring frequently til it's heated through.
Served on buns or in pita pockets with shredded cheese and crispy sweet potato fries on the side . . . yum. Just like Lunch Lady used to make.

** update **
So I had no celery anything, and threw in 1/4 tsp of Italian Seasoning and maybe 1/8 tsp of red pepper flakes, just because. I only used about 1 1/2 tsp of brown sugar and didn't need to add any salt or pepper. Alas, while tangy and "fine" it was completely flat and one dimensional. I think it really needs the veg aspect of green peppers and/or celery. Next go round I'll do the meat and veggies, and I'll work on the sauce separately to give it some time to meld and deepen, and then I'll mix it in to the meat and veg. Perhaps some ancho chili powder to add a smoky layer with the spice instead of the flakes. It won't be an easy clean up one pot meal anymore, but hey.
I'm also thinking of Mexican variations with some corn and black beans mixed in with more Mexican seasonings rather than Italian; maybe even a kick of cocoa powder.

** Delicious coworker update **
Thanks Denise!!!

1 pound ground chuck (or whatever kind of ground beef you use)
2 tbl oil to brown the meat
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 of a large green bell pepper, chopped fine
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup catsup
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 tbl Worcestershire sauce
2 tbl white vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tbl parsley, minced

Brown meat, onions and celery. Spoon off the leftover and grease.
Combine all of the rest except parsley.
Mix well and pour over the meat.

Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meatballs

Eat Drink or Die may prove to be the end of my career. I really need to close the page, like now.

See, I couldn't ignore the meatball banner (could YOU?), so I clicked. And read about these yummy meatballs and thought of my grandmother and the meatballs she would make, and well, now I need to make meatballs too. How on earth am I going to get through all of these recipes I simply MUST make? And again with the meat?!

I plan to take plenty of guidance from Caprial's recipe, but mix in a page from Grandma's instruction. I was always a huge fan of Grandma's meatballs - you know the kind, you go to a party, there's a crock pot and a bunch of meatballs and some toothpicks? And the sauce is sweet and spicy and smoky and awesome? Well, all I can remember is grape jelly & bbq sauce (similar to this recipe) and baking the meatballs on a piece of paper bag to get rid of some of the fat. Genius.

I like the idea of sauteing the garlic and onions first, then mixing them in with the meat, and trying a baby meatball to test seasoning - how simple is that?! Of course, you know I'll be doing this with the leanest beef I can get my hands on, or ground chicken.

MEATBALLS

1/2 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 pounds ground meat

1 egg, slightly beaten (you might need two eggs; start with one and then decide on how well everything is binding)

1 cup soft white breadcrumbs

dried parsley and basil - approx 1/2 tbsp of each

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 tablespoon cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Heat a saute pan with olive oil, add the onions and cook over medium heat until the onions start to brown about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute quickly. Remove from the pan and chill. Once the onions are cold place in a large mixing bowl. Add all the ingredients and mix well. Try not to over mix the meat. Cook off a test meatball. Adjust seasonings. Form the meatballs and place on a cookie sheet lined with a clean paper bag (yes, I use the inside side of the ones I get from grocery shopping - reuse!). Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes or until done - you'll have to be willing to sacrifice one of the meatballs to peek into the center.

You can also brown the meatballs in a saute pan in olive oil before baking, but I think that just adds extra fat to the mix. Since fat = flavor, I'll humor you by mentioning that you COULD do it that way. You know, if you insisted. If you decide to clog your arteries like that, you'll probably only need 10-15 minutes in the oven.

_____________________________________________

I made the meatballs last night, and forgive my modesty, but Best. Meatballs. Ever. I even used actual beef, though it was 93% "extra" lean.

I made as directed with fresh sourdough for my breadcrumbs (I toasted first to dry it out a bit) and made a tomato sauce from scratch (which is so easy and tasty that I have no idea why I ever buy the jarred stuff).

I baked the meatballs at 375 for 10 minutes, flipped them over (onto cleaner spots on the paper bags) and baked for 10 minutes more. This recipe made around 30 good sized meatballs (think golf balls).

For the sauce, I did my "standard."

Smashed a couple of cloves of garlic and tossed into a pot with some olive oil to infuse the flavor into the oil. Then I added about a cup or so of diced yellow onion and let that all soften a bit. I added one can of stewed "Italian" tomatoes, one can of tomato sauce, half a can of tomato paste, and a glug of the cab we were drinking (Chateau St. Michele this time), let's call it a quarter cup. A sprinkling of dried herbs - I used oregano and marjoram, maybe a half tbsp of each, and a tsp or so of red pepper flakes. I tossed the lid on and let it bubble away for a while getting thick. Checking, stirring, tasting, added a tsp of sugar since it was really acidic, and three large basil leaves, ripped up into smaller pieces. Let it go for a while longer (maybe too long, it got REALLY thick), but damn it was awesome.

Once the meatballs were done I put a few into the pot of sauce and made sure they were coated. I served on a small pile of spaghetti, sprinkled with grated parmesan and then annoyed Quinn by going on and on about how good it was. See? Modest. I sent him to work today with a bunch of leftovers to make a meatball sandwich, and still have a ton left to make Swedish meatballs or something later (if I'm not in the mood for tomato sauce). I should've put them in the freezer.

More pasta sauce!

I think it's clear that there is some strong Italian blood in these Mexican Irish veins if my propensity for tomato sauces is any indication. My grandmother (the Irish part) made the yummiest bolognese around though, so maybe we're just creative geniuses with tomatoes.
Rather than purchase a jar of sauce last night, I figured I'd use up some of my many cans of tomatoes and make my own to go with the whole wheat three cheese tortellini I had.
2 cloves of garlic - smashed
1 medium onion - cut in half and very thinly sliced
2 cans tomatoes - I used one can of plum tomatoes with oregano and basil, and one can of diced tomatoes
3/4 can tomato paste
1-2 tbsp dried basil (to taste)
pinch of oregano
pinch of red pepper flakes
glug of olive oil

I went twice around my pot with the oil, let it heat over medium high, then added the garlic and onion and cooked until fragrant and just soft. Then I added the two cans of tomatoes and let cook for a few minutes.
Next, I added the tomato paste and the herbs, mixed everything well, turned it down to low and put a lid on it to simmer.
Stirring occasionally, once it looked thick enough I was done. I didn't even need to add salt and pepper it was so perfectly yummy and ready to go. I put half of it in the freezer, and mixed in 1/4 cup or so of fat free half and half into what was still in the pot to make a pink sauce. At that point I felt like I could've gone with another clove of garlic, but darn it was tasty.