'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Our family's Christmas Eve tradition consisted of visiting our local Chinese buffet. However, with changing work schedules, we needed a new way to celebrate that offered a more flexible eating time. This year, I volunteered to make Christmas Eve dinner and serve it up with pasta bolognese. The recipe is an easy one -- most of the time, it just simmers on the stove and it's pretty forgiving in terms of cooking time. When we were ready to eat, we quickly cooked the pasta and we were ready to go! The pretty red meat sauce (garnished with chopped parsley) made for a festive meal. We ate heartily, trading stories of Christmases past and enjoying each other's company.


Tagliatelle with Bolognese Sauce (serves 6-8)
(adapted from Seriously Simple)

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb ground sirloin
• 0.5 lb ground veal
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, grated on a box grater
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 4 c. tomato sauce (I used homemade, but your favorite jarred kind is fine too)
• 2 tsp dried basil leaves, crumbled
• 1 c. dry red wine, such as Chianti
• 3 in. long rind of Parmesean cheese
• 1 lb tagliatelle pasta (or other medium-wide pasta)
• salt & pepper to taste
• chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
• grated fresh parmesean, to garnish

In heavy bottom pot: heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add ground meat and saute until lightly browned. Drain excess liquid. Add milk and cook for 2 minutes or until the milk is absorbed. Transfer to a bowl, using a slotted spoon.

Add remaining 2 tbsp olive oil to same pan and saute onion & carrot, stirring occasionally, for 4-6 minutes or until softened but not browned. Add garlic and saute 1 minute more.

Add cooked meat, plus tomato sauce, basil, wine, salt, pepper & cheese rind to the pot. Partially cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer gently for 45-60 mins, stirring occasionally. Remove any unmelted portions of the parmesean rind before serving. Toss pasta and sauce together, garnish with fresh parsley and pass the cheese!