Father's Day Bolognese

A belated happy father's day goes out to all the dads that read my blog. You're the most important man in any woman's life: the one who rocked her when she cried as a baby, picked her up when she fell down as a child, threatened boys when she was in high school and walked her down the aisle when she got married. Thank you all for making us into the people we are today.

On top of Father's Day, Saturday was also my dad's birthday! 

Happy birthday Daddy!!!

...and no, my dad is neither 2 or 11. One candle is for it being his birthday and one if for good luck!

My dad's a simple guy with simple wants. He's Irish...not exactly known for amazing cuisine (although I will be the first to tell you that many...ok some...Irish recipes are delicious. I'm looking at you shepherd's pie and guinness stew). And he's obsessed with Italian food. Seriously. The man could eat my mum's spaghetti and meatballs three times a week for the rest of his life and never complain. When my mum is away, he eats Bertolli every single night. He's always happy to be a test subject for my new recipes, as long as they are Italian. But his absolute favorite Italian meal is bolognese.

So of course, being the wonderful daughter that I am, I made bolognese last week and schlepped it home on the train with me for us to enjoy on his birthday. I made it the traditional way, but we all wished it was a bit more sauce-like, so if you feel the same, I recommend adding a can of strained tomatoes.

Bolognese

Ingredients:

1 lb. mixed ground beef, veal and pork

5 carrots, peeled and minced

5 celery stalks, minced

2/3 onion, minced

1 can chopped tomatoes

2 cups red wine

Dried basil, oregano and parsley

Salt and pepper

olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat a pot over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and put your minced vegetables in. Cook until onion is translucent and celery is soft (the carrot will still have a bite to it).

2. Add the ground meat. Brown it, breaking it up in the process.

3. Once the meat starts to brown, add the chopped tomatoes and spices to taste. Continue to cook until the meat is cooked through and the tomatoes have been mixed in.

4. Add the red wine and continue stirring. Turn the heat to low (but not simmer) and cook the sauce for an hour and a half. As you can see, the liquid will boil off some.

On Saturday, my mum and I picked up fresh pasta from an Italian market--pappardelle, the perfect vehicle to get the delicious bolognese into our mouths!

I highly recommend this bolognese. It would work with just ground beef as well, but I think the mixed meat gave it a real depth of flavor. However, I couldn't give any to my dog because it had pork/veal in it, and she was not happy with me...

Kodi licking her lips waiting for her helping of bolognese, which never happened...

On a completely separate note, my mum told me this weekend that I write about my dad all the time. So look for a post this week on BLATs, which the two of us made while my brother and dad were off gallivanting on the golf course. Maybe one of these days she'll even let me post a picture of her so you can all see how lovely she is!