We’ve all been there: moving misery. It’s been a full week of suffering for us. We began to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel late yesterday afternoon. Our last box was put into storage, our final bag of clothes dropped at Good Will, and we made the last trip to the Container Store (wishful thinking). Now we’re settled in and excited about exploring another Laguna Beach neighborhood.

Take-out food got old real quick, but we didn’t have much of a choice. In an effort to keep Roger as healthy as possible (he had another round of chemo last week), I had to get cooking ASAP. I really pushed to get the kitchen up and running first; however, after much discussion with the fam, we decided to indulge in one last sinfully delicious meal before we called it quits for a while. A close friend was invited for dinner, and I got busy making the second meal in our new kitchen: fusilli Bolognese.

We chose a bottle of Opus One that we’d been saving to serve alongside our Bolognese. It was the perfect opportunity to pull the cork on a special bottle of wine and celebrate our new beginnings.

This is a riff on Mario Batali’s recipe. Here’s what you’ll need to feed 6-

1.5 pound of fusilli pasta (1 and ½ boxes)

1 pound of ground veal

1 pound of ground pork

4 oz. of finely chopped pancetta

2 cloves of garlic

1 carrot

1 stalk of celery

1 large onion

1¼ cup of dry white wine (Dry meaning not sweet. I chose an un-oaked chardonnay. Chablis style.)

1¼ cups of whole milk

1 – 4.5 oz. tube of quality tomato paste (I used Mutti double concentrated)

1 small Parmesan rind (optional)

3-4 whole thyme sprigs

1 tbsp. kosher salt

3 tbsp. of butter

3 tbsp. of EVOO

1 – 5qt. braising pan

Dice your carrot very small.

Dice the celery very small. The stalks that I found in the market were very thin, so I diced two stalks.

Peel and dice your onion.

Slice your garlic cloves paper-thin.

Turn the burner to medium and add the butter and EVOO to the pan. Melt them together. Saute the onion, celery, and carrots until softened.

Add the garlic and tomato paste. Heat until fragrant.

Add the meat and brown.

Pour in the milk and white wine. Mix well.

Toss in the thyme, salt, and Parmesan rind. Mix well.

Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Cook the pasta of your choice in salted water (like the ocean) until it’s less than al dente. Remove the pasta and add it to the sauce. Cook until al dente.

Sprinkle with a generous portion of aged grated Parmesan. Buon appetito!

Eat well!

April

“In Italy, they add work and life on to food and wine.” – Robin Leach