Monday, December 17, 2007

snowed in...start cookin'

Picture this...

Monday morning
40 cm's of snow (that's 16 inches for our American friends)
A buried car
An eager husband
Car warming up
Keys suddenly locked in car
Car still running
Car blocking other cars from leaving
Macgyver skills not working
Help called
Tow truck unlocks doors
Tow truck gets stuck in snow
Tow truck blocks way for everyone

This was pretty much our morning. Yes, we were late for work. Yes, we were freaking out.
But the silver lining was that after a crazy day we got to come home to this:

Tyler's ultimate bolognese sauce. Mony made this yesterday when we were snowed in. It was simmered for hours and the end result was much different than the standard meat sauce that he usually makes. It was much more meatier and not very tomatoey. It's hearty and very warming; perfect for those cold, snowy days like today.

Bolognese Sauce
recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence

2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms, wiped of grit
1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs rosemary
1 1/2 pound ground pork
1 1/2 pound ground beef
2 cups milk
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups dry red wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound dry tagiatelle pasta
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving
1 handful fresh basil leaves
Fresh ricotta cheese


Reconstitute the mushrooms in boiling water for 20 minutes until tender, drain and coarsely chop.

Puree the mushrooms, pancetta, onion, celery stalks, carrots, garlic, together in a blender.
In a heavy-bottomed pot add olive oil, bay leaves, herbs and cook gently until fragrant, then add vegetable puree and continue to cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes.

Raise the heat a bit and add the ground pork and beef; brown until the meat is no longer pink, breaking up the clumps with a wooden spoon. Add the milk and simmer until the liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes. Carefully pour in the tomatoes, and wine and season with salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat and cover. Slowly simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring now and then, until the sauce is very thick. Taste again for salt and pepper.

When you are ready to serve, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian "al dente"). Drain the pasta well and toss with the Bolognese sauce.

Serve with a good scoop of fresh ricotta cheese and garnish with some shredded basil, grated Parmigiano and a drizzle of olive oil.

House update:
(last update for a few weeks as everyone will be on holidays)

We're excited. We're really happy. We don't think the day can come soon enough.

Looks like the construction workers are foodies too!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

WE CAN NOT BELIEVE OUR EYES..THE HOUSE IS INCREDIBLE !!!!!!!!!

PG said...

I love your blog! I've added it to my reader.

Your house is going up fast! Very exciting for you guys.

Vincci said...

Ugh! So sorry to hear about your Monday morning, but it's DEFINITELY nice to come home to a spaghetti sauce like that! I for one, got out of Montreal on Saturday and traded the blowing snow for 2°C weather in Calgary. Also, I can't believe how quickly your house is coming along. It looks wonderful!

Annie Ruok said...

Wow - talk about a sucky Monday - u almost top my Friday morning that went a lil somethin like this :

- Brought car to work cuz finishing early due to xmas lunch
- Difficulty getting out of gas station parking lot, sliding on ice for 10 min
- Ran out of wiper fluid on 640
- Flat tire on Mille-Isles bridge in major traffic
- Boss freaking out on phone as he's stuck overnite in NYC with no flights out
- Arrived at work at 11:00!

Your silver lining looked great tho, I am sure your tummies enjoyed a hot hearty meal after such a crummy day!

Annie Ruok said...

ps : the house is beautiful - looks so big! What is that pic of? Looks like a piece of crusty bread with something on it sitting on a beam of wood!?

Anonymous said...

The house is gorgeous!! I'm so happy for you two.

The meat sauce looks exactly like the ragu my mom makes. For really good ragu, use batalli's recipe next time.

Hillary said...

Mmmm!!! Bolognese sauce! Looks sooo delicious.

And in regards to the pop rocks chocolate, I have only seen or heard of it in Israel..believe me I have looked everywhere!!! If you realllly want, I can send you one of my bars. I'd love for Mony to try it!

dina (Lucas' mom) said...

Hillary, you are too sweet but I don't want you to have to part with your beloved chocolate! :)