The Last Meal of 2006

I'm totally stuck for something to write about today, so I thought I'd share the recipe for the bolognese sauce I made for the people on New Year's Eve. Here it is:

BoyJake's Bolognese Sauce

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
Red Wine
1 bulb garlic
1 medium yellow onion
1 pound Hot Italian Sausage (I prefer chicken but pork works quite well)
1 pound lean ground beef
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
3 large pinches of chili powder
3 large pinches of dry oregano or equivalent fresh
1 pinch of salt
1 bunch of fresh basil or equivalent dry

Directions:

1) Finely chop onion

2) Cover bottom of skillet (I prefer stainless steel) w/ olive oil and place over medium heat

3) Add onion to skillet

4) Peel and coarsely chop garlic; add to skillet

5) Heat oil, onion and garlic together until onion is at least translucent -- you may go so far as to carmelize the onion if you appreciate that sweet/smoky flavor (not everybody does)

6) Add sausage and beef - turn up the heat and stir until well-cooked

7) Drain if necessary (chicken sausage and lean beef often don't leave much grease)

8) Add tomato sauce and a splash of water

8) Add red wine -- I usually start pouring and count to three (glug glug glug)

9) Add salt, chili powder, oregano and salt

10) Simmer until bubbling, turn down heat

11) Add basil -- I usually try to cover the top of the skillet/sauce with whole basil leaves, but my baby likes basil a lot -- if you want to tear the leaves or use less, go ahead, it's your sauce!

12) Serve w/ al dente pasta and enjoy

Thanks for playing.