The Bolognese Mission Mark II

I am still working on the ultimate bolognese and I was pretty happy with this one. Didn't really plan this one but it came about from having some pork and veal mince and some good italian sausages - veal and fennel ones. So I thought I'd give it a go by squishing the meat out of the sausage skins and mixing with the other mince. Then went the usual bolognese process, added heaps of wine (nearly a whole bottle) just after I brown the meat and before adding the sauce. A mix of passata and tinned tomatoes. I went easy on salt and pepper, cause the snags had heaps of spice, added freshly grated nutmeg and a cinneman quill, chilli.

Again let it sit on the flame for ages, hours and hours. This was a massive sauce and saves us when we don't feel like cooking and just take a tub of the sauce out of the freezer. We've been loving this with rigatoni, larger than usual penne and they just seem to be perfect to sop up all that delicious sauce.

The bolognese mission continues, but this was a memorable addition to the campaign.

Homemade Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatos.

We had a forest of basil in the yard recently, so before it went to see I whizzed up a huge load of pesto. I didn't have pine nuts so I roasted some mixed nuts, came out delicious and we've been putting it on everything from roasted chickens, sandbos and salad dressing. This pasta was delicious, tossed through with some olives and roma tomatoes which I slow roasted in the oven. A winner.

Hannah's Spinach Pie

Hannah has been making this pie for years, but it had been ages since she had whipped one up.

This was absolutely delicious. Layers of filo, pastry filled with spinach, peas, pine nuts, fetta, ricotta and parmesan.

This one one of those meals that was amazing hot on the night, but the left-overs for lunch throughout the week tasted even better!

Osso Bucco on Grilled Polenta.

Not your typical summer meal, but is a rainy night and this went down beautifully. A simple stew - Osso Bucco tossed in seasoned flour and browned...then the usual stew combo of carrots, onion, celery, garlic...then through the Bucco back in, added heaps of wine...some cloves, nutmeg, a cinnamen quill...and a few tins of tomatoes...let is stew for hours. About half hour before serving I added some zucchini.

The polenta is dead easy, (used instant) and once it was all gooey and mash potato like I poored it into a baking tray to go firm. The just before serving, I grilled slices on the griddle...added heaps of parsley to the stew...oh yeah, and I chopped some pine nuts, with chilli and parsley and quickly fried that. Ladled the stew onto the polenta and topped with the crunchy, spicey, pine nut mix. A great hearty meal.

Rice Paper Rolls

We've been whipping these up for few years, when we're craving a quick, fresh and healthy meal. Hannah makes a great peanut dipping sauce, and the filling this time around was grilled pork loin steaks, which were marinated in lemongrass, ginger, garlic, hoisin, soy, sesame oil, honey and tamarind paste. Grilled on the barbie, then sliced and tossed on the hotplate, we rolled these with just fresh veg, carrot, cucumber, red peppers, mint, coriander and lettuce. Delicious.