Sunday Gravy

I'm not Italian, but I can get behind the idea of Sunday gravy. We had a slider of that name from a stand of that name at Smorgasburg on Sunday and I was inspired to make my own. I gathered all the good looking meats from the store and set out for a long, slow cook. The flavor is so deep and strong and wonderful. I served it with fresh rigatoni but feel free to use your favorite pasta. Also, you can play around with the meat choices. Any traditional braising cuts of beef and pork work well, and some sausage for an extra bit of flavor.

Frersh Garganelli with Tangy Lamb Ragu

This is such a flavorful, hearty pasta - perfect for cold weather. Your house will smell amazing. I love using balsamic vinegar in braising. It adds such a nice flavor. I made the garganelli, but you can use rigatoni too. 

Ingredients:

1 lamb shank

1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp olive oil 

1 large onion, diced

1 small leek, thinly sliced

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped 

1 celery stock, finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, minced

Papardelle with Veal and Sausage Ragu

If you need to impress friends for dinner, this is a great way to do it. We had our friends Funk and Bettina over last weekend and I wanted to make fresh pasta. I was perusing epicurious for a recipe, and came across this ragu recipe that had veal, sausage, and porcini mushrooms. It was relatively easy to make, and as long as you make it the night before, all you have to do is warm it up when guests come over. The sausage adds a great, intricate flavor, the veal stew meat is tender, and the porcini mushrooms add a nice earthiness (I only used 1/2 oz because I bought one bag and that's all that was in it). I added 1/4 cup of balsamic to the recipe just because I find it adds a great tang and a little sweetness to ragus (learned it from this recipe). Make this for your next dinner and you won't regret it - especially if it's cold outside. Just toss the ragu with fresh papardelle (make it or buy it) and serve with a little grated pecorino on top.

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small carrot, peeled, finely chopped

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

8 ounces sweet Italian sausages, casings removed (2 links)

8 ounces veal stew meat, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 14-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in juice

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed

1 pound fresh pappardelle (homemade or store bought)

Freshly grated Pecorino cheese