Slow Simmer Sunday...

Well, last night's dinner recipe came from an unlikely source.  I got it from this Non-cookbook.....

We went "Old School/Old World" for some classic Spaghetti Bolognaise....

"Spaghetti Bolognaise de Sharon

My classmate Sharon learned this in an Italian class she took in Israel.  Very lean hamburger works best for this.  You can use cheap Chianti or other red table wine.  This results is a mostly meat sauce that's common in Europe yet may be unfamiliar to Americans used to a more tomato-heavy style.  If so inclined, add in the tomato sauce near the end of cooking, in place of adding the cream, for a more traditional flavor."

And you better BELIEVE that after FOUR HOURS of cooking that there was NO way I was NOT adding the cream:)  This is definitely a VERY "only on occasion" dish, but if your gonna make it:  you might as well make it right! :) 

Recipe from "The Sharper your knife, the less you cry"....

• 2 large onions, chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds lean ground beef 
• 1 bottle dry red wine  (don't skimp, when are you gonna make this again???;)
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Salt & Pepper to taste, at least 1/4 teaspoon of each
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or basil (optional)
• 1 pound spaghetti, cooked & drained
• Parmesan, grated

In a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or saute pan, cook the onions in olive oil over medium heat until softened. 

Stir in the garlic, add the beef, and stir until the meat cooks through and separates into crumbly pieces.  Add the wine and turn the heat up so that the wine bubbles continuously.  Reduce by about half.  Skim off any gray foam.  Add the tomato paste and stir.

Cover and turn the heat down to very low, and cook for a minimum of two hours and up to four hours.  Stir from time to time, scraping the bottom to ensure nothing sticks to it or burns.  Shortly before serving, stir in the cream and Italian herbs.  Taste, and then add salt and pepper.  Let simmer uncovered another ten minutes.  Taste again, adjusting seasonings as necessary, and stir in the parsley.  Serve with pasta, sprinkled with Parmesan.

See?  Not so hard!  All you need is a little time to kill...and considering I had ZERO desire to step ONE FOOT outside yesterday in the heat, it ended up being not a bad day to had a sauce simmering on low for four hours on the back burner;) 

And special sauce calls for "special pasta," so I 'splurged' on this Pappardelle to hold up to the hearty sauce...

And four hours later....wallah... :)

And thankfully, the four hours was worth it since Scott could NOT stop raving about this!  He deemed it "Boeuf Bourguignon good" and just kept saying he couldn't believe how fantastic it was:)  Me thinks that was a SMASHING SUCCESS! :)

Love, Love, LOVE! :)

And since we're talking about decadence...I might as well show you our breakfast on Sunday morning that we got from DiBartolo's...

But these weren't ordinary donuts, as they were STUFFED with apple pie filing!:)  They had amazing looking cream filled ones...but come on now, I can't get too crazy;) haahahhahaahahha....

Well, after a weekend of cupcakes, cream sauce & donuts = Back to salads, fruit & more salads for us for the next few days;)  I was SUPER ready for my 3 mile walk THIS morning:)  It's all about balance, after all!

Have a good Monday!