Pasta Bolognese

My constituents asked me to make Pasta Bolognese this week. It is one of our very, VERY favorites and has been for years. It always feels like somewhat of a special occasion when it's the meal on deck. I can send my husband a picture of the sauce simmering on stove and it has the same effect as if I would have texted him the words "I love you."

This week, I went to my blog to look up the recipe to make sure I had all the ingredients I needed to throw it together and was horrified to realize I HAVE NEVER POSTED IT ON MY BLOG. How could this be? This, one of our top pastas! I'm so sorry to have held out on you.

I think it's fair to claim that, at this point, we are Bolognese connoisseurs. I made this dish for the first time pre-kids, when our addiction was just in it's beginnings. My husband and I went though a phase where we ordered Pasta Bolognese every time it was on the menu. You may think I'm kidding but we were mildly obsessed. We loved my version but somehow got the crazy idea in our heads that it was our mission to find the absolute BEST version out there. Over the course of 5 years, I'll bet we ordered the dish at restaurants upwards of 30 times. Each time we'd raise our glasses in cheers and take a bite. And then we would agree that the pasta was good but it wasn't quite a knock out. Nothing in the restaurant world quite suited our fancy but it took years before my husband finally spoke these long sought after words:

"Honey, I think your version is the best."

Hallelujah! If that's the only time he ever says that, I can die happy.

I really can't take too much credit myself. Most of it goes to the former Gourmet Magazine and their ingenuity. I have played with their version some, easing the chopping process, altering the meat mixture, and at times adding more vegetables when I'm channeling my inner dietitian.

This recipe is an excellent make-ahead option for nights when dinner needs to happen in a hurry. Take yesterday, for instance. It was the last day in March and us sun-starved Pacific Northwest folk looked at our weather apps in disbelief as temperatures were supposed to push mid-70s. I knew it would be in my best interest to spend the afternoon out in the sunshine, thawing off winter. But my fans had been begging for pasta Bolognese which can take nearly 2 hours in total with its 1 1/4 hours of simmer time. It dawned on me that I could do both. I just needed to start early.

I started at lunch time, first sautéing the veggies and then adding the milk. The recipe follows a stepwise pattern where you add one liquid at a time and then wait until it evaporates to add the next. My older two were at school and the youngest was miraculously napping and so I decided to indulge myself with some sunshine ahead of schedule and ducked out onto my front porch with a book. Between chapters, I popped back indoors to give the sauce and stir and add the next ingredient. By the time preschool pick up rolled around, the sauce was finished and I threw it in the fridge until dinnertime when it would be ready to go with a quick reheat.

This recipe is another great one to bring to others. I'm in that phase of life where babies are dropping like hotcakes and my peers are in need of great dishes to deliver to the new parents. This is probably one of the top 5 questions I get asked: "What is your favorite recipe to bring to others?"

If you decide to make this one, let me be the first to caution you - if you make a double batch (so you can have some for dinner too!) USE TWO SEPARATE POTS. I tried making a double batch in one big kettle before and it didn't turn out well. There were too many ingredient and too little cooking surface area for it to work properly. The liquid ingredients also took FOREVER to evaporate. So, just make it easy on yourself and cook your double batch in two pots side by side. Enjoy!

Pasta Bolognese
(adapted from Gourmet Cookbook)

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
4 carrots
4 celery ribs
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup dry white wine
28 ounce can whole tomatoes including juice
1 ½ - 2 pounds dried rigatoni
Shaved parmesan cheese

Dividing into two batches as needed, pulse garlic, onion, carrots and celery in a food processor until finely chopped. Set food processor aside. In large saucepan or dutch oven, heat oil and butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Add chopped garlic, onion, carrots, and celery, and saute until just beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Toss in beef and pork and cook, stirring and breaking meat apart, for about 4 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink. Add milk and salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until most of the milk is evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes.

Coarsely chop canned tomatoes and their juices in the set aside food processor (no need to clean it!) Stir tomatoes into the sauce and cook at a bare simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 1 hour and 15 minutes (sauce will be thickened). Season sauce with additional with salt and pepper to taste. Sauce may be made ahead and chilled for 2 days or frozen for 1 month.

When ready to serve, bring 7 quarts of water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente (about 11-12 minutes) and drain in a colander. Toss pasta with sauce (reheated if necessary) and sprinkle with shaved parmesan.

Serves 6-8 (fewer if you are Croziers - we LOVE pasta!)

Szechuan Green Beans with Ground Beef

I have a confession. I served this for dinner last night and EVERYONE cried. Well, except
for Graham who showed up mid-way through the meal to find a harried wife and three kids with blood shot eyes who were dining on plates of plain rice and white beans straight out of the can. Yeah, I might have had an "incident" with the red pepper flakes. And by that I mean I may have tripled them unnecessarily in an attempt to extrapolate the sauce recipe. Even I was nearly dying, totally unable to taste anything other than SPICE! It was so spicy that I broke my own golden rule
"What's on the table is what's for dinner" and started grabbing whatever I could scrounge together from the fridge and pantry to feed the kids instead. 

I guess you probably should be saying ONE GIANT THANK YOU to me for testing this dish out one last time before I "took it public" and posted it on the World Wide Web and made all your kids cry. So, you're welcome. Happy to help. I'm sure you're just dying to make this one now that I've given it such positive hype! But rest assured, the recipe has been adjusted and the tears over here have been Kleenexed. 

Truly, this is one of our favorite Asian recipes to prepare at home. The original recipe calls for ground pork but we have a cow in our freezer (literally) and so I usually substitute ground beef though I have also used ground turkey. You can make the sauce ahead of time and the dish whips up really quickly. Not only is this a great weeknight meal at home, it is also a great one for getaways or camping trips. This past summer, I prepared this dish at our annual family campout. I made a large batch, brought the sauce pre-mixed in a Tupperware container and then prepared everything else at camp. Every last bit was devoured! There is a slight chance that I blew a fuse in the mini van trying to cook the rice in the rice cooker that I plugged into the cigarette lighter....but I'm no electrician. And I can neither confirm nor deny that my rice cooker accompanied me camping....

Szechuan Green Beans with Ground Beef
(adapted slightly from Cooking Light Magazine)

1 pound lean ground beef (or pork or turkey)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
1 ½ lbs green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic, divided
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
4 teaspoons sugar
Up to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (less if milder spice is desired)
2 Tbsp + 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
4 cups hot cooked brown rice

Combine the first 4 ingredients (beef through pepper) in a medium bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add green beans and fry with ½ tsp garlic until beans crisp tender. Set aside in bowl.

Heat remaining oil in skillet and add ground beef mixture and remaining garlic; cook for 5-7 minutes or until meat loses its pink color, stirring to crumble. Add green beans and toss to mix.

Combine hoisin and next 3 ingredients (through soy sauce) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add hoisin mixture to pan. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Serve over rice.

Yield: 6 servings

Grilled Asian Flank Steak with Mango Salad

 

Y'all, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but summer is almost over. Boooooo. And so I'm milking these sunny days for all they are worth and using that grill to it's full advantage. If you need to give yours a final hurrah before tucking it away for the wet season ahead, here's a recipe for you.

 

My middle child has been acting as my sous chef this month while her older sister is in school and her younger brother is napping. The hours from 2:50 PM onward are filled with a lot of whining and crying in our house now that school has started and none of us are as rested as we should be. So, the middle one and I have taken to making dinner at 9 AM and not only is it lovely one-on-one time, but it lessons the stress during those bewitching hours (yes they definitely are plural in our house!)  

This recipe was originally published last year and it was a real hit when I presented it to my family. The baby (whose first food was beef, mind you) could. not. get. enough. meat. The marinade on this flank steak is to die for and comes together quickly. Actually, it's the perfect thing to mix up at 9 in the morning so it can spend the rest of the day marinating. We waited until right before we ate to throw the meat on the grill because it cooks so quickly but we made the salad ahead and just kept the dressing separate and tossed it in at the last minute. The salad has a lot of spunky - spicy, zesty, limey and sweet, all perfectly combined to make that cabbage come to life. YUM! The magazine suggested serving the meat with homemade sesame wonton chips but I didn't have any wontons handy so I would recommend coconut cilantro rice instead. Substitute about 1/2 can of coconut milk for part of the water in your rice and then once cooked, toss with fresh chopped cilantro. Voila! Delicious!

Grilled Asian Flank Steak with Mango Salad
(adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons sugar

2 Tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger

2 Tablespoons minced fresh garlic

2 Tablespoons fish sauce

1/4 cup lower-sodium soy sauce

1 (2-pound) flank steak, trimmed

3 Tablespoons lime juice

2 Tablespoons water

1 Tablespoon peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

3 cups shredded romaine lettuce

2 cups shredded green cabbage

1/2 cup mint leaves

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 mango, peeled and diced

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Combine chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoon sugar, and next 4 ingredients (through soy sauce) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add beef; let marinate 1 hour to overnight. Remove beef from marinade; reserve marinade.
 

Place beef on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Drizzle with reserved marinade. Grill 7-8 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from grill; cover with foil. Let stand 5 minutes; cut across grain into thin slices.

Combine lime juice, 2 tablespoons water, peanut butter, remaining 2 teaspoons sugar, and pepper in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add lettuce and next 4 ingredients; toss to coat. Divide salad evenly among 4 plates; top evenly with mango. Serve with beef.

Serves 8

Grilled Nectarine Salad with Steak and Blue Cheese

I love me a good main dish salad and try to put one on the menu at least once a week. Sometimes they are green salads and other times they consist of noodles, protein and vegetables. On Salad Night when my husband and I first got married, he would look at me with eyes that said And what ELSE, pray tell, will we be having for dinner?

Over time, he adjusted to the idea of greenery equaling dinner and now he even occasionally asks for a salad when I'm surveying the crew for menu suggestions. No one can blame him. I mean, it's hard to turn down a salad when the greens act as a cushion for flavorful strips of grilled red meat. And when combined with the sweet and juicy grilled nectarines and chunks of pungent blue cheese, it's a marriage made in heaven. 

My brainchild for this dish was inspired by the Pioneer Woman's Grilled Nectarine Salad. The first time I made it, I served it as an accompaniment to another dish and it was quite tasty. But it felt odd to me to turn on the grill for just a side dish. Nectarines have been available in abundance at my local produce stand and have become a staple purchase for me over the past couple months. So the next time I over purchased them (which I do practically every week), it dawned on me that the steaks in my freezer would be a perfect addition to transform this salad into a more substantial meal. I was right and so my latest favorite main dish salad was born.

Grilled Nectarine Salad with Steak and Blue Cheese
(adapted into a main dish from the Pioneer Woman)

6 nectarines, halved and pitted

Olive Oil, For Drizzling

4 (6 ounce) sirloin steaks
Garlic powder, to taste
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
10 ounces spring mix salad greens
4 ounces blue cheese
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Drizzle nectarine halves with a little olive oil. Grill cut side down for 2-3, turning halfway to create criss-cross grill marks. Set aside.

Dry steaks and season generously with salt, freshly ground pepper and garlic powder. Grill, about 3 to 5 minutes per side until desired degree of doneness is achieved. Remove steaks to a plate to rest and slice.

In a bowl, whisk together Dijon, vinegar and honey. Whisk in 1 cup olive oil to emulsify. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix.

Toast slivered almonds in a small skillet over medium-low heat until just turning golden brown.

In a large bowl, toss lettuce with enough of the dressing to lightly coat (you won't use all of the dressing). Toss in warm toasted almonds.

Divide mixed greens among 6 plates. Slice cooled steaks across the grain and distribute evenly over the greens. Place two nectarine halves on each serving. Drizzle nectarine with a little more dressing. With a fork, cut blue cheese into chunks and distribute among the six plates and serve.

Serves 6

Beef and Butternut Squash Pot Pie

I'm on a roll.

Two recipes this week that I practically made up! Well, or at least parts of them. I can't actually take a tremendous amount of credit for this one as I more or less just threw a pie crust on top of a delicious stew recipe we had last month, but still. It's progress.

This creation also was a half birthday request from my dear husband. You see, it all started with a bottle of winter ale we had in our fridge. He wanted to drink it and so worked backwards from there. What would pair well with it? English pub food of course! Only one slight problem: we hate English pub food. Ordinarily we hate stew too except that we happened upon this gem of a recipe (below) from Giada De Laurentis last month. Prior to this point, beef stew always tastes like beef stew and nothing could be less enthralling to me than the flavors of beef, potatoes, carrots and onion and mushed together into, well, mush. Seriously, gag me (sorry all you beef stew lovers!) But this stew recipe has changed my life (or at least my strong opinion). 

Why did I even make beef stew if I hate it so much, you ask? There is nothing like buying 1/6 of a cow to get you to change your ways and break out of your comfort zone. Especially when one of the packages of frozen meat comes with "beef stew meat" stamped across it in giant red letters. I even Googled "beef stew meat recipes" to try and determine an alternative use but, wouldn't you know it, I only encountered beef stew recipes.  

Oh but what a sweet surprise when I discovered the use of butternut squash in beef stew! And with an Italian twist! Seriously amazing. You can make just the beef stew and serve it as is along with crusty bread and it's delicious. Or you can continue on in the recipe and go all English pub on it and throw a pie crust on top like my husband suggested. Your choice. Both are winners!

Beef and Butternut Squash Stew (or Pot Pie)

Beef stew:

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

2 pounds stew beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup Marsala wine

1 pound butternut squash, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes

1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

3 to 4 cups beef broth

2 tablespoons fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley

Crusty bread, for serving

Beef stew pot pie:

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup flour

1 (9-inch) pie crust recipe (or cheat and use Trader Joe's frozen ones like I did - I love them and they are transfat free!)

To prepare stew:

In a large soup pot heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, rosemary, and thyme and saute until the onions are tender, about 2 minutes. Toss the beef cubes in salt and pepper and flour. Turn up the heat to med-high and add the beef to the pot. Cook until the beef is browned and golden around the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the Marsala wine. Using a wooden spoon, gently stir up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the butternut squash and sun-dried tomatoes and stir to combine. Add enough beef broth to just cover the beef and squash. Bring the stew to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Season the stew with additional salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Serve with crusty bread alongside.

To prepare pot pie:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare stew recipe through seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste step. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add flour and stir constantly to brown for ~1 minutes to create a roux. Pour off stew liquid into the the flour/butter mixture, whisking constantly to eliminate lumps. Bring to a low boil and simmer until thickened, ~7-10 minutes. Return thickened stew liquid to beef and butternut squash mixture and combine gently (I discarded ~1 cup of liquid to keep liquid to solid ratio desirable). Pour pot pie filling into a greased, deep-dish pie pan. Top with pie crust, crimping edges and poke holes to vent. Place pie on cookie sheet and bake for ~1 hour, until crusted is golden brown. 

Serves 6

Aushak

Have you read Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl? Simply put, I adore this book. In fact, it single-handedly sent me spiraling into continuous Google searches for terms like "foodie novels" or "best books for foodies" for a while there. As it turns out (this may be no surprise here), I love me a good food memoir. This book in particular is my all time favorite and I have yet to find a foodie book I like better. I guess that could be because I'm incredibly envious of the fact that she got paid to eat and write about delicious food! All this to say, if you like reading and you like food, find yourself a copy ASAP!

The book incorporates recipes, two of which have become regulars in our repertoire. I wouldn't necessarily call this one easy but I wouldn't call it complicated either. It's mostly just a bit time consuming but if you have friends or a spouse or small children with eager helping hands, the dumplings come together in no time. I haven't done this myself but I would imagine the sauce would freeze nicely if you made a giant batch and put some away for later.

Aushak is an Afghan dish often served on holidays or special occasions. I altered Reichl's version of the meat sauce slightly, mostly to accommodate the neatly portioned 1 pound packages of ground beef in my freezer (her recipe only called for 1/2 pound). In my opinion, my version provides a better meat sauce-to-dumpling ratio. I'll better the sauce would taste mighty fine made with lamb too. WARNING: the dumplings have some kick if you include the full teaspoon of red pepper flakes. My girls cried their way through the meal. Just a little. The yogurt sauce really helps calm down the spice though if you happen to overdo it. 

Aushak

Meat sauce:

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 pound ground beef

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoons diced ginger

1 cup water

1/4 cup tomato paste

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Yogurt sauce:
1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
Kosher salt, to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)

Dumplings:
2 scallion bunches, green tops finely chopped (leave out the white part)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 package round gyoza wrappers

Garnish:
Chopped fresh mint

To prepare meat sauce:

Heat oil in small skillet. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes until golden. Add beef, garlic, coriander, and ginger and cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes until meat is no longer red. Add water and cook, stirring often, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir, and cook another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

To prepare yogurt sauce:

Blend ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

 
To prepare dumplings:

Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Lay 1 tsp mixture in center of each wrapper and moisten edge. Fold over and press edges to make semicircles. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add dumplings and cook for 5 minutes.

To assemble:
Spoon 1/4 cup yogurt sauce onto a serving dish and cover with dumplings. Spoon remaining yogurt sauce on top and garnish with chopped fresh mint. Spoon meat sauce all around, and serve at once.

Serves 4

Espresso-Rubbed Steak with Green Chile Pesto (and then some)

It has been a LOOOOOONG time since anything food posts have come out of Kelsie's Kitchen. Probably partially because Kelsie's Kitchen (as in my actual kitchen, not the blog) has not been producing share-worthy meals as of late. I hesitate to admit this because - gasp - I supposedly love to cook. And I do. Don't get me wrong. But I've been struggling to adjust my menus to accommodate the wee one who is usually hanging onto my pant leg come dinner prep time. I'm learning to balance gourmet with speed, keeping the under arching theme of nutrition in mind of course. I am not super mom and, much to my dismay, I don't always provide the perfectly balanced meals I imagine to my family, though I certainly do try!

I made this flank steak last night and it was quite the hit! The recipe makes a pretty hefty batch of pesto so plan on having some leftover to toss with pasta or put on roasted vegetables. I served the steak with a grape tomato and corn salad with fresh cilantro and some sautéed red potatoes. The only thing I would add next time is some avocado (and as a side note, my husband thought the leftovers would make great taco filling though we haven't yet tried them that way ourselves). 

Espresso-Rubbed Steak with Green Chile Pesto
(From Better Homes and Garden Magazine)

1-1/2 pound flank steak
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant espresso coffee powder (or instant coffee granules)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 recipe Green Chile Pesto (recipe below)
Cilantro leaves (optional)

Score both sides of steak by making diagonal cuts in a diamond pattern. In small bowl combine chili powder, salt, espresso powder, garlic powder, oregano, and pepper. Sprinkle over steak; rub in.

Coat a 12-inch nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat until very hot; add steak. Reduce heat to medium. Cook 12 to 14 minutes for medium-rare (145 degrees F) or 14 to 16 minutes for medium (160 degrees F), turning once halfway through. Transfer to cutting board. Cover loosely with foil; keep warm while preparing Green Chile Pesto .

To serve, thinly slice steak against grain. Pass Green Chile Pesto. Sprinkle with cilantro leaves.

For Green Chile Pesto: Halve 2 medium fresh Anaheim or poblano chile peppers lengthwise; remove stems, seeds, and veins. Coarsely chop peppers. In food processor combine peppers, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, 1/4 cup crumbled Cotija cheese (I used feta), 2 tablespoons pine nuts, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, and salt and black pepper to taste. Process to finely chop mixture. With processor running add 1/3 cup olive oil in steady stream through feed tube to combine into a coarse paste. Makes about 1-1/3 cups pesto.

Serves 8