Being in the gelato business can be a bit stressful when the cold weather sets in. I find myself trying to distract myself with things that force you to stay inside. It is my version of yelling "LaLaLa!" with my fingers in my ears. I try to trick my sanity by having a reason to stay inside and ignore the icy temperatures. When the weather is breaking, I find that I am humming at a pretty high tone. I know that dogs in neighboring homes are rolling in agony with the frequency I am emitting. Like I have said in the past, y'all know I'm crazy.
So it is raining on Sunday, John's car was totaled while being parked across the street (teenager smashed into it) and the kids are stir crazy. What to do.... My mind is saying, it is supposed to be spring, you should be training for the Broad Street Run, why are your kids playing soccer in the room upstairs and not outside?!?!? See? Ca-razy. So I do what any crazy person does-I make ricotta and mozzarella cheese and try to perfect my bolognese sauce.
The ricotta cheese was pretty easy. I heated up the milk to 200 degrees, let it cool down to 90 degrees, added rennet and I let it sit. After some time the milk began to coagulate and I had ricotta. On to my Bolognese. John's birthday was in September. He is hard to buy gifts for. Right now, if I were Oprah, I would buy him a car. I am not, sadly. Anywho, it was his birthday and I could not decide what to buy him. He is always yapping about making his own sausage. So...I bought him a meat grinder. It is awesome! I love it. We do not eat a lot of meat (about once a week), but the difference purchasing your own meat and grinding it makes is astounding. My meatballs are spectacularly soft and resilient. I love grinding meat. Sounds so dirty, but I do.
So, go out and get yerself some high quality meat. There is nothing wrong with eating meat, there is just something really wrong with our meat industry. These are some great options in Philly. If you have the luxury of going to Reading Terminal Market, check out the meat producers. Some are your run of the mill standard butcher, others have locally, humanly, all natural meat. My personal favorite is the Fair Food Stand. They have exceptional products and the people behind this organization are not only smart, good business people, but I really really like them. They do not sell food with judgment. They love to educate and want to help, not preach. Tell them what you are looking for and they will help. If they do not have the product you are looking for, they know where to get it. They continually assist me in finding farmers and connect me to like minded peeps in my field. Trust. If you do not have this luxury, and it is a luxury, Whole Foods carries local beef and pork. Before grinding, it is best to get your meat really really cold. 10 to 15 minutes in the freezer is good. For bolognese, I like 2 pounds of chuck and 1 pound of boneless pork shoulder. Cut into 1 inch cubes. See above?I like to grind the meat with the medium plate twice. Yup twice. Twice through really minces up the meat and fat with out making mush. Hate mush.
Cut up in small dice:
1 large onion
4 ribs of celery
4 carrots
Saute all above in some olive oil. When it is soft and your onion is transparent, add ground beef, hefty pinch of salt and pepper and a good grinding of nutmeg.
Stir, stir, stir.....
When the meat has lost it's pink color, add
1 cup of whole milk.
Let milk bubble away until gone, baby gone. You will know.
Add
1 cup of nice white wine
Let bubble away.
Add Two Cans of high quality canned tomatoes. I love Francesca San Marzano. Crush them before you add. Stir, stir, stir.
Let cook at a slow simmer all the day long. The fat will start to rise to the top of the sauce. Skim that disgusting fat off! Make sure you have a delicious hunk of bread around to dip into your sauce all day long. It needs testing. If your sauce seems too thick, add a bit of water. Make adjustments for salt. Test alot. Make sure you have a nice big loaf of ciabatta. Trust.
Serve with some big pasta, pecorino romano cheese, dabs of fresh ricotta and a colossal salad.
Disaster outside? Make bolognese. And yes, I know, the grinder was for John. I cannot just let it sit there, lonely next to my kitchen aid. It was begging to be used. John is happy.
