Pasta Bolognese

Every now & then I make something with red meat. As you probably know if you’ve stopped by before I’m not a huge fan of it, but Chris is so from time to time I’ll make it. This past Sunday I made a pasta bolognese from Anne Burrell’s recipe that I adapted to make my own. This bolognese sauce takes 3-4 hours (yes that long) to cook(!!!!) hence why it’s made on a Sunday. I actually cooked the sauce on a Sunday &  we ate it with pasta on a Monday.

This recipe is not particularly difficult (actually it’s pretty easy) but it does require a big time commitment. Growing up my family didn’t identify pasta bolognese sauce as a ‘thing’ it was just spaghetti & meatballs. When the meatballs broke apart in the sauce I guess that was our version of a bolognese sauce which I learned later in life (after waitressing on Mulberry Street) that it is a meat sauce. So this recipe isn’t a Grandma Pesce recipe but it is a good one & I’d make it again.
 

PS: Happy Birthday Amanda! I love you & hope this is your best year yet! (In hindsight I really should've made manicotti huh? :)!)

Spicy Beef & Acorn Squash Winter Stew

I’m not a huget meat eater but I’ll have the occasional burger or meatball if the mood strikes me. If you’ve been following my blog (thank you!) you’ll probably notice that most of the recipes involve veggies, chicken & fish with very little meat in between. Which means that that’s what my husband eats too. Last night I opted to throw Chris a bone & make a beef stew. Given his positive reaction I may have to make this & meat more often.

Chicken with Mushrooms & Asparagus

I don’t eat a lot of red meat, ok I really rarely do so we have our fair share of chicken, fish & seafood on our table most nights. Chicken is one of those ingredients that’s always in the fridge but can be so unappealing until you mix it with really tasty things. Chicken is really a blank canvas so I try to be inspired when approaching chicken dinners. Last night I made this, chicken with mushrooms & asparagus. The sauce is creamy but not heavy & the asparagus still has a little bite to it so everything isn’t complete mush. I served it with rice but I think it would go great over pasta, mashed potatoes or just with some crusty bread.  It was surprisingly easy to make & I only used one pot to cook it (plus one more for the rice).

How do you cook your chicken when you want to change things up?

Thirsty Thursday: Grilled Steak Wine Pairing

The weather lately has been picture perfect (for grilling)! I’ve been loving it. More grilling means less dishes to clean.  If you’re barbecuing this weekend & meat is on the menu (try this recipe!) serve up Bottle Rush’s favorite bbq go-to red, Zweigelt.

"When the sun is shinning you want something to drink that is refreshing but don't want want to be handcuffed to white or rose wines. Zweigelt is our go-to BBQ red. While it is difficult to say (pronounced Tsvye-gelt)this fruity, spicy red from Austria is the perfect compliment to meat on the grill. With most good Zweigelts costing under $20 this is a wine that you can keep flowing at your summer BBQ without breaking the bank.”
-Tamara, Bottle Rush founder

Are you interested in seeing a specific dish you’ve seen here (or elsewhere) paired with the perfect wine? If so let us know by leaving a comment below.

Happy Thirsty Thursday! Cheers!

PS: Happy Anniversary Marie & Greg! I feel like we were just dancing at your wedding :) Enjoy your day!

PPS: I can't believe this little guy is two today! Happy Birthday Douggie! xx

Homemade Gift: Bloody Mary Kit with Spicy Bloody Mary Mix with Herb Infused Vodka

Christmas is two days aways - ahhhhh! I bet you're still looking for that perfect gift for that person that has everything . Well search no more, you've found the answer right here.  (Note: This gift is geared towards adults so if you're looking for a child's gift I'm sorry our search will continue.)  If you love to brunch & imbibe this one is for you or your friends or both! Just a few words - bloody mary kit.

You'll need to find some cool bottles or recycle old ones you have. I bought mine at fishs eddy (these & these). Some cute labels (like these) &  a marker. Oh & a cute box or gift bag to wrap it.

Then you'll need the most easy & delicious recipes for the best customized bloody mary, EVER, which I found while reading one of my favorite vegetarian blogs, Oh My Veggies, (totally worth checking out even if you eat meat!) the other day.  I stumbled across the brilliant kit ideas in the potluck section.

Sherrie from With Food and Love posted how-to make her insanely beautiful & easy rosemary infused vodka & linked to her bloody mary recipe. She had me at bloody mary & next thing I know I'm whipping up my own bloody mary kits with herb infused vodka thanks to her inspiration for gifts(!).  Be sure to check out Sherrie's post on making rosemary infused vodka here, & get her original bloody mary recipe here.

Read on to see how I put my own twist on Sherrie's great gift idea!

Seafood Gumbo

Chris loves Cajun food so for his birthday (which was this past Friday - Happy Belated Chris via the blogosphere) I tried my hand at seafood gumbo. I think it was pretty successful.  It does take some time so if you're making it pick a cool day, maybe one where there's rain pouring down outside so that it feels good to be in a warm kitchen.  The recipe I used & added to says that it serves 4-6 people for dinner, I think it would serve 10 people comfortably.  Chris & I ate it at home on Friday & then brought the rest to a family bbq, & we still had left overs just for a gauge of the size of gumbo this makes - A LOT!!!!!

Celery Root Purée

Recently I've been drooling over all the recipes on the fantastic blog, Oh My Veggies.  This gal Kiersten has some great vegetarian recipes up her sleeve.  Since our fridge is stuffed with mostly veggies, a tiny bit of chicken, some fish & on a rare occasion, red meat, this is right up my alley.  Head over & check out her recipes today. 

I recently the found myself lusting over this post for celery root purée on Oh My Veggies. Then I saw something on Food Network about it & then I was in the grocery store standing face-to-face with the ugliest thing in the produce department - celery root. I took it as a sign from the universe.  It was time to make & try celery root. I can't remember if I've had it before but I really haven't met a root vegetable I didn't like. 

These ugly - yet tasty- roots are what the stalks of celery you're making ants on a log & sticking in peanut butter grow out of. Not sure how they've been such an underdog of the desired part of this vegetable because they're actually really tasty so much so that I think my gal Ashley, who HATES celery, might actually enjoy them.

This purée is a great mashed potato alternative. It has milk, butter & salt mixed in with a root veggie - it's adult baby food & is oh so good.  Try it I think you'll like it.  Chris & I definitely did (read: no leftovers here).

Click through for the recipe that I adapted from the Eating Well recipe that I found via Oh My Veggies & my photos of this quick & easy process.



PS: "Hoppy" Easter :)

Root Vegetable Stuffing with Fall Fruit

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week already, that means time to start planning sides & desserts.  I watched Giada make a version of this stuffing that is both sweet & savory & thought I'd give it a test run before the big turkey day.  I'd say it was a hit, according Chris & me of course.

I love stuffing but I really do not like any type of meat in it - sausage, gizzard, no thanks.  I loved this recipe because it has hearty root veggies plus the sweetness of fall fruit. It's kind of like a dinner cobbler - too savory to be dessert but just sweet enough to make you want seconds.

This particular recipe calls for goat cheese for a tangy extra creamy zing but if you don't like goat cheese (Maggie I know what you're thinking) you can just leave it off, but if you love goat cheese like Chris & me, you're in for a real treat.

Click through for the full recipe (that serves 8-10 people) & photos.

Crab Stacks

Inspired by the tasty crab stack we enjoyed in San Francisco I attempted my own version. I'd say it was a success! Oh and I should mention there's no cooking involved in this one either (just chopping and smooshing)! 

I got a little photo happy, so make sure to check out the photos & my recipe after the jump!

San Francisco Food Inspiration

A few weeks ago Chris and I took an awesome trip to San Francisco. I think it's safe to say that we pretty much ate our way through this fabulous city. Here are some of the foods I found inspiring and maybe easy enough to recreate (or at least parts of them).

Berkeley Bagel home-made hummus, avocado, sprouts, sliced red onion & tomato at The Grove Cafe

Chris's favorite: Local Crab & Shrimp Sandwich on toasted sourdough bread at Pier 23

PIMM’S CUP made with 
pimm’s no 1, gingerbeer, cucumber. I love that they garnished this cocktail
with a shaved cucumber (kind of like this salad! totally trying this) at Pesce

The CRAB TOWER of Dungeness crab meat with avocado, cucumber,
tomato, basil and red wine vinaigrette at Pesce

Gilroy Garlic Fries at AT &T Park

Braised Duck & Mushroom Fettucini

I'm really a chicken and fish girl when it comes down to the 'meat' of my diet (and by diet I mean the foods I eat - I'm not on a diet). I sometimes will roll the dice and try red meat (I live on the edge, I know) but for the most part the house always wins - its a lose lose for how my body feels after eating it.

So on Sunday I thought I'd live scandalously by cooking up some duck.

Usually I like to make a meal that takes tens of minutes, not hours, to make. Feeling inspired by a fab restaurant in San Francisco, Pesce, I give you braised duck and mushroom fettucini.

For this dish I used a hybrid of this eggless pasta recipe, this duck and this sauce. I jazzed my sauce up with some shallots and mushrooms (shitakes and baby portobello) which I added to the duck fat before I added the duck.

If you're not into duck or don't have a Sunday afternoon to cook this specific dish you can easily substitute the duck with roasted chicken and use boxed pasta or fresh in the deli section.