Sunday Supper: 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.

Rao’s at Caesar’s in Las Vegas

I recently spent a long weekend in Las Vegas.  Like most Southern California residents, I end up there a couple times a year.  It’s the playground of Los Angeles.  This particular trip had been scheduled for months and months as a present for my aunt to see Celine Dion in concert - one of her favorite performers.

We had a weekend scheduled full of food and shopping and chit-chatting and gambling - well, only two of us gambled so the other two ate and drank more (I was one of those two).  

Our first big meal was at Rao’s - the Las Vegas outpost of the New York City Italian food mecca.  I’ve never eaten at the one in New York but it’s apparently impossible to get in to and because of that, I think many dismiss the food as less than spectacular.  I really think Italian food is all about how it makes you feel and who you’re eating it with.  That’s why this dinner was extra special because I could share it with my half-Italian mother and aunt - both great cooks in their own right.

You may know Rao’s by their famous pasta sauce that is sold at many grocery stores across the country.  I didn’t even realize we use it all the time!

We started it all off with the Fritto Misto which was a little unusual because it included shrimp, cod and little julienne zucchini along with the calamari.  I LOVED the calamari.  The rest I could do without but my mother really enjoyed the cod.  I was the only one who really wanted the Caprese Salad and I ate almost all of it myself.  It was exactly what I’d expect at a good Italian restaurant.  

On to main courses, we shared the Veal Milanese with the Hot & Sweet Cherry Peppers that normally come with the Veal or Pork Chop at our waiter’s recommendation.  He said it would be spicy and it was!  Tere loved it, the rest of us just kept trying to cool off our tongues.

We also split three pastas: the Shells with Ricotta Sauce, Penne Vodka and  the Rigatoni Filetto di Pomodoro.  You can see all the details to them in the menu.  All three were very good although I really liked the Shells with Ricotta best - that ones a keeper!

We didn’t take any time for dessert as we ran out for the Celine Dion concert but we went out after at Serendipity 3….stay tuned!

Heather’s Rating: Worth Going Back

Las Vegas Bound

I’m headed off to Las Vegas later today and scheduled to eat at a number of well-talked about restaurants like Rao’s, Caesar’s Bacchanal Brunch, Gordon Ramsay Steak and Joe’s (who DOESN’T like stone crab???).  I’m set to write a number of formal reviews next week but maybe I’ll post a shot and quip or two from our extravaganza.  :)  Have a great weekend!