Pasta Bolognese Sauce

Pasta Sauces

Bolognese sauce is a go-to sort of dish for most families so each cook has his/her version.  The following recipe is an amalgam of all the recipes I've tried, cooking shows I've watched, dishes I've eaten in various restaurants, observations in restaurant kitchens in Bologna and all the comments of my family.  Who knew a supposedly "straightforward" dish could have so many pitfalls?

6 months preggers and still have the energy to throughly enjoy the culinary delights of
university town, Bologna

When cooking this version, you must be willing or must have the time to hang around in the kitchen.  Since this style is time consuming, I usually make a big batch which can be served for two meals for a hungry family of four.

Beef Estofado with Left-over Ham Bone & Chorizo Slices

Main:  Beef Dish

When we were kids, we usually had bone-in ham  for Christmas and New Year.  Those were the days when companies you work for or clients gave you this pretty pricy food item. Every year, my pappy always reminded my mum and maids not to scrape the bone too much. He wanted the bone to still have some chunks of meat sticking to it. He would refrigerate it and a day before he goes back to work, my mum would allow him to use the kitchen.  

He would boil the ham bones in a huge pot for hours and hours. Then he would ask the maid (he was more of the commander, not the one executing the tasks) to fish out the bones then scrape the meat, even ligaments, into the yummy smelling and thick-ish stock. Diced carrots were added then macaroni noodles and chopped cabbage.  The rich flavour of the stock just got absorbed by the mac noodles and veggies.  Pure heaven. Some sort of "cleansing" diet too as compared to the rich food we have been consuming during the holiday season.

My father, Armando C. Velasquez (RIP)

Arroz Caldo

Chicken & Rice Soup Dish; also called Congee or Porridge or Gruel in other Asian Countries

This "heavy" soup dish is usually served during nippy or stormy weather in the Philippines. When you're sick, especially with bum tummy, you get the plain version. 

It became memorable to me when my father in law, Renato H. Bautista, brought a huge stock pot size to the hospital a few hours after I delivered our first-born. He commanded that my husband and I finish it because all restaurants were closed (it was Holy Thursday during the Holy Week) and I needed it to regain my strength so I can breastfeed properly the first male grandson.  My hubby, +Aj Bautista, was also knackered coaching me during labor. I was asking why the soup was coloured yellow, still curious notwithstanding the long labor I underwent.  He said he added roasted "kasubha" (saffron) when the arroz caldo was cooked. It was still my early years of cooking meals and my father in law was always patient to answer my culinary questions, notwithstanding it's level of obviousness.

My super patient father-in-law, Renato H. Bautista (RIP)

The following recipe is a mix of all influences from the various Asian cities we've resided in and cooking gadgets which have come & gone, like the long-trashed pressure cooker.