I should probably have my Italian card revoked.

No seriously.

How have I been blogging for a year and never shared a Bolognese recipe with you?!?

With the air getting cooler, with Sunday football days being back and with a honeymoon to Italy looming near, it’s high time we brought a pot of luxuriously rich meat sauce to a simmer.

There’s an intense debate in my family. Meat sauce vs. Meatballs.

The meat saucers like the complexity of the flavors and the bits of meat clinging to the strands of pasta. The meatballers want a fat meatball perched atop their pasta. End of story.

Now, when I say intense debate, I mean a serious discussion went down on the beach one day. My fiance, not being Italian, just said he liked them all. My cousins, all having experienced every meatball and meat sauce concocted by my aunts, had very strong opinions.

Me? I prefer a meatball.

But a really good, hearty Bolognese has its place.

Especially when the Giants lose to the Cardinals and you need something to drown your sorrows in.

So.

The Bolognese.

You will need:

• One white onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground sirloin (or whatever kind of ground meat you like)
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, pureed (why not buy tomato puree? because it’s not the same. and because this is how grandma does it and it is highly advisable not to question an Italian grandma
• 1/2 cup red wine (I used chianti because it was open)
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil

Drizzle olive oil in a nice, sturdy pot and add in your onion. Cook on medium heat until translucent.

Add the carrots and cook until they are soft.

Then add the celery and garlic

You want to let the veggies go long enough to get some nice browned bits, but you also want to watch that the garlic doesn’t burn.

At this point, you want to add your ground meat, using a wooden spoon to break it up.

While the meat browns, pour your can of whole tomatoes into a blender or food processor and give them a whir.

The pour over the browned meat.

Let that bubble away for about 20 minutes, then add your red wine.

Let it got on low to medium low for about 2 hours, checking occasionally and giving a stir once in a while.

It will get rich and dark and meaty and the whole house with smell of caramelized onion and browning meat, with the slightest hint of red wine.

When you’re ready to eat, boil up some pasta and top with the sauce.

sprinkle with some Parmesan

Give it a mix

and mangia!