Molto Bene!



This weeks tablescape.  (sorry it's rotated funny).  We went with a "thick" Italian theme.



The Bolognese sauce in it's inception.

The sauce simmering.

The sauce done!

The homemade pasta.

Slicing the homemade pasta (into pappardelle noodles).

Pasta cooking!

Homemade Italian bread, w/ kosher salt topping.

Garlic infused oil for dipping (the bread).

Meal plated and ready to be devoured!

Cooked crescent roll for dessert.

Fluffy homemade whipped cream.

Stawberry topping getting heated.

Strawberry Newport.  Great way to end an already fabulous meal!

Molto Bene! means Very Good!  And that it was.  Tonight's "theme" was home-style Italian.  J had always dreamed of making a homemade bolognese sauce.  He not only tackled that, but for giggles also made a homemade pasta (pappardelle noodle) as well as a homemade Italian bread.  So, to say his dreams came true tonight, is an understatement.  The best way to describe this meal, was that the Sopranos would have "killed" to have joined us at the table.

The sauce starts with celery, carrots, onions and garlic.  You saute those and reduce them until they are over-cooked.  You then add pancetta and continue cooking.  Ground beef, ground pork, diced tomatoes and milk get added last.  That all simmers for 4 hours.  What's amazing about this sauce is that there are zero seasonings.  It's all flavored by the vegetables and meat ONLY.  I cannot stress how flavorful this sauce is.  Our jaws hit the floor when we discovered there are NO herbs, NO seasonings, nothing.  Unreal.

The bread was a classic recipe.  It took over two hours to rise.  In between those 2 hours, J had to beat the dough and separate into two loaves.  He sprinkled kosher salt on the top, and it then cooked for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.  The bread had a crunchy exterior and a soft sweet inside.  We boiled fresh garlic cloves in oil, and dipped the bread in the oil (along with dipping it in the bolognese sauce of course).

The homemade pasta was a traditional pappardelle noodle, which is made with egg and "00" flour (a traditional flour, used by only the best Italians).  J rolled it out thin, and cut it 2 cm wide at varying lengths.

Truly, words cannot describe how unbelievable this classic Italian meal was.  It was perfect.  K attempted to make a salad, but it wasn't needed!  Although, the ranch dressing was the best any of us had ever tasted!

For dessert we had strawberry newport.  We baked a crescent roll, heated up some strawberry sauce and made homemade whipped cream.  After building individual sandwiches (layering the crescent roll with strawberry sauce and whipped cream) we topped it with melted Hershey Kiss chocolates. 

It was so special to be able to make our dreams, okay J's dreams, come true tonight.  How impressive it is to have not only made a homemade sauce, to die for, but a homemade pasta and bread to boot.  These Mundane Monday's keep getting better and better.  Who knows what next week brings, but we aren't sure how we can top this one.  All the fun is in trying though!

Until next time.....A la cuisine!