Saturday, October 18, 2008

Pizza Bolognese


Bo·lo·gnese
Pronunciation: \ˌbō-lə-ˈn(y)ēz, -ˈn(y)āz, -ˈn(y)ēs, -ˈn(y)ās; -ˈn(y)ā-zē, -sē\
Function: adjective
Date: 1754
1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of Bologna, Italy
2 : being or prepared with tomato sauce flavored with meat


I was over at Marsha's house and tasted some spaghetti sauce she had made and it was fantastic! The recipe she used was Spaghetti Bolognese from the Picky Palate blog, who got it from a William Sonoma's catalog. I told her this sauce would be great on a pizza, and since she needed me to stay the night at her house since Jon was out of town it was the perfect opportunity to make it together. I figured it would be good, but it was actually MOUTH-WATERING!!!

FOR THE SAUCE:

12 strips uncooked bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces
(we cooked the bacon and then crumbled it)
1 medium onion, diced
1 lb ground beef
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 26 oz jar Classico Pasta Sauce (or other favorite brand, or homemade)
1 ¼ Cups half and half (can also use regular milk)
(we used milk and it tastes just fine)
¼ Cup parmesan cheese

Cook bacon in a large dutch oven or large pot over medium heat until browned and crisped. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside. Discard all but 2 Tbsp’s of bacon grease. Saute onion in remaining bacon grease for 5minutes, or until softened. Add beef, salt and pepper; crumble beef and cook until browned, about 5-8 more minutes. Stir in cooked bacon pieces. Reduce heat to low and stir in pasta sauce, half and half, and parmesan cheese. Stir to combine; cover with lid and let simmer for at least 20 minutes, or up to an hour.


Here is the recipe for the Pizza Dough we grew up on:---Thanks Mom!

2 C. flour
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 C. water
1 Tbsp. yeast

Mix yeast and sugar with water. Add other ingredients. Knead 5 minutes. Rise for 15-30 minutes. Roll out, press into greased pan stretching to fit the pan. (Optional: sprinkle greased pan with corn meal---I don't ever do this but it's an option). Add toppings, and then bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

mmm that does look so good! I love pizza and this looks better than anything I have ever made!

Aaron.Shara.Abby said...

That looks so yummy, but tell me something, how in the world do you get the crust browned and not soggy. I've been making your mom's recipe ever since I've made pizza and mine will never get browned on the bottom??

Amy said...

I always use this crust, too. Sometimes I bake it first and then put toppings on and warm til cheese melts. If not, I never put the topping on until right before I put it in the oven. I let it rise first, then put the toppings on. It has never been soggy for me.

Marsha said...

Try cooking the crust first (fully, or partially). I have done that before and it worked just fine. I must say this bolognese sauce was runny (we thickened it with a little flour/water mixture.) Next time I would cook the crust first.