Sloooooow Braised Beef Ragu

Last week I was in Illinois with my mom. She had an off-week from chemo, and I am lucky enough that I can work from anywhere. After spending two days shoveling the 12+ inches of snow, I was craving a "stick to your ribs" meal. Something with more substance than meatloaf, and fancier than pot roast. My mom brought me a recipe from one of her Ladies Red Home Style magazines, and I saw a version of beef ragu that looks like it fit the bill. I made it tonight, and our guest food critics Maren and Savannah gave it two thumbs up. That's all the approval that I need. In fact, I wish that they would dine here more often. I need to work on that....

Chef's note: How you braise it is up to you. This is written for the crazy working family life in a slow cooker, but feel free to go old school in a dutch oven. I use an All-Clad slow cooker. I love this expensive little gem because I can cook in the crock over the stove to brown and deglaze, and then place it directly in the slow cooker to finish. I highly recommend it.

Sloooooow Braised Beef Ragu
Serves 4

1 1/2 trimmed stalks of celery
1 medium carrot
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp of olive oil (I use coconut oil)
1 beef chuck roast - 1.5 to 2 pounds (I used center cut)
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
1/2 c. red wine
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
pinch of chopped dried rosemary
12 oz pappardelle, egg noodles, or your favorite wide cut pasta, cooked and drained
Parmesan cheese, grated, for garnish
S & P to taste

Clean and cut the celery, carrots, and onion in to medium chunks. Put in a food processor with the garlic, and pulse into it is finely chopped, maybe even very finely chopped, scrapping the sides intermittently.

In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat. Season the roast with salt and pepper and sear the roast on both sides. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker crock (or remove and set aside). Reduce heat to meduim, and add the vegetable mixture and a pinch of S&P (I call it a loose paste) to the skillet and cook until soft and slightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook about 3 more minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Lastly, add the wine and stir in well, scrapping the loose bits of flavor off the bottom of the pan. Pour over the beef in the crock, add the oregano, basil, and rosemary, and cook over low (very low) heat for about 8 hours. You know it's done when you have to carefully remove it to keep it from falling apart.

Set the beef aside, and place the sauce (however much you plan to serve, or about 1 cup per serving, in a skillet and let it simmer uncovered over medium low heat. Remove and fat from the roast and discard. Shred the roast into bite size chunks, and add back in to the sauce after it has slightly reduced, about 30 minutes.

Add the pasta to the pan and toss. Serve with Parmesan and enjoy!

Authentic German Pancakes

Last week, Peggy's "German brother" Rainer and his family stayed with us for a few days during their 6 week travels in the US. Of course, I made my world famous (ok, maybe domestically famous in our family) pancakes. I showed Rainer's wife, Annette, how to make them. In return, she taught me how to make her family's authentic German pancakes. I looked up some recipes in advance, and these are nothing like those. In summary, they're awesome. Can't wait to share them with future houseguests.

Authentic German Pancakes

6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour (12 heaping large spoons)
Pinch of salt
Thinly sliced apples or plums (peeled and cored)


Mix 6 eggs with a hand mixer. Add the milk and mix. Continue to mix, slowly adding the flour and salt.

Pre-heat a large non-stick skillet over medium low heat. Add a small pat of butter to coat the pan. Pour just enough batter in to the pan to cover the bottom. It should be a fairly thin layer. Cook until almost firm, add a layer of fruit, and then another thin layer of batter. Once the top layer is firm, the bottom should be golden brown. Carefully flip the pancake and cook until the bottom is golden brown and the fruit is soft.