Something a little different

So it's been a while since I've provided an update on the happenings here in good ol' Afghanistan. And honestly, Operational Security (OPSEC) considerations, I really don't have too much to say. There are a few odds and ends that I can talk about though..and after I'm done with those, I'll go ahead and give y'all an Italian recipe that you can try out.

For the most part, this deployment is exactly what I expected it to be. A bunch of office work. But that's not a bad thing, considering that there are fellow soldiers going out and doing the infantry thing that I was doing the last time I was here. One thing that I've found is that I have a few staple foods in the DFAC (that's Dining Facility) that I've come to rely upon.


1 - Fresh fruit
2 - Fresh Salad
3 - Chicken


That, and on Friday's they serve surf and turf....steak and shimp. With those on the menu I can't really complain, as they're truly fresh items...I'm pretty stuck on the canteloup, honeydew melon, and pineapple. Throw in the occasional kiwi's, apples, oranges, and grapes, and it's an nice variety of fruits to choose from. Salad...well, I'm fairly picky with salad, but anything's good with oil/basalmic vinegar.

One other thing...sometime soon, I'll be the official PAO (public affairs officer) for my work area. That means I'll be able to take photos, get them approved for online publishing. That means that eventually I'll be able to post pictures here. There will be restrictions on what's posted of course, but at least you'll see what the area looks like.

I think for future blog entries, I'll start telling stories from when I was first learning pool, or when I was deployed in the past. There's not really any limitation on what I can say about that stuff, and I have pictures to put with them too.

Ok...recipes. The one that I'm going to give you in this blog is mostly from scratch. It makes enough food for 8-12 people. However, I usually cook this by myself, and use serving sized zip loc (TM) bags to freeze the rest. Works out well...

Name: Bolongese (pronounced: Bolon yay see) Red Sauce

What is it: It's a meat based sauce with red wine and vegetables

Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes prep, 24 hours simmer

What goes with it: Come on...it's a spaghetti sauce for lack of a better term. What you normally eat with spaghetti will go well with this. Red wine is prefered.

Ingredients
1 package Italian Sausage (approx 1 lb)
1 package Hot Sausage (approx 1 lb)
1 package Sweet Sausage (approx 1 lb)
1 lb ground turkey
1 lb ground beef
1 bottle (750ml) red wine (I usually use a dark cabernet or merlot)
4 cans (or 2 cartons if you went that route) of chicken broth
2 large cans whole tomatos
1 small can tomato paste
1 onion
3 tbsp minced garlic (out of the bottle is fine, though fresh garlic is always better)
6 fresh roma tomatos
3 fresh garden tomatos
6 carrotts
6 stalks celery
2 packages of portabello mushrooms
1/2 cup olive oil (extra virgin if you're watching your waist...but then again, if you're going to eat this, why skimp?)
1-2 boxes of Linguine or pasta of choice. (I've found that Barilla is the best off the shelf brand of pasta, though if you want to make your own, much the better)

SPICES
1 Tbsp fresh or dried basil (a mix of the two is best)
1/2 tbsp oregano
1 tsp dill weed
1 cup sugar (not used until you're about an hour away from serving)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground red pepper

Preparation

Take all your meats out of their packaging. This includes taking the sausages out of their casings. In a bowl, mix all the meats together into one solid mass of ground meat. I know, appetizing. Using a large frying pan, you're going to slightly brown your meats, ensuring that you do NOT cook it all the way. (you'll end up with dried out meat in your sauce otherwise) Once you've cooked all of your meat, put it all in a clean bowl along with the grease and juice that's accumulated.

Next you're going to prep your vegetables. Peel your onion back until you are at the fresh, juicy portion. Mince up as fine as you can. Place to the side. Do the same with your garlic if you're using fresh cloves. Strip and wash both your carrotts and celery before slicing them. The roma tomatos I usually halve the long way, while the garden tomatos I'll quarter twice. With the mushrooms, I'll usually quarter one package of portabellos, while the other I keep whole. Ensure you wash all your vegetables thouroghly after you're done cutting them up. Combine your tomatos, carrotts, celery and mushrooms into one more bowl. If you're using fresh basil, at this time, take the leaves off the stalks and mince them up rather well, trying not to squeeze any juice out of them.

Now that you have your initial prep done, it's time to finish the prep work.

Using a large pot, (at least 8 gallons, if not larger), and with the stove on med/high-high, put your onion, garlic and olive oil. Stir constantly until the garlic and onions begin to glaze. This means that the onions begin to turn translucent. If the garlic is turning brown quickly, turn your heat down. Once the onion is glazed, pour your chicken broth in, all four cans. Bring this to a boil. Once it's at a boil, stir for a few minutes.

Next, pour the entire bottle of red wine in the pot. Bring to a boil, stiring the whole time. Once this is at a boil, let it go for about 5-10 minutes. Next, you're going to start to add your meat. You aren't going to ruin it by pouring it all in at once, but it's just cleaner to add a little at a time. Once you've gotten it all in, bring back to a boil.

Next are the cans of whole tomatos, then the small can of tomato paste. You're going to need to stir this constantly until the paste has completely disolved into the mixture. Once it's disovled, and the sauce is boiling again, start putting your vegetables in. By this point you should be close to the top of your pot.

Bring everything to a boil for about 10-15 minutes, stirring constantly. After which, you will turn your stove down to simmer. This is where the cooking time actually starts. It's also the time to add your spices, (except for your sugar). As you put each spice in, stir it into the sauce before adding the next. Most will float to the surface. That's fine.

After you've added all your ingredients, minus the sugar, you're going to leave the sauce simmering uncovered for 24 hours to let it cook down. You can stir this occasionally throughout this time.

The next day, you will need to skim the grease and oils off the top of the sauce. A ladle usually works best. You're going to lose some of the spices which are still on the surface, but they've cooked into the sauce for a while, and you can always add some more afterwards. After you've skimmed the grease, add your sugar, stirring for at least 3-5 minutes. DO NOT give your sauce a taste test before this, the sauce is a little too acidic. If you like a less sweet sauce, add less sugar, (1/2-3/4 a cup). If you like a sweeter sauce, add closer to a 1 1/2 cup. Any more and it's, IMHO, too sweet. If you want to replace some of your spices, now is the time, as you can do it to taste. Your sauce is now ready to eat as soon as your pasta has been cooked at this point!

Here's a pictuer of what you're going to be looking at when all is said and done (forgive the surrounding flowers of the plate...borrowed this image from google):



Next blog: White Wine Clam (or seafood) Sauce with Farfalle (bowtie pasta)