Pass the Bolognese

It is family week here at Casa Madera!   Not only are we lucky enough to have family that wants to come and visit, sometimes the stars align just right and the visits overlap, which is what happened this week.  My mom and one of Kevins' brothers are here at the same time.  Kevin and I are loving the family time, as you can imagine.

We have been having huge fun taking them to the beach, the Malecon, assorted shopping trips, and of course the mandatory mother/daughter mani-pedi.  (My hands have never looked so good!)

We have eaten more than our share of meals out this week, and last night, we just wanted some good old fashioned home cooked comfort food.   So, after watching sunset on the roof with guests (yes, we have those too!) and family, I was super happy that I had done a bit of pre-planning and made a Bolognese Sauce ahead of time.  All I had to do was cook the pasta and put Mom on garlic toast duty and we were set!

This takes a bit of pre-work, but trust me, come mealtime, you will look like a genius.  Best of all is that this freezes extremely well, so you can have it on hand for whenever you happen to be short on time!

Oh, by the way, the recipe is mine, but the photos are not.  Thanks to the miracle of the internet, I was able to find excellent photos of the meal I was in such a rush to get on the table forgot to photograph.

Bolognese Sauce

2 Tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely diced

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 lb. ground pork 

1 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

pinch ground nutmeg

1 cup dry red wine or chicken stock

1 28 oz can tomatoes in juice

1 lb. pasta (fusilli, rotini or penne)

parmesan cheese

finely chopped parsley

Heat oil and butter in a 6 quart pot over medium high heat until foam from butter subsides.

Add onion, garlic, carrots and celery and cook, stirring for 5 minutes, until onion is translucent.  

Push veggies to the side and add tomato paste to the clear spot.  Cook the tomato paste, stirring, for a couple of minutes before incorporating into the vegetables in the pot.  

Add the pork, and cook, stirring to break up any lumps until pork is no longer pink.  About 5 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium and stir in milk.  Cook, stirring 10 minutes, until most of the milk has evaporated.  

Add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes.  

Add the tomatoes and their juice, crushing the tomatoes with your hands as you put them into the pot.  Stir well, reduce heat to very low, and cook, at a bare simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every once in awhile to prevent sticking.  

Taste for seasoning and remove from heat.  

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, plate and spoon sauce over top.  

Sprinkle with grated parmesan and finely chopped parsley and serve.

NOTE, if you want to freeze this so you will look like a genius next week, let this cool and freeze for up to a month.  

This recipe fed us 4 hungry people with enough left over for lunch the next day!

Salsa and Guac, what more do we need?

It is winter and our season is in full swing!  All of our rooms are booked and we are loving it!   Never mind the fact that our maid has bailed on us.  This is a temporary but unavoidable situation, but it means that Kevin and I are doing double duty making sure our guests are well taken care of and everything that needs doing actually gets done.  A bit of a stretch some days, but we are doing a rather good job of keeping on top of things.

As we run around cleaning, fixing and tidying, our Fitbits have never been happier, logging each and every step we take.   So, from a fitness standpoint, our missing maid is a very positive thing.

I have to admit, that with all the added activity, we REALLY look forward to the end of the day, when we take a breather and join our guests on our rooftop patio.

Here, we can catch up on every ones day have a beer and enjoy one another's company while we wait for sunset.  It truly is the best part of our day.  

All good conversation seems to be made better with something to snack on, which is why our rooftop evenings always include salsa or guacamole.

I am sure most, if not all of you already have your own versions, but, incase you don't,  I will share mine with you.    So, if you can't get to our rooftop tonight, we hope that this will help warm up your winter's evening.

Pico de Gallo

4 medium size Roma tomatoes, cut into 1/8 inch dice.  

1 small white onion, minced

1 clove of garlic, mashed with 1/4 tsp salt

1 small jalepeno, minced

1/2 small bunch of cilantro, leaves and tender stems only, finely chopped

Juice from 2 - 3 small limes

Salt to taste.

Mix all ingredients well in bowl, adjusting lime juice and salt to taste.  Serve with corn or tortilla chips for dipping.  

Guacamole

2 medium avocados, choose nice ripe ones for this

1 medium Roma tomato, cut into 1/8 inch dic

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 medium white onion, finely chopped

1/2 medium jalepeno, minced (optional)

2 - 4 small limes, juice only

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Remove pits from avocados and scoop flesh into large bowl.  Add tomato, garlic, onion and jalepeno if using.  Roughly mash avocado while mixing ingredients together.  You don't want a smooth paste here, you want some chunks of avocado as well.  Squeeze in lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few turns of freshly ground pepper.  Mix and adjust seasonings to suit your tastes.  Serve with corn or tortilla chips for dipping.  

"Homemade" Tortilla Chips

8 day old corn tortillas 

Oil for deep frying

Pour 1" of oil into large heavy bottomed pot, and heat over medium high heat until oil reaches 350F.  Or, use a deep fryer according to manufacturers instructions.  Either way, get your oil to 350F.  

Meanwhile, stack tortillas and cut the stack into 8 wedges (pizza style).  Fry in hot oil a few at a time, turning as needed with tongs or slotted spoon until lightly browned.  About 1 minute.  Drain on paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt  if desired.