Recipe: Pasta with Meat Sauce
Tonight was a fantastic night. I got to enjoy a superb, home cooked meal, excellent wine, and excellent conversations with my family. All with little effort, but a stupendous outcome. I am so excited, I will attempt to share my recipe, but I'll have to admit I simply used what I had in the garden and in the pantry...and of course you'll have to supply the family, wine, and conversation.
I'll begin by saying that I used a Walla Walla onion, some basil and Roma tomatoes from our garden and some local grass-fed ground beef, so I don't have exact measurements, but I'll interpret the best I can.
Pasta with meat sauce
- olive oil
- medium yellow onion
- garlic (3 cloves; minced)
- ground beef (1 lb)
- Penzeys pizza seasoning
- pepper
- salt
- Roma tomatoes (~15 skinned and cored)
- fresh basil
- pasta
Start to boil a pot of water for the pasta. Then in a large, deep saute pan, heat some olive oil on medium heat. After the olive oil heats up, add the onion and saute for a few minutes. When translucent, add the garlic and continue to mix for another minute. Add the ground beef and mix until browned. Add about a tablespoon of pizza seasoning and continue to mix. Add the Roma tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to medium-low. Add pasta (we used egg noodles) to boiling water along with a tablespoon of salt. Add at least 1/4 cup of coarsely chopped basil to the sauce and meat and stir. When the pasta is done, drain and put into pasta bowls. Add meat sauce.
At this point you can pair with your drink of choice. Normally we may have an Italian wine or a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah, but tonight we went with an Oregon Pinot Noir. We were anxious to try a young (which typically means lighter) Pinot, a 2007 Vidon Pinot Noir Brigita 777 Single Clone Vidon Vineyard. The wine had been opened for an hour, which gave it enough time to open up...we were not disappointed.
We thoroughly enjoyed the meal, but since it was off-the-cuff, I will try to duplicate the recipe and capture more accurate measurements to share. In the meantime, if you care to try this recipe on your own, please share your experience.
