Self rising flour is great for making biscuits and so many other quick breads. Make this and store in your pantry and save yourself an oops-stop-by-store trip and is definitely a pantry item.
Note: this is all about ratios. I am doing a 1 cup version below but you can ratio it up!
Self Rising Flour
Whisk/shake and use/store.
I have made many Ragus and found this is the very best one, probably as close to a ragu an Italian-American Grandma would make and since the fall is full of beef and pork around our farm, it is a perfect way to have a lazy Sunday meal or some meal prep for later in the week. For years we made this one which was inspired by Jamie Oliver and it is great, but this one might be a touch closer to the Italian-American tradition.
Add olive oil to your dutch oven and then add the pancetta. Cook for a few minutes and then add the carrot, onion, and celery and cook that for a few minutes. Then add the ground beef and pork and cook for several minutes. It should be fairly wet at this point. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and then the wine. Cook for a few minutes and then add the tomato paste and stir that in well. Add the tomatoes and get whole mixture to a slight boil, turn down heat to simmer for several hours (over 2 ideally but at the gentlest of simmers, can literally go all day). The consistency you want is thick, maroon-like meat sauce. Serve with your favorite pasta and lots of parm or pecorino.
Make a double batch and use one and save one. Serve with manicotti, spaghetti, over any baked pasta dish or simmer Italian sausages in and serve together.
Why buy the fancy brands that use seed oils and probably contain sugar when you can easily make this at home for that Tuesday night side salad. You can and you should.
Homemade Italian Dressing
When ready to make your dressing, add 2 Tbsp dry Italian dressing mix, 2 Tbsp water, 1/4 cup white vinegar and 2/3 cup olive oil.
It seems like the chuck roast and steak are becoming in vogue again. I thought it would be a good idea to take a minute to sort it out in case there is confusion about the cut, and share a couple of our favorite ways to prepare it.
Both come from the chuck primal — the cow’s upper shoulder area (see image).
Chuck Roast
Chuck Steak
Chuck roast is a cornerstone of classic mid-century comfort food in the U.S. — think Sunday pot roast with carrots and potatoes but with the rise of slow food, pressure cookers, and Nose-to-Tail butchery, chuck roast is enjoying a renaissance in home kitchens and butcher shops alike. We love it smoked, like a brisket, low and slow with our in house BBQ Beef Rub and served with griddled onions on our favorite sourdough.
Bresaola is a traditional Italian air-dried, salted beef that has been aged until it becomes firm and develops a deep red color with concentrated flavor. It originates from Valtellina, a high alpine valley in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy, and its history is deeply tied to the geography, climate, and cultural preferences of the area.
Unlike much of Southern Italy, which developed a culinary culture centered around pork, Northern Italy — especially the Alpine regions like Lombardy, Piedmont, and Trentino-Alto Adige — had more access to cattle due to its cooler climate, lush pastureland, and traditions of dairy and beef production.
In contrast to the Southern Italian diet, where animals like pigs were easier to raise in hot climates and where preservation methods like salting and smoking produced iconic pork-based products (such as prosciutto, soppressata, and guanciale), Northern Italy leaned more toward beef and veal.
This regional difference laid the foundation for foods like bresaola, as well as dishes like bollito misto (boiled meats) and osso buco, which are rooted in the cattle-rich north.
Origins and Preservation
The practice of curing beef in the Alps likely began in the 14th or 15th century, as a way to preserve meat for long, cold winters. Salt-curing and air-drying were practical and effective, especially in the dry, cold mountain air of the Valtellina valley.
The word “bresaola” may come from the local dialect word brasa (“embers”), referencing the charcoal braziers once used in curing rooms to regulate humidity.
Made from lean cuts like the eye of round, bresaola is dry-cured with salt, black pepper, garlic, and herbs, then air-dried for 2–3 months.
Bresaola
1. Combine all the cure ingredients and add to a 2.5-gallon/9-liter zip-top plastic bag. Add the beef and rub it all over with the salt and seasonings. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 7 to 9 days, flipping it and rubbing it again every other day to make sure the cure is evenly distributed.
2. Remove the beef from the bag, rinse thoroughly under cold water to remove any remaining spices, and pat dry with paper towels. Set it on a rack on a baking sheet and let air-dry, uncovered, at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours. Weigh the beef and record the result.
3. With butcher’s string, tie the beef to make a compact roast (see pages 122–25). Hang it in the drying chamber for about 3 weeks or until it’s lost 30 percent of its weight.
It’s typically served thinly sliced, often paired with arugula, Parmigiano-Reggiano, olive oil, and lemon.
Source: Ruhlman, Michael; Polcyn, Brian. Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing (p. 181). W. W. Norton & Company.
