Seven Hour Turkey Bolognese

*Later blog from a month ago

This has been a weird year. Actually, this year has sucked so far. You know how it is so common to be like, "Fuck 2016 (or whatever year it is)! The next year is my year!" Well, I know this feeling, because I think this every year and I suckered myself into it again for 2017. I can't even articulate this weird funk I have been in. Everything seems to cut just a little deeper than usual and I am trying to figure out how to cope. Good, deep belly laughs help. Visiting with my niece helps. Being with friends helps. Reading helps. Playing music and cooking helps.

My grandmother passed away on April 13, 2017 and I have been a ridiculous, emotional mess. The other day, I cried five separate times watching A Dog's Purpose on the plane. Perhaps drinking white wine with one of my best friends, Rachel, and being 35,000 feet in the air contributed, but still.

My grandparents bought their apartment in 1963, so they have been there for a very, very long time. It  also hasn't been updated since 1963, if that gives you a sense of what it looks like. My mother's bedroom still has books laying around that have been there since she was 12. The bathroom sink in the back part of the apartment drips water constantly, instead of providing a steady stream. The kitchen is ooooold. The knives are dull and the oven bakes at different temperatures whenever it wants. I've tried to cook in this kitchen several times and it is always an adventure of some sort. My grandparents both ate like birds - they would think that a piece of quiche was "enough to feed an army!" LOL As if. The kitchen wasn't used often but when it was, it was used fiercely and with intention. It was used at without a doubt to cook roast beef, which would serve the 20 of us for cocktail hour on Christmas Eve.

I started cooking in college so that I could feed my friends and loved ones. What I didn't realize when I started cooking is that I would find a deep love. The deep kind of love that flows into your veins and washes over every single thought that you have. The kind of love that floats into your day dreams. The kind of love that starts a fire inside of you and never seems to burn out. Now I am realizing that cooking means gathering, which was the most important thing in the world to my grandmother. She always said, "the important thing is, we're all here together." Cheers to that, Mame. You were a wise woman.

My niece Kaia has been in town for the last week (from Oslo) and is being babysat by my mother. It was a perfect Sunday morning at the farmer's market and I forced her to pick all of my vegetables out....she's not even 2. I know she'll be the best sous chef with me when she knows what the heck she is doing. Once I saw the seasonal assortment and the Kaia special, I knew I would make a slow cooked tomato sauce, because it was 11am and I knew I had plenty of time.

The recipe stemmed from an Italian American tomato sauce recipe on The Food Lab. I added turkey to the recipe and also sort of winged it. You will find in the original post that the recipe was tweaked and fine tuned many many times, but in my opinion, it's all trial and error upon eating. Nothing will ever be perfect and no dish will ever be the same. That's what I love about cooking - nothing has to be equal and nothing has to be exact. I am not perfect or exact, so why should my food be?


Ingredients:

3 lbs of tomatoes, not peeled but preferably smashed with your hands
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing.
4 tablespoons butter
8 cloves garlic, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 medium carrot, cut into large chunks
1 medium onion, split in halfKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley or basil leaves (or a mix of the two)

Directions:

1. Adjust an oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 300°F. Place tomatoes in a large bowl. Using your hands, crush the tomatoes by squeezing them in your fingers until pieces no larger than 1/2-inch remain. 

2. Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat in a large Dutch oven until butter is melted. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add pepper flakes and oregano and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, carrot, onion, and basil, and stir to combine. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over high heat.

3. Cover Dutch oven with lid slightly ajar and transfer to oven. Cook, stirring once every 1 to 2 hours, until reduced by about half and darkened to a deep red, 6 to 7 hours (reduce oven temperature if the sauce is bubbling too rapidly or the browned bits begin to turn too dark).

4. Remove from oven. Season generously with salt and pepper and stir in minced herbs along with additional olive oil as desired. Serve immediately, or allow to cool at room temperature, transfer to airtight containers, and refrigerate for up to 1 week. 

K. Bai.