Remember a few months back when I made fresh pasta?  Were we friends then?  

I made fresh pasta at the tail end of summer this year.  I wore a snazzy red apron.  I got my hands dirty.  I walked around the house showing off my ball of dough to anyone who would pay attention.  No one really payed attention.  That’s ok.

I have been feeling nostalgic for my summer times of a few months back.  Times when I would spend weekends talking about wine and food with these lovely ladies.  (My friends are gorgeous.  It’s almost weird.)  Times when we would drink way too much Rose and just be downright silly.    Those times will come again… in many months.  For now, I’ll satiate myself with a giant bowl of fresh pasta with this INCREDIBLE Bolognese Recipe.  You should do this too.  No joke.  Pasta is calming and generally makes the world a better place.    

For all things pasta, you’ll want to pop on over here and read this.  For all things Bolognese, you’ll want to jump on over and sauce it up. 

This Bolognese recipe is one I adapted from Mario Batali.  The man knows a hell of a lot about Italian food and Crocs.  I generally only take his advice on Italian food and not on shoes.  

This sauce is so amazing because of its many layers of flavors.  There’s wine, there’s thyme, there’s a touch of sweetness from carrots, there’s onions and garlic and two different kinds of meat.  Yes. Yes. Yes.  If, for some reason, you aren’t so keen on several different types of meat, I would gently suggest you reconsider.  Combining ground pork and veal (or beef) adds a dimension to your sauce that you can’t get with one meat alone.  It’s well worth the effort.  True.

Cream too.  Please don’t skip the cream.  That’s downright criminal. 

Big Fat Bolognese Sauce

     adapted from Mario Batali

     makes about 8 cups

     Print this Recipe!

2 medium onions, finely chipped

4 celery ribs, finely chipped

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

5 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, ground by butcher or thinly sliced and pulsed in a food processor until finely ground

1 pound ground veal (or ground beef will do too)

1 pound ground pork (not lean… sorry)

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup water

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper ( or to taste)

1 cup heavy cream

Heat oil in a large saucepan.  Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic and sautee over moderate heat until softened.  This should take about 5 minutes.  

Add the pancetta, veal and pork and cook until no longer pink, breaking up the meat as it cooks.  This should take about 6 minutes.

Add the tomato paste, heating it and mixing it in the cooked meat.  Add the white wine and deglaze the pan.  Add the water, canned tomato and thyme and gently simmer the sauce, covered, until it thickens and reduces, about an hour to an hour and a half.  Once thickened add salt and pepper and heavy cream.  Stir.

Sauce can be made up to two days ahead and stored in the fridge.  This sauce keeps in the freezer for 1 month.

Three things are true.  Let’s go over some facts.

I’m gullible.  I prefer to think of it as less naive and more trusting.  If you tell me something, in all likelihood, I’ll believe you.  For this reason, let’s keep the April foolery to a minimum this morning.  It’s not really my style, and chances are, if you try to fool me with falsehoods or pranks today, it’ll work.  Let’s not and say we did.

This day reminds me of one particular April Fool’s Day many years back.   I thought playing a prank on my little sister would be ripe with comedy.  It involved a toilet seat, petroleum jelly, and her resulting slippery bum.  As I giggled with success, my little sister busted out her fake (but oh so convincing) cry and I was in a heap of trouble with Mom.  She’s brilliant with the fake cry… award winning.  Well played little sister… I see how you turned that around… Well played.

Lastly, and this is no petroleum jelly joke-  I was featured in the London Times this week!  Check out the interview and the photos… and say hello to London.  Normally I’d tell you how being in the London Times makes me want to yell, and jump and otherwise spaz with excitement.. but I’m trying to play it cool.  You know.. like wearing sunglasses at night, or wearing Converse sneakers with a fancy dress, or putting ham and mustard in cookies…. cool.  Let’s play it cool.

A friend affectionately called these savory pastries, Ham Cookies.  While the name is less than enticing, the description is just about right.  I combined my favorite Dufour Puff Pastry with lovely Dijon mustard, thinly sliced prosciutto and Gruyere cheese.  Roll the dough in towards each other like you would a Palmier, and you’ve got a savory breakfast snack, or a super easy appetizer.  Easy and impressive… that means we all win!

Prosciutto Dijon and Gruyere Puffs

Print this recipe!

1 package Dufour Puff Pastry (It’s the best store bought pastry around.  If you can’t find it, go for a brand that uses all butter, and not the fake fat stuff.)

8 slices Prosciutto di Parma

3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

flour for dusting

fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Thaw puff pastry in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.  Once thawed, carefully unfold and lay on a floured work surface.  If the pastry tears at the seam in the unfolding process, it’s not the end of the world, but try to keep it in one un-torn piece.  Dust flour on top of the pastry as well.

Puff pastry will already be very flat, but with a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 11×9-inches.  Layer the eight slices of prosciutto on top of the puff pastry.  Using a butter knife, layer the mustard on top of the prosciutto slices.  Top with grated cheese, and as much fresh ground black pepper as you like.

Begin to roll the right side of the pastry in towards the center.  Next roll the left side of the pastry in towards the center.  Press together.  Dough will not stick together, but if you brush away some of the excess flour on the center dough pieces, they will stay together better during baking.

With a sharp knife, slice the dough into 1/2-inch thick slices.  Place on a baking sheet lines with parchment paper.  Bake at 400 degrees F for about 12-15 minutes, until a deep golden brown.  Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from baking sheet and serve warm or at room temperature.