Commitment Bolognese
I was talking to my therapist the other day and was wondering why I have such commitment issues. It’s so strange. I told that quack that I can commit. I’m committed to vodka, pasta, smoking, credit cards and America’s Next Top Model. He was talking more in the lines of relationships, financial freedom, going to the gym and all that other bullshit.
Hmmm, I began to question my life. Is this lack of self-integrity really making me unhappy? Can I commit to anything for more than 2 weeks? Are my goals too big? Should I not be so black and white? Anyway, that asshole made me crazier than my parents ever did and luckily for me, my flexible spending account was running dry so I had to drop his ass.
The next day I began to think about what do I usually commit too. It’s mostly things that I really love, causes no pain, no stress and are enjoyable. So I began to feel a lot better about myself. The things I love, I can’t deny, I found a new appreciation for them and a new animosity for therapists.
I have to warn you. This will take all day, but will be the best Bolognese sauce you will ever have. The milk and wine sound weird, but the milk softens the meat and the wine adds so much flavor. This will make a huge pot that you can use for pasta (preferably pappardelle or tagliatelle) or use for lasagna, serve on top of polenta, with eggs, or if you’re really fat make a loose meat sandwich with it.
3/4 Cup of Olive Oil
2 Medium Spanish Onions
1 Pound Bag of Carrots
1 Bunch of Celery (use only 6 stalks)
4 Cloves of Garlic
2 Pounds Ground Chuck
1 Pound Ground Veal
3 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
2 Teaspoons Black Pepper
1 Quart Milk
1 Bottle Chardonnay ($7-$10)
3 28oz Cans of Whole San Marzano Tomatoes
32oz Beef Stock
4 Tablespoons Butter
Chop the onions, carrots, celery and garlic; the smaller the better, if you have a processor use it. Add them to the biggest pot you have with the oil and cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Turn the heat on high and add all the meat, salt and pepper and continue stirring constantly till the meat turns brown. This should ideally take about 10
- 15 minutes. Once the meat is browned, add the milk. You just want enough to barely cover the meat. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium. You want to cook this until the milk is evaporated, about 20 minutes. Keep stirring. Once most of the milk has evaporated, add the wine. Pour until it just about covers the meat.
Keep stirring and cook until all the wine has evaporated for about another 20 minutes. Once you can no longer
smell the alcohol from the wine, that means it’s evaporated. Add the 3 cans of tomatoes and the beef stock. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low. You just want it to simmer. Cook for about 5 hours stirring every 10 minutes. Towards the end, you can crush the tomatoes against the pot with a spoon. The sauce will eventually reduce to a nice thick
consistency. Add the butter and serve with any kind of pasta.
Petrit Husenaj
www.mysocialchef.com
Twitter: @MySocialChef
* Winner of Food52.com
http://www.food52.com/blog/831_week_50
