Now I can add these three to the mix-
Mindy @ Mindy's Mouthful as I once knew it; now it is The World in My Kitchen ; I drove into her lovely town and we went to dinner at a new restaurant, Pescara Pizzeria and Mediterranean Restaurant. They needed to work a lot of kinks out of that place, but the food was fine for the most part. We laughed at the experience. She is much taller than I imagined. Many of the other people I met were shorter. Funny how we imagine each other right! I am rounder than one might expect, okay I am laughing at myself right now. Mindy is a busy mom, as well as works full-time, and has a beautiful home.
Rebecca @ Chow and Chatter; she just happened to be an hour and half from my in laws, so I made it a point to stop in. She made me a tuna sandwich with cumber and tomatoes, which is my favorite! I had lunch with her and those two cute children of hers. I always have admired and adored her. Lovely in person as she is on her blog. Her husband just happened to be around and it was a pleasure to meet him as well.
Last but not least, the next day I finally caught up with Natasha @ 5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures. We met for drinks and a light dinner near my hotel in her town. It was my last stop before hitting home, and I mentioned there was no hurry to get home. Son was working and hubs was at classes in PA. She invited me over the next day to cook something together. We talked about what ingredients she had in the pantry and we went from there. Somehow it slipped our minds to take a photo like I did of the other two, but we did our food blog thing...Bison Bolognese was the result. Delish!
Of course it only took me six shots of a cell phone camera to get this, and she had taken hers already, so this is staged (hint: camera lens). We laughed. After it was all said and done, we talked about how when I walked up to her door, she was playing piano. What a talent that girl has. I run open mics in my town and feel I know talent when I hear it. So she gave me a performance. Talent! Thanks Natasha for the tour of your beautiful new home.
This recipe originally uses beef (cow), but we decided to make it with bison (buffalo) meat. It was really tasty and the consistency was just as I have had it in Italy. The spices are not traditional, but it was fun to play with these flavors! Glad Natasha went with suggestions. We hope to get our significant others together one day soon for a cook-a-thon! Well, my hubs will open the wine. She doesn't live that far for a weekend get together.
Bison Bolognese (Italian: ragù alla bolognese)
1 lb ground bison meat
brown in pan for about seven minutes and then add-
minced garlic, onion, and carrots (equaled about a cup altogether)
smoked paprika
pepper/salt
thyme
a pinch of this and that- saute for another ten minutes or so; when begins to really brown; add
just enough tomato sauce to wet meat (about a cup or so). Bolognese is never saucy; it is a dry like mixture.
Pre-boil and rinse pasta (we agreed on angel hair), and then plate as you see in photo.
Thanks to the girls for having me this trip, I had fun with each of them. I hope to meet more along the way; it is a fun thing to do, meet those you admire...
