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Pasta bolognese

Jul 17th, 2011
by ben.
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Pasta bolognese

Date: July 14th, 2011

Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/spaghetti-bolognese-recipe/index.html

Modifications: I reversed the amounts of meat: 1 lb ground pork and 0.5 lb ground beef, just cause I like pork better. I also threw in some basil that we had and needed to use up. The directions say to simmer for 1.5 hours, but I liked the consistency after 45-50 minutes, so we went with that.

Time to table: 2 hours, over half the time is just simmering.

Servings: Probably had enough for 6 adults

Ben: Love

Erin: Like

Annie: Love

Notes: This sauce was absolutely delicious. The butter and cream at the end just make it that much richer. At no point in the directions does it say to drain the fat from the bacon, beef, or pork, so this is an extremely savory dish. Annie seemed to like the food very much, but also seemed interested in playing so she didn’t take it down like other dishes she loves. We froze the leftovers because we already have plenty of other leftovers that need to get eaten and I didn’t want this to be wasted.

Pasta bolognese

Annie digging in

Pasta bolognese

Early stages with the bacon (and bacon grease!) and veggies for our base

Pasta bolognese

Finished sauce

Braised pork

May 1st, 2011
by ben.
1 comment

Braised Pork and twice baked potatoes

Date: 5/1/2011

Pork recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/succulent-braised-pork-recipe/index.html

Twice baked potato recipe:

  • 15 baked potatoes
  • 16 oz cream cheese
  • 2 sticks of butter
  • 2 heads of roasted garlic
  • 1 cup of half & half
  • salt & pepper to taste

Bake all of the potatoes. After baking cut them lengthwise and scoop the potato into a large mixing bowl. Combine the remainder of the ingredients (tons of variations are possible here). Mash all ingredients together. Fill each half potato with the mix. Bake the potatoes again for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.

Time to table: 30 minutes prep, 3 hour cooking time. [for the pork - potatoes were baked from frozen and took 1 hr total another day]

Modifications: I used vegetable stock instead of beef stock. I used dried oregano instead of parsley stems.

Servings: The two pound shoulder roast I used gave us about 4 adult servings.

Ben: Love

Erin: Love

Annie: Like

Notes: This is rated “intermediate” from the Food Network site, but I thought it was incredibly easy. At no point could you really ruin this recipe if you’re following the directions even reasonably close. The tenderness of the pork was amazing and the sauce that results from the red wine and vegetable stock was awesome. Our neighbors appreciated the leftovers.We made these potatoes for Easter dinner at my parent’s house and had leftovers in the freezer. I just put the potatoes in the oven with the pork for the last hour of it cooking. I could have put them in for less time as they were a little dry after one hour.(Notice the empty fork in one hand, while the other hand stuff food into mouth).

Eating pork and potatoes