Lynch's Best Bolognese

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 small carrot, peeled, chopped
• 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. ground beef chuck (20% fat), patted dry
• Kosher salt
• 3 oz. thinly sliced pancetta, finely chopped
• 1 cup dry white wine
• ⅓ cup tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• Pinch of finely grated nutmeg
• 2 cups (or more) homemade chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 lb. fresh tagliatelle or pappardelle, or dry rigatoni
• 2 oz. finely grated Parmesan (about ½ cup), plus more for serving

Step 1

Pulse onion, celery, and carrot in a food processor until very  finely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl.

Step 2

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or other large pot over medium. Break beef into small clumps (about 1½") and add to pot;

season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally but not breaking meat apart, until beef is lightly browned but not

crisp, 6–8 minutes. It may be gray in spots (that’s okay!) and still a little pink in the center. Using a slotted spoon,

transfer beef to a medium bowl.

Step 3

Wipe out pot. Cook pancetta in pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until pancetta has released some of its fat

and is crisp, 6–8 minutes. Add onion mixture to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very soft and

beginning to stick to surface, 6–8 minutes.

Step 4

Return beef to pot and pour in wine. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, smashing down on beef with a wooden

spoon, until wine is evaporated, surface of pot is almost dry, and meat is  nely ground, 12–15 minutes. (The meat should

be reduced to what looks like little bits. It takes a bit of effort, but you can take breaks.) Add tomato paste, bay leaf, and

nutmeg and cook, stirring occasionally and still pressing down on meat, until tomato paste is slightly darkened, about 5

minutes.

Step 5

Pour stock and milk into pot; add a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to the lowest setting and cook, uncovered and stirring

occasionally, until meat is very, very tender, 2–2½ hours. There shouldn’t be any rapid bubbles at this stage. Instead, the

sauce should release the occasional small bubble or two. When  nished, the sauce should have the texture of and look

like a sloppy joe mixture. If the liquid reduces before the meat is completely tender, add an extra ½ cup stock and

continue cooking. Discard bay leaf. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning with salt; keep warm.

Step 6

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. If using fresh pasta, cook about 3 minutes. If using dry, cook until very

al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions.

Step 7

Using tongs, transfer pasta to pot with sauce. Add 1 cup pasta cooking liquid and ½ cup Parmesan. Increase heat to

medium, bring to a simmer, and cook, tossing constantly, until pasta is al dente and liquid is slightly thickened, about 2

minutes.

Step 8

Transfer pasta to a platter and top with more Parmesan.

Do Ahead: Sauce can be made 4 days ahead. Cover and chill.

A nice little spinach salad

Hello Bloggers.  Since spinach is in season these days I thought I would offer a little salad idea.  It is good because it has one of my favourite ingredients...bacon!!
The salad itself is only made up of spinach, 4 or 100 bacon slices ( you decide) and hard boiled eggs.  you can add an 8oz can of artichokes but I don't because I am not a big fan. The dressing is what brings everything together.  Combine the following ingredients in a blender or use a wand and then refrigerate:
1cup olive oil
1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup of sugar
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
This makes a lot of dressing.  I usually cut this in half.  I took a picture but it is late and I just want to go to bed.  So, whoever makes this can upload a pic of it.  Hope you enjoy.  Don't be slacking on posting!!! We need to keep this alive!!!

Pasta with olives, spinach, and tomatoes

This is a recipe that is quick and feeds a lot of people. The key is that you need to use good olives. I buy a little barrel of kosher green olives that taste sort of like the ones you get in Spain. The olives take the place of any meat you would add to the pasta. You won't miss the meat at all. Otherwise, you will need:

1 lb of pasta

4 oz. of good green olives, chopped

1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved

6 oz. of fresh baby spinach

4 cloves of garlic, diced

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/2 cup of pine nuts

red pepper flakes

parmesan cheese

Saute the garlic and olives together in the olive oil until the garlic is tender. Cook the pasta as directed in salted water to al dente. Add the tomatoes and cook an additional 3 minutes. Add the spinach when the tomatoes are tender and cook until wilted. Add the cooked pasta and one ladel full of the pasta water. Top with pine nuts, parmesan cheese and dried red pepper flakes.

Mushroom Egg Bake

Hey bloggers!  This is a good and tasty way to use up mushrooms either bought or freshly picked in the wild.  All you need is a pan that can be used on the stove as well as placed in the oven without catching on fire.  (We don't want our kitchen looking like Andy's after the maple candy bit)
In a pan saute a large chopped onion and two or three garlic cloves in olive oil or butter.  Then add sliced mushrooms.  For four people you need alot of them because this really cooks down.  After cooking the mushrooms, push them to the side of the pan and add a teaspoon of flour and a cup of white wine.  Stir out the lumps.  Cook the wine until all the alcohol evaporates.  To this mixture you can add a couple cayenne peppers and then take them out before serving if you like to add a little kick.  Once the mushrooms are thoroughly cooked, make a hole in the mixture and crack an egg into it.  I used four eggs so therefore you need four little holes of course.  Sprinkle eggs with salt and place in the oven.  I used the grill for 5 minutes and they were ready.  Garnish with toasted bread drizzled with olive oil, dried garlic and parsley.  This recipe comes from a chef here named Karlos Arguinano.  (Funny guy but not as funny as the Johnson twins)

Super Bowl Party

Well... our team didn't win the Super Bowl, so our entire household is experiencing a mild depression. However, we did have a great time with lots of our friends last night. We had about 60 people over for Macaroni and Cheese, Cole Slaw, Hot Dogs, and Wings. The Hot Dogs were the best part. We had a "Hot Dog Bar" with fixins like cheddar cheese, jalapeno peppers, olives, sauerkraut, bacon, crushed potato chips, pickles, relish, 3 different mustards, hot dog chili, and a few others. It was great for a party because we could prep everything ahead of time. So, once the party started people could eat whenever they were ready. Not gourmet... but good!

Andy's Sweet and Smoky Green Beans

Molly, the kids, and I were over at Andy's last evening for some dinner and to meet up with Mom and Dad. Of course I wanted to see where the maple candy incident had taken place so he gave me a tour of his kitchen...see photo above (see his Maple Candy Blogpost for full details). Its not as bad as it looks, because now it gives all of his recipes a sweet, smoky taste. Spanish tortilla, sardines, homemade pepperoni, and fresh green beans were on the menu. As we were snacking in anticipation of our parents, I found the green beans oddly delicious.

"Andy, what's in the green beans?"

"Salt and butter!"

"No sugar?"

"Nope, just beans, salt, and butter."

"Seriously? Nothing else? They're really good!"

I thought for a while and wondered why my best friend and brother would not share, what seemingly, was a simple recipe. After a few more tastes, I was able to use the Johnson palatte to pull out the special ingredients. Hidden between the sweet, fresh, green, and smoky of the beans was the faintness of crystallized maple candy. This oversight of the dishwasher allowed for a small amount of the crystallized maple candy to remain in the small crevice around the edge of the pan. The beans absorbed the sweet, smoky goodness and made for a wonderful side dish.

Moroccan Cured Lemons

These are a great accent to any rice, pasta, or meat dish that needs a little citrus flavor.

Ingredients:

5-6 lemons

Approximately 1-2 cups of Kosher salt

Peanut oil or sunflower oil

Directions:

Thoroughly wash and dry the lemons and then make 4 lateral cuts down the lemon as if you were cutting into 1/4 wedges. It is important not to cut completely through the lemon as they work better and look better whole. Take an attractive and sealable glass jar and place a handful of salt on the bottom. Jam as much salt as possible into each of the lateral cuts of the lemons and then place them into the jar. After each lemon is added, sprinkle an excessive amount of salt on top of each one. Once all lemons have been added to the jar, take a large wooden spoon and smash the lemons down so that juices fill the bottom 1/4 of the jar. Add dried peppers, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, or any other aromatic that would flavor the lemons and leave to rest on the counter for one week. Juice should slowly fill the jar and cover the lemons. After about a week, add additional lemon juice so that all lemons are covered and layer a small amount of the oil on top to prevent oxygen from getting in. Wait a total of 3 weeks, or until the lemons become soft, before using. These can be left on the counter indefinitely and function as a color accent as well.

To use:

Remove the lemons from the brine and scoop out the pulp and discard it. Thinly slice the rind and add to any recipe that calls for a little citrus. Beware...they do pack some salt, so go easy on additional salt in your recipes. These go very well with chicken and rice dishes!