Ragu Recipe (Basic Meat Sauce)

The Ragú recipe (basic meat sauce) is very simple and easy to make, but does require some time to let the sauce simmer and develop the flavor to its fullest.  It’s such a hearty sauce, that when added to any pasta, all you need is salad and bread to make a complete, filling meal.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of your pot)
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 rib of celery, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds mixture of lean ground beef and ground turkey
• salt and pepper and taste
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 2 cans (28 ounce) crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions for Ragú (Basic Meat Sauce):

• In a large pot, over medium heat, add olive oil.  Then add garlic, onion, carrots, and celery.  Sauté until onions are translucent and vegetables have softened.
• Add meat and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook meat until brown.  Add white wine and cook until wine has been absorbed into the meat.
• Add tomatoes and sugar.   Mix thoroughly.  Reduce heat to low and simmer about 2 hours.

My husband is from Italy and was born and raised in Rome.  This is the Ragú recipe that he grew up with and continues to make for us.  Our children love the flavor and the aroma of the sauce when simmering in the kitchen permeates through the whole house.  For variations in flavor, my husband often makes the sauce using different types of ground meat such as ground beef, ground turkey, or ground pork.  He also mixes 2 meats together.  Basically, you can be creative with the flavor using different types of meat.

If you try this Ragú recipe, you will find yourself using your Ciabatta or Focaccia bread to scoop up every last bit off your plate.  For other authentic Italian recipes, please see my food blog, True Taste of Italy.

My neighbor and friend stopped by yesterday to bring me some Amish Friendship Bread starter mix to make bread. Basically, the idea is that you receive a cup of bread starter mix from a friend and over a 10 day period, you will make 2 more cups of this bread starter, then keep a cup for yourself to mix with other ingredients and bake and give 2 cups of starter mix away to 2 friends so that they can continue the process. I thought that this was a really neat idea, so I wanted to share the process and recipe here.

Amish Friendship Bread must be made by first creating the starter mix which will take 10 days to develop. At the end of the 10 days, the starter mix will be divided into 3 cups. One cup will be mixed with additional ingredients to bake into bread or muffins. The other 2 cups can be given away to friends as starter mix along with the instructions they will need to follow to nurture the starter mix over the 10 day period.

Ingredients for Amish Friendship Bread starter mix:
**Do NOT use metal spoons, metal bowls, or equipment. Also, do NOT refrigerate. Use only glazed ceramic, plastic, or containers as bowls.

• 1 pk. active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions for Amish Frienship Bread starter mix:

• Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water in a deep glass or plastic
  container for approximately 10 minutes.
• Stir in remaining warm water, flour, and sugar. Mix
  until smooth. Cover with loose fitting cover. DO NOT REFRIGERATE.
• The starter requires 10 days for fermentation as follows.

Days 1,2,3,4, 5 – Stir starter mix using a wooden spoon.

Day 6 – Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Stir with a wooden spoon.

Days 7,8 & 9 – Stir starter mix each day with a wooden spoon.

Day 10 – Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk and stir. Take out 2 cups and place 1 cup each into 3 separate plastic containers or ziploc bags. Give 1 cup and a copy of the recipe to 2 friends.

The batter is ready to use.

Now to actually make the Amish Friendship Bread, you will want to follow these directions:

To the balance of your batter, which should be about 1 cup, add these ingredients:

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla

In a separate bowl, combine these dry ingredients and mix well:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 (5.1oz) box instant vanilla pudding
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup nuts (optional)

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into well greased and sugared bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

After enjoying your bread, make some more Amish Friendship Bread starter mix and share it with more friends.

Another delicious cookie we made during the holidays came from this Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps recipe. They are basically the old-fashioned chocolate crinkles, if you are familiar with those, with the addition of espresso powder.

My husband was born and raised in Italy and must start everyday with piping hot espresso. I thought he, I mean Santa, would enjoy these as something different this year. We began looking for the traditional chocolate crinkles recipe, but came across the Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps recipe on , Martha Stewart’s website. I will provide the recipe here for the Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps cookies:

Ingredients:
Makes 18

* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 4 teaspoons instant espresso
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
* 2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
* 1 large egg
* 4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
* 1 tablespoon milk
* 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, for coating

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, espresso, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well combined; mix in cooled chocolate. With mixer on low speed, gradually add dry ingredients; beat in milk just until combined. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl; working in batches, roll balls in sugar twice.
3. Place balls on prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies have spread and coating is cracked, 12 to 14 minutes; cookies will still be soft to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

The Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps Recipe was very easy to follow and very easy to make. The kids had a lot of fun helping every step of the way and getting their hands dirty. My husband absolutely loved them! As for the kids, they did enjoy them; however, the espresso flavor is fairly strong even though they do have that Italian blood flowing through them. I would suggest reducing the amount of espresso powder to 2 1/2 or 3 teaspoons instead of 4. It should still give enough espresso flavor without being overpowering.

If you know someone who loves coffee or espresso, bake a batch and share them together. Let me know what you think if you decide to make these from the Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps Recipe.

During the holidays, we did a lot of baking and cooking.  Here is a great banana bread recipe that I would like to share.  Please let me know what you think if you decide to take a chance and bake some!

Ingredients:

• 4 overripe bananas (mashed)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan or use 2 smaller loaf pans.
2.  Peel bananas, place in a medium sized bowl, then mash using a fork or potato masher.
3.  In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Combine thoroughly.
4.  In a separate bowl, cream the butter and the brown sugar. Stir in the beaten eggs and mashed bananas. Mix until well blended.
5.  Gradually add flour mixture into banana mixture. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
6.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and place in oven for approximately 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool for approximately 10 minutes before removing onto a wire rack.

After making this banana bread recipe, the banana bread did not last long in our household.  We made it one afternoon as a snack, then ate the rest of the banana bread for breakfast the next morning.  It was the perfect way to use bananas that would have otherwise been thrown away.

ENJOY the banana bread!