I don’t think this sauce was supposed to be as rustic as it turned out. I used diced tomatoes rather than crushed and I think that made the difference. But Johnathan and I enjoyed it none the less and have lunch ready for today. If you need something homemade fast, this is great and super easy, with ingredients you probably already have. Unfortunately time didn’t allow me to make my own pasta. The chef from the Astor Center class I took said if you’re going to use dried pasta, chef’s prefer DeCecco which is luckily readily available at most stores. Just make sure you don’t over cook even dried pasta. Enjoy another homey fall meal!

This week I was inspired by some pretty shiny magazines. I just got this month’s Food&Wine, and I also got the first issue of Food Network Magazine from the Wine & Food Festival. I also wanted to use the local duck and pork ribs I bought at the farmer’s market last week and wasn’t able to use. Luckily, Food&Wine had a special article/recipe section about butchers and I found a great duck recipe from the chef of our favorite San Francisco restaurant, Nopa. I’m also going to make the pork ribs for the first time without a super sticky BBQ sauce. Johnathan is skeptical of this method, but the butchers said if you’re getting really good, fresh local pork don’t drench it, make it simple. I was also craving some Italian, hence Giada’s Bolognese sauce. I also want to make some big fall salads, so I’ll figure out those dishes when I get to the farmer’s market tomorrow. Here’s how the week will look:

Monday - Cassoulet with Duck

Tuesday - Pork Ribs with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday - Fall Salad w/ Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Thursday - Homemade Pasta with Simple Bolognese

Friday - Fall Veg Pizza/Salad Pizza