Month: December 2024

Homemade ragu

Homemade ragu

Many years ago now on an episode of No Reservations, Anthony Bourdain was in Italy visiting and ended up having Sunday dinner at one of their local minder’s (or cameraman) grandma’s house. Very commonly they make a Sunday gravy or Ragu that is cooked all day. At the end of it, you have a wonderfully deep ragu sauce along with a plate of meat (that is used to flavor the sauce as it cooks). From what I remember, you have the ragu sauce on some pasta and then can eat the meat separately. There isn’t a specific recipe and many people have basically just put together the ingredients by watching the episode closely. I think I first made this dish back in 2011 for D’s birthday. Since then I probably try to make it at least once a year.

Since there isn’t a specific recipe that I follow, I just kind of go with my gut in terms of amounts. Also I have done variations depending on the availability of products (usually the types of meat that I can find). Here’s a rough outline of what I do and what I put in it (again these recipes are usually for me to reference in the future rather than trying to find where I originally used a recipe).

  • Tomato Puree (1 jar)
  • Crushed/diced/whole canned tomato (28 oz)
  • Garlic (1-4 cloves)
  • Onion (yellow, sweet)
  • Beef stock / chicken broth / water (have done all of these before)
  • Pine nuts
  • Raisins
  • Rind of parmigiana Reggiano
  • Fresh basil
  • Sweet Italian Sausage (2-4)
  • Beef ribs / cap of beef rib / veal / Braciola
  • Bay leaf
  • Dried Oregano
  • Salt/pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  1. Brown meats in large stock pot, then remove
  2. Sauté onion (diced), then add garlic (sliced)
  3. Add tomato puree and other tomato products, add bay leaves
  4. Wrap pine nuts, raisins, rind of parmigiana in cheese cloth and tie with string and add to pot
  5. Add in chopped basil
  6. Add meat back into pot with the stock/water (and oregano)
  7. Bring to boil then reduce heat until occasional burbling happens
  8. Remove fat that rises to surface
  9. Cook for as long as desired (minimum probably 2-3 hours but could go much longer) – I cooked mine mostly uncovered, stirring intermittently.
  10. Remove meat and cheesecloth and bay leaves
  11. Add Italian parsley
  12. Add pasta water and combine with pasta and top with freshly grated parmigiana Reggiano

This meal we paired it with some pasta and then also roasted some baby broccoli to go with the meat.

-StewsCat

Vancouver (2024)

Vancouver (2024)

We recently took a somewhat last minute trip to Vancouver, BC earlier this month. Part of the trip was for D’s birthday but we actually had ulterior motives to make a trip to our neighbors of the north. Due in part to recent current events, we had discussed the possibility of moving out of the country. I had some contacts for potential work in Canada, where you need to have a job offer in hand to obtain a work visa to move there.

On early Sunday morning we made our way to the airport (with our flight times both leaving and arriving, we elected to leave our car at economy parking) with great time and then eventually had an early lunch prior to boarding. There was actually quite a bit of choice in the terminal (CPK, Wahoo’s fish tacos, Wolfgang Puck (pizza and regular food), a Mexican place, Habit burger, along with Peet’s and Starbucks). We settled on Point the Way Cafe (which is run by Golden Road brewing).

Our flight was slightly delayed but we still landed in the afternoon and once our rental car was obtained (my first time driving a Volkswagen Tiguan) we got on the road and headed east of Vancouver. Being further north, it got dark real quick and felt like night-time when it was only like 4:30 pm. There was some light drizzle during the drive but overall the 1 hour 40 minute drive was smooth. I also had to get used to driving in km/hr vs mph – and didn’t know what the average speeds were (how much over the speed limit can you drive without getting pulled over).