RECIPE: Pasta With Meat Sauce

Believe it or not, there are people out there who don't like to cook. I know. I know. It makes no sense and you can't imagine how that can be, but it's true. To fend off such fear of the kitchen, here is an easy and delicious recipe that requires just some basic knife skills, a big pot and an appetite. Once you can master this, you're gut will be full and your culinary self-esteem will be sky high and ready for more.

Ingredients
1.5 lbs. ground pork
1 large Spanish onion, chopped
1 head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled and sliced
1 small bunch fresh basil leaves
1 cup red wine
2 29 oz. cans tomato puree
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
2 tbsp. red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. thyme leaves
2 tbsp. oregano leaves
1 lb. spaghetti
salt
olive oil

Directions:
Heat your dutch oven (that's a pan, get your mind out of the gutter) over medium heat and coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the ground pork along with some salt and 1 tbsp. each of the red pepper flakes, thyme and oregano. Stir together and brown the pork.

Once the pork has browned, use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Turn the heat down to medium-low and make sure the bottom of the pan is still coated with oil and/or pork fat. If needed, add oil to recoat the bottom of the pan. Add the onion and garlic along with another pinch of salt. Stir and sweat over low heat until the onions become very soft and have completely changed color.

Next, add the cup of wine to the pan and bring the heat up to medium-high and allow to boil. Then, simmer over medium heat and allow the wine to reduce by about half. This ought to take 10-15 minutes. Make sure that you are scraping the bottom of the pan with a spoon to remove and deglaze and meat from the pan. This will wind up adding deliciousness, I assure you.

After the wine has reduced, add the tomato puree and the tomato paste along with half of the basil. Be sure to tear the basil into smaller pieces.Then, add the remainder of the thyme, oregano and red pepper. Stir the mixture, turn the heat down to low and simmer while covered.

The sauce needs to simmer at least 90 minutes, but will be even better if you allow 3-4 hours. Just be sure to keep stirring and add water or wine if your sauce gets too thick.

Once the sauce is ready to serve, bring a pot of water to boil on the stove and cook the spaghetti for 8-10 minutes, or until it's al dente. Drain the pasta, and then serve.

This is especially nice with a crust of bread or garlic toast. A nice salad or green beans work as a terrific side dish. Although, this will be fine all by itself.

Yep, it's that freaking easy, folks. Get to cooking and then get to eating.

Heavy Rotation - Week of Jan. 13th

In our new weekly series, I will write about the five records I have been spinning regularly over the last week. There is not an expiration date. The records included can be from any time period at all. All entries are eligible to appear for multiple weeks. In fact, repetition is likely due to the fact that while I listen to a fair amount of music, it's not as much as I'd like to make time for. Also, as some of you may know, we have a vinyl only policy around our house, so as expected, all entries on the list are being listened to via turntable.

Ladies and germs, I give week one of Heavy Rotation . . .

Real Estate | Days
Domino Records | 2011

A little gem of a jangly pop record from this New Jersey outfit. The songs are compact, catchy as hell and damned fun to listen to. The band also seem to have developed a pretty great sense of humor as evidenced by their new video for the forthcoming single for the album lead-off track, Easy.

If you like The Shins, The Fruit Bats or The Byrds, this is probably for you.



Real Estate - It's Real by DominoRecordCo

Youth Lagoon | The Year Of Hibernation
Fat Possum Records | 2011

I just recently posted a review of this terrific debut from 22 year old Boise, Idaho native Trevor Powers. Yet, even after listening to the album multiple times for the review I was still happy to slap it on the deck again the following day. A record that gets more interesting with each successive listen.





Youth Lagoon - Bobby by overmuziek

David Bowie | Low
RCA | 1977

My favorite record of the David Bowie/Brian Eno collaboration. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this LP is its ability to simultaneously be of its time and still somehow timeless. There is a warmth about the recordings that feel like an old blankey you could just crawl right inside. But leave it to Eno and Bowie to also make it seem incredibly pioneering and just plain awesome. It remains one of the very best records of the 1970s. If Blade Runner were a David Bowie record, it would be this one.

Les Paul and Mary Ford | Hits Of Les And Mary
Capitol Records | 1960

What is not to love? There are great songs like The World Is Waiting For A Sunrise, I'm A Fool To Care and How High The Moon. Les Paul (you know the guy that invented the prototypical rock guitar, multi-tracking and about a thousand other awesome musical things you take for granted) is a staggeringly beautiful player. His style isn't just unique or impressive, it's amazing, in that you are amazed by it. You hear it and stop in your tracks even when you've heard the record a dozen times. Mary Ford's vocals are just sweetly heartbreaking. If you think that standards aren't for you, drop the needle on this and listen to yourself start to feel stupid.

Grandaddy | Sumday
V2 Records | 2003

Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the vinyl reissue of Grandaddy's Sumday arrived in my mailbox. Since then, it has been subject to myriad revolutions on the turntable. I have always had a soft spot for this album, but the vinyl reissue was done in all the right ways, and throwing it on the turntable now brings on the sense of sitting down for a beer with an old friend. Jason Lytle's hummable melodies, junkyard production techniques and anachronistic narratives weave together in an album that begs repeated listens.

NEW VIDEO: Real Estate | "Easy"

Back in October, jangly pop outfit Real Estate, put out the terrific full length LP, Days. On March 5th, Domino Records will release a new 7" single of Days lead-off track, Easy. To celebrate the occasion, Best Show On WFMU host Tom Scharpling has directed a pretty hilarious new video. You can watch it below.

Real Estate - "Easy" from Tom Scharpling