So I Had the Ginger Cake and the Sausage Ragu

When you have a decade birthday, you do a lot of thinking. Even if the decade birthday was six months ago. (which it was so I am doing way too much thinking.)  Often "thinking" is not the way to go. Doing something yields better results. But I do the pondering thing. A lot. Between the "decade thing" and the New Year and what-will-I-do thing, early January was spent in  "deep ponder." A fun ponder. Pondering airfare to Arizona or Miami in January. The what-as-I-thinking-ponder as to "why did I decide to write a play 18 months ago that employs physics when I don't understand physics?" ...yeah - had a lot of coffee and wine figuring that ponder out.

And then there's usual "ponder" about taking off the last 12 pounds that apparently love me very much and don't want to leave. And so I scoffed at those last 12 pounds by eating fettuccine with sausage ragu and David Lebovitz's wintry fresh ginger cake. Because doing something is better than pondering.

I had a wee bit too much tomato in the ragu. (Note to self: stop obsessing, so what?)  I edited the ragu by eating the extra tomatoes. And you should, too. Because it's winter and feeding the brain with pasta and ragu is required in January.

Polishing it off with this Fresh Ginger Cake was one of my better ideas. You should make it a New Year's resolution. It's a resolution you will keep. In fact, you could continually roll it over into the next year's resolution and be done with any new resolutions once and for all.

The olive oil in the cake keeps it densely moist inside with a crackle on top (not a crunch mind you) that tickled my fancy. Crackly and pliable? Best of both worlds. Lebovitz serves it with a plum compote that certainly made me sit up and think spring. But some simple sweetened raspberries and a little cream worked just as well.

Because it's made with a generous amount of freshly-grated ginger, this is as fresh as one can get in Minnesota in January. The olive oil I used told me this recipe could pass muster in an Italian food blog. And I don't really care if I'm kidding myself. When it comes to dessert, I can talk myself into anything.

Fresh Ginger Cake by David Lebovitz from Ready for Dessert
(Makes one 9-inch cake, 10-12 servings)
4 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 cup (250 ml) mild-flavored molasses
1 cup (250 g) sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (250 ml) n(I used olive oil - probably made it a wee bit denser)
1-1/2 (350 g) cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup (250 ml) water
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter bottom and sides of 9-inch springform or round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a food processor (with metal blade) or with a sharp knife, chop the ginger until it is very fine. (I opted for the food processor). Set aside.

In a large bowl mix the molasses, sugar and oil. In a medium bowl mix the flour, cinnamon, cloves and pepper.. In a small sauce pan bring the water to a boil and stir in the baking soda. Whhisk hot water mixture into the molasses mixture. Add the chopped ginger.

Sift the flour mixture intro the molasses mixture and whisk to combine. Add the eggs one by one until thoroughly blended. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes clean - about an hour. Let cool completely. Run a knife around the edges of the cake to help loosen it from the pan. Invert on a plate, peel away the parchment paper and invert back onto the plate you will serve it.

Serve warm or room temperature with whipped cream or a fruit compote. (I added two teaspoons of sugar to winter raspberries. When the juices were running, we drizzled it over the cake or - as my kids did - over the cream and the cake.

Now that you had your dessert first (which is sounding like a most likeable New Year's Resolution), have some sausage ragu. I've posted the recipe before but it's worth another look. I make at least one variation every winter. I am convinced it keeps us sane until spring.

Fettuccine with Sausage Ragu
(barely adapted from Biba Caggiano in Tastes of Italia - serves 6 in my home)
1 pound fettuccine
3 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
1 14-ounce can of low-salt beef broth or 14 ounces of your beef broth
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (I used 1-1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 28-ounce can San Marzano whole tomatoes, drained (I didn't drain but for a truer ragu - you should)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated if possible)
1/4 cup milk (I used a wee bit more)
Grated Parmesan for serving

Cook the fettuccine according to package directions. Soak the mushrooms in the beef broth for 30 minutes. (I warmed the broth - you don't need to). In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3-4 minutes until softened. Add sausage and cook 5-7 minutes until no longer pink. Add wine, mushrooms with broth, tomato paste and tomatoes. Stir to mix well. Bring to a boil and cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally. The tomatoes break down and melt into the meat so you have the tomatoes but not a sauce of it. Stir in nutmeg and milk and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper (I didn't need it.) Remove from heat and toss with pasta. Pass the Parmesan cheese.

As for those 12 pounds, I've thrown down the gauntlet. I can defeat them. Without sacrificing pasta and a David Lebovitz dessert. Happy 2013, all. May you have ginger cake and sausage ragu in your life.

Fettuccine with Sausage Ragu

Expect the unexpected. It's the sweet juice in life. Sometimes you think it's a curve ball and you duck but when you come up - if you're lucky - you just may find something new to enchant. And during those moments - you never grow old.

We found a legion of Roman soldiers in Bologna.

And insights as to how they lived.

Frescoes in unexpected places.

And Ragu Bolognese in every city we visited. You don't need to go to Bologna to have a terrific plate of ragu. And even if an ocean is standing in the way of you and Italy - this recipe will fly you there - as surely as you grabbed the tail end of a kite and soared there yourself.

This is a particularly earthy version. The porcini mushrooms just thrust you into the Italian countryside where you think yourself the mighty forager. It's hearty, meaty and substantial. Perfect for a snow day. Especially when the snow day is unexpectedly in Rome! 

Fettuccine with Sausage Ragu from Tastes of Italia

Makes 4-6 servings (I would say this makes closer to 4 servings - I doubled this to serve 7)

1/2 pound fettuccine - cooked al dente

3 ounces dried porcini mushrooms (can use less - I used 3 ounces for the doubled recipe)

1 cup beef broth

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 pound Italian sweet sausage, crumbled (can use turkey sausage)

1/2 cup dry red wine (I used Sangiovese)

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (a debate raged in Italy in the 1970's as to whether to include nutmeg in ragu recipes)

1/4 cup milk (I used 2%)

salt and pepper to taste

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for topping (they say it is optional, I say no - it's not)

Soak the mushrooms in hot beef broth for 30 minutes. Heat the butter in a large skillet of medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add sausage and cook until no longer pink and you have made it all crumbly with the back of your spoon. (6-10 minutes).

Add wine, mushrooms with broth, tomato paste and tomatoes. Stir to mix. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. (I let it simmer for over an hour - until the tomatoes have broken down and you can barely see them.)

Somewhere during the simmering process cook the fettuccine according to package instructions.
Stir in the nutmeg and milk and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. (I use freshly- grated nutmeg but the spice police won't pick you up if you don't). Salt and pepper to taste. Mix with fettuccine and serve, passing Parmesan separately.

And note - this is a ragu - not a liquidy tomato sauce - don't drown the pasta! Let the ragu mix with the pasta - not overpower it.

At the Piazza Navona in Rome, we came across a gentleman singing karaoke to Pavarotti. Tears streaming down his face as he sang, he wound up being one of our fondest memories. We returned again and again looking for him.

And even though I a have been home for months, the unexpected still sneaks up on me. On Saturday morning, the Twin Cities was paid a visit by the Frost Fairy.

Last winter, we lived on a frozen tundra. This winter we dwell with the frost fairies.