Sunday Supper

I survived my wine exam tonight and I'd like to think it was due in part to the hearty meal that I enjoyed (but didn't cook!) the night before. (What? Carbo-loading only counts for marathons? Whatever.) My awesome friend, Chad, made the most amazing Veal Ragout and I was a lucky dinner guest. (Thanks also to Ken for hosting!) We often get together for early Sunday suppers as a way to transition from the weekend to the work week, but we finish early enough to still catch our favorite Sunday night shows. (True Blood isn't currently on, so I went with The Simpsons 20th anniversary show last night.) We usually go out for dinner so this homemade meal was a delicious change.

I attempted to get the recipe so that I could share it with you, but it was kind of like asking your grandmother for a recipe. "First I sauteed some meat...then I sauteed some vegetables and added some seasoning...then I sauteed some pork belly...then I threw it all together with my leftover steak from The Palm, some red wine, and my homemade beef stock...then I just let it cook for a couple of hours." All of which roughly translates to, "Ohhhh...it's just a little of this and that." (Sorry, Chad. I'm sure you've never been compared to a grandmother before! Ha!) I think that I'll just have to be present the next time this ragout hits the dinner circuit. (Call me!) And I'll take copious notes. I'm thinking that this might do really well in the slow cooker that I haven't used in a year...

Below is my interpretation of the recipe. Note that we start with a delightfully oozy wheel of fat, baked Camembert, and there is nary a vegetable in sight.


1. First, roast a standing prime rib roast on Christmas Eve. (Thanks, Chad! It was delish!)


2. Make sure that the rib roast is 11 pounds so that the (only) five people eating dinner get a Flintstonian 2 pound chop each. This will guarantee leftovers. Simmer the leftover bones for hours in order to create the base stock for the ragout.


3. Bake a round of Camembert just before serving your pasta dinner. Serve it to your guests to try to distract them from how you actually made the ragout.


4. Alternatively, play The Price Is Right on the Wii.


5. Serve and enjoy the ragout over rigatoni. It is so delicious that you temporarily forget that you want to know how to make it.


6. You are now in a food coma. What was the point of this again?