Hearty Italian Meat Sauce

I'm mostly posting this recipe because my mother's been begging for it...

And I'm a slacker....

And I have good intentions... I really do!

But then I've been getting home from work exhausted, force myself out for a run, make dinner and crash!

So, sorry mom! I'll do better this time. I promise! :)

I made this with her when she came for a visit for 24 hours back in November. She was on a quick layover on her way out of the country to visit my sister, and we had to savor every minute we could get. I, unfortunately, couldn't get off work, so we really only had the evening together. I wanted to make it count - so of course the thing that I wanted to do together was cook. I wanted to get our hands together in the kitchen, one of the places that means the most to me, in order to enjoy every minute with her. I hadn't seen her since my trip to Italy, and the best way to tell some of the stories of the things we did is not over the phone, but in the reliving of what we did. The sweetness of the tomatoes and licorice smell of the basil brought me right back to the middle of Florence and the Centrale Market. It was the best way to let her know exactly what happened on the trip and for her to even experience a tiny piece of it herself - at least from my perspective.

That night, we made the meal together, talked and laughed, and moved out to the back patio with Archie. He made us a fire in my fire pit, and we sat at my little vintage patio table, savoring each bite, knowing we only had a little bit of time.

The meat sauce itself is so simple - using fresh ingredients from the Centrale Market when we were in the class in Italy. And even though I don't have a Centrale Market close by, I have tried to preserve the freshness as much as I can - basil from my back yard, meat from the local butcher, all adding up to make such tastiness, and causing there to be even more memories surrounding my yummy little Italian meat sauce.

P.S. - I apologize for the pictures of the final meat sauce not being so great - by the time the meal finished cooking it Italy, Jen and I were supposed to be on a train 10 blocks away in 20 minutes (plus meeting up with our husbands!). I'll work on getting a better picture. :)

P.P.S. - The fresh pasta (made by hand!!!) recipe to come shortly. You'll be surprised at how easy it is. No pasta roller needed!

Italian Meat Sauce (By: Chef Giovanni, Florence Italy) - serves 6

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Ingredients:

6 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

6 cloves garlic

1 red onion

1 tsp chili pepper flakes

1 lb good quality ground beef

1 lb Italian pork sausage, casings removed (I used the sweet kind since there was already a kick from the chili pepper)

2 cups red wine

1 lb. can whole, peeled tomatoes

1-2 whole basil leaves per serving (approximately 6-12 leaves)

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Chop onion into small diced pieces and mince garlic

2. Place olive oil in pan and heat up. Place the onion, garlic and chili flakes into the heated oil and continue cooking until caramelized.

3. Place the pork sausage and ground beef into pan. Mash with a fork until all pieces are broken down, and meat is cooked through. DO NOT DRAIN!! I know.. weird, but don't do it.

Fresh from the butcher!

4. Add the 2 cups wine (plus another little drizzle if you like the taste ;) ), and allow to reduce by half - about 10-15 minutes depending on how high your heat works.

5. Drain juice of tomatoes into the pan and crush the whole tomatoes with your hand, creating pieces of smaller tomatoes. You can use a fork to make any a little smaller if they are still too big. Place basil in pot. Allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes. Serve with fresh, warm, homemade pasta!

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Memories

There is something about food that always seems to bring up memories. It's probably one of the things I like best about food.

Lots of people know me by my love for cooking, my love for food (not sure that's a good thing! ;)), and being the one who always wants to try a new recipe.

But really, at the heart of the matter, I actually always go back to the standbys. The foods that mean something to me. Yes, they sure are good, but they have heart behind them.

I'm sure right now you're thinking... she is insane. It's just food we're talking about here. But it's not!! The smell of orange cinnamon rolls can instantly remind me of being a child in my grandmother's kitchen in the summer. She would always make us orange rolls - and to this day, I have orange cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. The kind from the can!

The taste of corn tortillas reminds me of my summer mission's internship in Mexico - and our favorite restaurant "The Hill". Their tacos with the cheese that you pulled with your fork was remarkable - but even more so was the amazing opportunity to share God's love with this country.

The cold and creamy taste of butter pecan ice cream instantly takes me back to my living room in high school. Watching television late at night with my dad after getting back from a basketball game on the bus was the perfect night treat. Both of us mostly sitting in silence from sheer exhaustion, but the time spent together was priceless.

And then there's these - Bacon wrapped water chestnuts. One of my favorite recipes of all time. Are they good? Absolutely! But I tend to think they are mostly as good as I think they are because of the memories they bring up. This is one of the first recipes I learned how to make from my mom. In fact - it's her recipe. I'm sure you could find some adaption of it pretty easily on the internet somewhere, but none of them taste quite like these.

It's the first recipe I mastered on my own, brought somewhere and got a really good response. They became my standby for a while - the only thing I would make because I knew I could make them well! Obviously, I've branched out since then.. but I remember my roots, and I remember standing by my mom as she taught me each step. And every time I taste one, the crunchiness of the water chestnut and the tanginess of the barbecue sauce, it reminds me of home!

What recipe or food do you have the conjures up the most memories?

Mom's Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb bacon (cut in thirds)

2 small cans water chestnuts (break in half and stack on top of each other)

1 cup ketchup

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tbs. lemon juice

toothpicks

Preparation

1. Cut bacon into thirds.

2. Wrap bacon around stacked water chestnuts and secure with a tooth pick. Place on baking tray in line leaving space between so they don't stick together.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Pour off the grease.

4. In a microwave safe bowl, mix together sugar, ketchup and lemon juice. Heat just until warmed in microwave (about 30 seconds).

5. Pour over water chestnuts evenly, trying to avoid the toothpick if possible (it will burn).

6. Bake an additional 30-35 minutes until bacon is crispy.

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Italy Day 11 - 14

I'm sorry this has been so long in between posts, but I really wanted to finish up our trip to Italy. I know that the recap isn't the most interesting for everyone, but I thought even if it helps someone who's been to Italy relive the memories for a moment it might be worth it. And I definitely did it also as a way for me to have a journal of types to be able to look back on.

Continuing on...

The next day we did an hour and a half hike through the Cinque Terre trail from Vernazza to Monterosso. It was quite the strenuous hike, but it was a lot of fun. The views were amazing! Once we got to Monterosso, we headed down to the VERY European style beach... wink wink, and went down to the water. We just kept our bodies towards the water to avoid the other views. But the water and the rocks were gorgeous.

I'm not sure if you have heard on the news or read online, but just last week a terrible storm went through Cinque Terra and totally devastated the towns. In fact, the mayor of Monterosso, where the above picture was taken has stated that the town is nonexistent. The mud and rocks have washed down into the town and destroyed them. The pictures are horrifying, and I even read that the locals and tourists had to evacuate the city by boat! We consider ourselves so lucky to have seen the cities, and can't wait to go back and support the people as they rebuild.

That night we went to dinner back in Vernazza at a restaurant called the Pirate Bar. It was okay food - really rich food. But the owners were two hilarious characters. They were from Sicily - and they had the idea that there food was the best.

We then took a walk down to the waterfront in Vernazza, and the view is amazing.

The next morning, we took the train to Venice. When we woke up, it was rainy and windy - but still warm. We took the train all day and ended up in Venice where it was 20 degrees colder than it was in Cinque Terre. It was quite the difference. We checked in to our bed and breakfast, which was super cute. The guy who owned the B&B was Ricardo. He was the biggest character. We had such a great time with him and can't wait to go back and stay with him. He required a picture before we left.

After we checked in, we just walked around a bit in Venice and enjoyed some of the amazing views. It really is such a romantic city. It's hard to explain exactly what it's like! We also went in to see the Dojee's palace, but I don't have any pictures since you weren't allowed to take any inside.

The next day was full of sight seeing. I went for a run along the water. It was so beautiful. One of the best runs of the trip. The sun was coming up, and I was pretty much alone. Every other time in the city felt so busy, so it was great. Except for the 18 bridges that I had to run over. :)

We then started out with the Rialto bridge and market - one of the biggest areas in Venice (aside from St. Mark's Square).

View from Rialto Bridge and the Rialto bridge itself

Such a cute picture

Obviously we were looking at the wrong camera - ha - oh well, it's still such a pretty view.

Some gondoliers

The piazza near the Rialto Market. The fountains where you can fill up your water are always so pretty - nothing like the fountains in the states.

We then took the boat over to Murano and literally met the Italian mafia. They were quite interesting. We did get to see a 2 minute glass blowing demonstration, and then walked into about fifty shops with tchotchke that looked the same in every shop. Sorry, no pictures.

We did take a gondola ride though - even if it was only for 3 minutes. They call it three minutes of heaven, and for half a euro (about 75 cents per person) you can ride in the gondola across the Grand Canal. It was totally worth it. You got to see it, take a picture, and get out. Otherwise, it cost 100 euros to take the extended ride.

We went to dinner at a great place in Venice recommended by Ricardo - they had the best chocolate soufflé there! We ordered two.... and a tiramisu!

After dinner we went for a walk back down to St. Mark's square.

They have mini orchestra's set up in the outdoor cafe's. They play a song, and then across the way in another cafe another orchestra will play. They take turns this way going back and forth - and the music itself is really show-worthy. They are excellent musicians.

The bellower

St. Mark's Square, Basilica, and Dogee's Palace.

The view across the water.

Typical views of the Grand Canal at night. I love the way the light comes off and seeing the boats in the water.

While we were out in St. Mark's square, we saw all of these people lined up around these telescopes. Come to find out, they have a club of people who donate their telescopes, come down one time a year and donate them as a way to educate and let people enjoy the beautiful views. We were able to see the moon and jupiter (and it's rings). It was beautiful and seriously... what were the chances we would be there on the ONE night of the year they do it.

The next day was our LAST day in Italy together - and the last day in Venice. We just decided to take it slow and walk around, finish up some shopping, and get a few more last minute pictures and of course - food!

At the end of the day we took the boat back over to the other side of Venice - the much more industrialized Venice. But we stayed at a very nice hotel overnight and enjoyed the pool for one last time. It was so bittersweet to leave our friends in Venice (they went on to Greece for a few days - lucky ducks).

So that is it! The full Italy recap! Hope you enjoyed it! Until our next trip - Bonjourno!

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