Christmas Pasta Rachael Ray Recipes

Steps:

• Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the butter to the oil in small pieces and when the butter foams, add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and bay and stir, about 5 minutes. Add pancetta and stir 8 to 10 more minutes to render and crisp. Add about a third of the beef and crumble it with a wooden paddle or spoon, let all of the liquid absorb and let the meat begin to lightly caramelize before adding the next third; repeat. Season the meat with salt, pepper, white pepper and nutmeg. Add white wine, about a quarter to a third of a bottle, then stir and let it absorb into the meat. Scrape up all of the fond or the drippings from the meats and vegetables, being careful not to burn the meat. Add milk, tomatoes and about 1 cup stock, a piece of cheese rind from Parmigiano-Reggiano if you have one, then lower heat to simmer, partially cover and cook the sauce 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Add up to 1 extra cup of stock if needed if sauce gets too thick. The perfect traditional Bolognese should be buttery, uniform and emulsified, the consistency of rich, tender, pourable oatmeal. Remove bay leaf and the rind, if using, from the sauce. Sauce may be made a few days ahead as the longer it sets, the better it gets.
• To serve, cook pasta in salted water 1 minute less than package directions for al dente. Reserve 1 full cup of starchy cooking water, then drain pasta and place back in hot pot.
• Combine pasta with about two-thirds of the sauce, the cooking water and a couple of handfuls of grated cheese, tossing with tongs to combine.
• Serve pasta in shallow bowls with a little torn basil.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt.
• Add in the rigatoni; cook to al dente per package directions.
• While the water and pasta work, heat a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat.
• Add in 1 tablespoon olive oil; add pancetta to one half of the skillet, the sausage (both hot and sweet) to the other half of the skillet.
• Break up the sausage into bits and brown while the pancetta renders; then combine and cook together another minute or so.
• Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.
• Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet; then add in the beef and veal.
• Brown and crumble the meat into tiny bits; add in allspice, salt, and pepper.
• Add in the carrots, onions, and garlic; cook 5-6 minutes to soften the vegetables.
• Add the sausage and pancetta back to the skillet, draining away some of the fat.
• Deglaze the pan with the wine, scaping up all the good bits with a wooden spoon.
• Stir in the stock, then stir in the tomatoes.
• Check the seasoning to taste and adjust.
• Simmer over low heat until ready to serve, at least 10 minutes.
• Stir in half the parsley to finish.
• Drain the pasta and add back to the hot pot.
• Ladle a few spoonfuls of pasta over the sauce and add cheese to the pot.
• Stir to coat the pasta evenly; transfer to a large serving dish or individual bowls; top with remaining sauce and parsley; pass plenty of extra cheese at the table.

Steps:

• Heat a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and brown to render the fat. Transfer pancetta to paper towels to drain. To the pan add the oil, and the meats and brown and crumble them for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and pancetta bits.
• Chop carrot, celery, and onions near the stove and add to the pot as you work. Cook vegetables with meat 5 minutes and add wine. Cook for 1 minute; add stock and tomatoes to the pot.
• Stir in parsley, allspice, or cinnamon and season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, minimum, before serving. Reheated sauce only improves.
• Toss pasta (cook off only as much pasta as you need at the time: half a pound for every 3 people) with a couple of ladles of sauce to coat, then top bowl with extra sauce. Top pasta with lots of cheese and pass bread at the table.

Steps:

• Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan. Add sausage meat. Crumble sausage meat as it browns. Add chopped garlic to the pan. When all of the crumbles have browned evenly, deglaze the pan drippings using chicken or vegetable broth. Stir in crushed tomatoes and bring the sauce up to a bubble, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir cream into your sauce, this will blush the color and cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir peas and basil into your sauce to combine. Toss hot drained penne rigate in pan with the sauce, then transfer pasta to serving bowl.