It was our day off and we always like to try new things in the kitchen on those days. So we needed to go to the store, and we decided to venture off to Costa Mesa and see what fun things we could round up at Surfas. A little fromage de'affinois, giant can of San Marzanos and garlic butter later, we went and enjoyed one of our favorite dishes... Spicy Miso Ramen. (You could say it was a day filled with noodles)
Finally we are home to start the sauce... This was a joint effort. Lots of mis en place to be done!
Here is the menu for the night: (2 of these items were semi-spontaneous)
6-hour Bolognese with Lemon Thyme Pasta
Grilled Lemon Caesar Salad
Meatball Slider
Strawberry Carpaccio Waffle
6-hour Bolognese (serves a small army...)
Ingredients:
28 oz can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes
2 lbs ground beef (we used mostly 80/20, you want the fat to sauté the veggies!)
9 carrots, small diced
5 stalks of celery, small diced (I learned you should use the inner stalks since they are less fibrous)
1 1/2 yellow onions, small diced
8 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 bottle Sangiovese (Cook with about 2/3 of the bottle, drink the rest!)
1 tsp dried oregano
2 stems of fresh basil (leaves attached and everything)
Salt/pepper/red pepper flakes to taste
Brown the ground beef in a pot/dutch oven that will be deep enough to combine all the ingredients (we used a 6 quart stockpot)
Transfer the beef to a bowl and start by sautéing the carrots first (again, I learned they take longer to cook), then add the onions and celery cooking until they start to become soft.
Deglaze the pan using some of the red wine, scraping all the browned bits from the ground beef. (Mas Flavor!) Bring that to a boil and add the canned tomatoes, garlic, oregano, rest of the wine and basil stems. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to a simmer. Be patient and just let it cook. Taste it periodically to adjust salt (and red pepper flakes if you want a little heat)
Grilled Lemon Caesar Salad (serves 4)
(there is a dipping sauce I make for phyllo-wrapped asparagus that we adapted this from)
Lemon Caesar Dressing:
1/2 C mayonaise
1/2 C sour cream
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
Zest of 1 large lemon
Juice of 2 lemons
2 egg yolks
3 large garlic cloves
1/4 C grated parmesan
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 whole romaine hearts
In a food processor mix the egg yolks, garlic and dijon mustard. Then add the mayo, sour cream, lemon juice and zest. Once combined, slowly add in the olive oil to emulsify. Add salt, pepper and parmesan and blend until the dressing thickens.
Cut romaine hearts lengthwise and drizzle with a touch of olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill for 3 minutes (or until you get a slight char). Dress and top with freshly shaved parmesan and croutons.
Now for the good stuff... PASTA!
Lemon Thyme Pasta
Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 C UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour
3 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh, finely chopped lemon thyme
You can either do this by hand or in a food processor... here is by hand:
Make a well using the flour and then add the oil and crack the eggs (and extra yolks) inside the well. Beat the eggs/oil together and slowly incorporate the flour. As it begins to come together, throw in the lemon thyme and mix well. If it is too sticky, add just a touch more olive oil (and vice versa, add more flour if too dry). *I would probably add a little lemon zest if you really want the lemon to pop!
Knead the dough until it comes together in a ball, not too sticky and not too wet. Place a glass bowl on top and let the dough rest for about an hour.
Separate the dough into 4 and using a pasta roller, roll out the dough (If using the Kitchenaid Pasta attachment... its a 6). Then cut it into fettucine. Place in SALTED boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Toss the pasta in a skillet with the 6-hour bolognese. Chop fresh tomatoes and grate some fresh parmesan on top.
*we tossed the pasta in some garlic butter before the sauce.
We were fortunate enough to have dessert made for us. These are Belgian waffle cookies topped with fromage de'affinois, carpaccio of strawberries and port wine macerated cherries and strawberries. HEAVEN.
Now onto the next bite....
KB
