the last couple days in socal have been raining and i freaking love it. LOVE IT. the last two days were spent at home, fireplace blazing and lots of action in the kitchen. 

wes had to work all weekend, so i asked him what he wanted for dinner. no surprise, i got the same answer i usually get from my VERY italian husband. bolognese of course. 

since the rain was coming down, there was no way i was leaving the house for additional ingredients so i decided to adjust for what i had in the house. and thank goodness i did. this version is much lighter in fat, but is very full in flavor. perfect for a rainy day, or a just because we want to day. 

turkey bolognese
serves: 6
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients: 1 lb ground turkey. 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped. 1 onion, diced. 2 celery stalks, diced. 2 carrots, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped. 2 tbs + 1 tsp basil, finely chopped. 1 tsp dried thyme. 1 c white wine. .25 c tomato paste. 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (if you only have whole, you can crush them yourself). 1.5 c milk. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 lb your favorite pasta. grated parmesan for serving.

start by crisping your bacon pieces in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. about 15 minutes. stir occasionally to break the pieces away from one another and all sides brown. 

when the bacon is crispy and browned, add in the onion, carrots and celery. season with a few pinches of salt and a bit of pepper and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. stir every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 

push all your veggies to the sides of the pot. pat the turkey dry, season with half your remaining salt and pepper and add to the pot. cook until browned, breaking it up and stirring every couple minutes. about 7-10 minutes. as the turkey browns, work your veggies back into the mixture. 

stir in the thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of the basil and the garlic. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1 minute. 

when the garlic is fragrant, pour in the wine. cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 

stir in the tomato paste until everything is lightly coated. season with remaining salt and pepper and pour in the tomatoes. stir well to combine. 

simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced slightly. about 10-15 minutes.

while your tomatoes are simmering, heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling. when your tomatoes have simmered, pour in the milk. stir well to combine and bring the bolognese back up to a simmer. once the sauce simmers, reduce the heat to low just to keep it warm. 

cook your pasta per the instructions. when your pasta is al dente, strain and pour right into your sauce. stir well to coat the noodles.
serve pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil.

xo, a

turkey bolognese
serves: 6
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients: 1 lb ground turkey. 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped. 1 onion, diced. 2 celery stalks, diced. 2 carrots, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped. 2 tbs + 1 tsp basil, finely chopped. 1 tsp dried thyme. 1 c white wine. .25 c tomato paste. 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (if you only have whole, you can crush them yourself). 1.5 c milk. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 lb your favorite pasta. grated parmesan for serving.

tart by crisping your bacon pieces in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. about 15 minutes. stir occasionally to break the pieces away from one another and all sides brown.
when the bacon is crispy and browned, add in the onion, carrots and celery. season with a few pinches of salt and a bit of pepper and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. stir every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 
push all your veggies to the sides of the pot. pat the turkey dry, season with half your remaining salt and pepper and add to the pot. cook until browned, breaking it up and stirring every couple minutes. about 7-10 minutes. as the turkey browns, work your veggies back into the mixture. stir in the thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of the basil and the garlic. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1 minute.

when the garlic is fragrant, pour in the wine. cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes.

stir in the tomato paste until everything is lightly coated. season with remaining salt and pepper and pour in the tomatoes. stir well to combine. simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced slightly. about 10-15 minutes.
while your tomatoes are simmering, heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling.
when your tomatoes have simmered, pour in the milk. stir well to combine and bring the bolognese back up to a simmer. once the sauce simmers, reduce the heat to low just to keep it warm.
cook your pasta per the instructions. when your pasta is al dente, strain and pour right into your sauce. stir well to coat the noodles.
serve pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil. 

saturday, wes and i catered our biggest event to date. and let me tell you, prepping and cooking for fifty people is no joke. i'm not sure my kitchen stove will ever be the same. 

we celebrated my uncle's seventieth birthday in fiesta style. complete with salsa bar, homemade mole sauce and of course a piñata. 

every party has been a wonderful learning experience. wes and i get more comfortable and confident as every custom menu is completed. and our self trained asses are learning a ton of tricks with every party in the books. 

one of the things that i learned over the weekend is that this salsa is a wonderful and versatile dish that is PERFECT for a party. because the only real instructions are chop, smash or grill, it is not super time consuming, but you can make a ton at one time. ideal for your next fiesta, or your upcoming labor day/end of summer parties. 

i also learned that wes and i are pretty darn good at this food thing and you should probably hire us for your next party. then i can just make this salsa for you. wink. wink. 

fire roasted tomato salsa
serves: 8 cups (this recipe yields a lot of salsa as it is meant for big parties. if you are making it at home, you could easily half or quarter the recipe with out issue)
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes
total cook time: 40 minutes
ingredients: 2 lbs roma tomatoes, sliced thick. 2 yellow onions, sliced thick. 1 red onion, sliced thick. 5 garlic cloves, smashed. 1 large jalapeño. 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped. 1 tsp fresh oregano, roughly chopped. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 tsp cumin. .25 c olive oil. 2 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs salt. .5 tsp pepper. your favorite chips for dipping.

start by heating your grill to a medium high heat. 

in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, both types of onions and the jalapeño. drizzle everything with the olive oil and season with almost all the salt and pepper, the cumin and the brown sugar. toss everything well to coat. 

head out to your grill. working in batches so that you do not over crowd your grill, place the contents of your bowl onto the grill. place the onions and jalapeño on the hottest part of the grill with your tomatoes on the cooler areas. grill until everything has good grill marks and the onions are cooked. about 4 minutes a side for the tomatoes and about 8 minutes a side for onions and pepper.

when your fruits and veggies (tomatoes are fruits not vegetables) have been grilled, return them to the bowl and take them back to the kitchen. remove the stem and chop up your jalapeño and return it to the bowl. toss your grilled produce with the garlic, oregano and cilantro and add them to a large, heavy pot. 

place the pot on the stove and bring the burner to a medium high heat. start to sauté your ingredients until the contents of the pot begins to sizzle. stir in the remaining salt and pepper and chicken stock. 

bring the liquid to a boil, allow to simmer 5 minutes and remove the pot from the heat. allow the salsa to cool slightly.

when the salsa has cooled a bit, blend everything together with a hand emersion blender or in your blender.

serve at room temperature with your favorite chips or over a delicious enchilada or taco.

xo
a

fire roasted tomato salsa
serves: 8 cups (this recipe yields a lot of salsa as it is meant for big parties. if you are making it at home, you could easily half or quarter the recipe with out issue)
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes
total cook time: 40 minutes
ingredients: 2 lbs roma tomatoes, sliced thick. 2 yellow onions, sliced thick. 1 red onion, sliced thick. 5 garlic cloves, smashed. 1 large jalapeño. 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped. 1 tsp fresh oregano, roughly chopped. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 tsp cumin. .25 c olive oil. 2 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs salt. .5 tsp pepper. your favorite chips for dipping.
start by heating your grill to a medium high heat.
in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, both types of onions and the jalapeño. drizzle everything with the olive oil and season with almost all the salt and pepper, the cumin and the brown sugar. toss everything well to coat.
head out to your grill. working in batches so that you do not over crowd your grill, place the contents of your bowl onto the grill. place the onions and jalapeño on the hottest part of the grill with your tomatoes on the cooler areas. grill until everything has good grill marks and the onions are cooked. about 4 minutes a side for the tomatoes and about 8 minutes a side for onions and pepper.
when your fruits and veggies (tomatoes are fruits not vegetables) have been grilled, return them to the bowl and take them back to the kitchen. remove the stem and chop up your jalapeño and return it to the bowl. toss your grilled produce with the garlic, oregano and cilantro and add them to a large, heavy pot.
place the pot on the stove and bring the burner to a medium high heat. start to sauté your ingredients until the contents of the pot begins to sizzle. stir in the remaining salt and pepper and chicken stock.
bring the liquid to a boil, allow to simmer 5 minutes and remove the pot from the heat. allow the salsa to cool slightly.
when the salsa has cooled a bit, blend everything together with a hand emersion blender or in your blender.
serve at room temperature with your favorite chips or over a delicious enchilada or taco.