Pasta Bolognese

I’m not a writer, I can barely craft a coherent thank you card.  I’m not a professional chef, but I do love to cook.  As a finance geek, cooking affords me what my profession does not:  a beginning, a middle, and an end - with immediate feedback.  Sunday Suppers are a labor of love and the menus for our Sunday Suppers continue to expand and evolve.  But I can definitely say it all started one afternoon while watching Anne Burrell create her famous spaghetti bolognese sauce on the Food Network.

Anne made me feel like I could follow her recipe and make something that would be every bit as mouth wateringly good as hers. My only dilemma was having 5 hours to prepare the way she does.  So I did what every ambitiously lazy chef/finance geek/mom would do. I cheated. I mean… improvised. I did all the steps as Anne would but I used Rao’s Marinara Sauce along with the tomato paste to help things along.  

Every good pasta must have accompaniments, just like any pianist would love an orchestra.  Heather is a master at creating the perfect Caprese Salad.  I do a traditional Ceasar’s Salad and I find the most perfect French baguette from Bay Cities Italian Deli in Santa Monica to create garlic parmesan crostini.  . 

A fun family fact:  Bay Cities has those little machines where kids can put a quarter in and get a toy in a little plastic container…I let the our kids do that the first Saturday of every month.