Greetings from Seattle! Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce Recipe

I left for Seattle very very early this morning to attend the IFBC - International Food Bloggers Conference. It is crazy September today is already here. I recall signing up for this conference this Spring, and as each month passed, my excitement grew. This is my first trip to Seattle and I haven't been to the west coast since 2004.

As the good wife to be - I always try to prepare easy foods for Gabe to make whenever I leave town for an extended period of time. Homemade sauce is always one of my go to items while traveling due to the amount of leftover sauce we have.

I found a slow cooker bolognese recipe from Kelsey Nixon, one of my favorite contestants from The Next Food Network Stars a few seasons past. I modified her recipe only a bit - replacing nutmeg with cinnamon and omitting 1lb of pork (I thought 1lb of meat was enough). This gave us enough sauce for dinner and 2+ meals for Gabe while I am in Seattle. This was beyond delicious an so easy. The crockpot literally does all of the work for you. Do not brown the meat prior to placing in the slow cooker - this is perfect as is. I am bookmarking this and will be making it again in our future.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• Two 28-ounce cans crushedtomatoes
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• Pasta, for serving

DIRECTIONS 

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, carrots, celery and onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, thyme and cinnamon, and continue cooking until the vegetables have softened and started to brown, about 2 minutes.

Deglaze with the wine, pulling up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Carefully transfer to the slow cooker. Stir in the cream and tomatoes. Mix the sirloin together in a separate bowl, using your hands, until combined. Stir the meat into the slow cooker, spreading out evenly and avoiding any large clumps. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low 8 to 10 hours. Skim the accumulated grease from the surface before serving.

WINE PAIRING

I paired this delicious meal with a bottle of Masi Brolo di Campofiorin Veronese IGT 2008. Talk about delicious - this wine, OMG. The Masi Broli is a 92 Point full body wine with a long flavorful finish. You could taste the fruits along with hints of cocoa and vanilla on the finish. It was the perfect wine for this meaty pasta dish. I will proudly state, I took it down in one night, with no headache the next morning.