Ground beef spaghetti sauce

[GotGarlic]

Definitely use the stew pot. If it looks watery, leave off the lid to allow excess moisture to evaporate. Otherwise, keep the lid on.

 

[di reston]

Quote jennyema: 'You can freeze wine, you know....it doesn't oxidise that way'

I'm afraid I follow the example of M.me Lily Bollinger:

I drink Champagne when I'm happy and when I'm sad. I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it when I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it....unless I'm thirsty...

The only difference is that it isn't always champagne!

di reston


'Peeple of ze wurl, relax!'
Tom Robbins - Fierce invalids home from hot climates

 

[medtran49]

I would imagine Jennyema meant to freeze wine for cooking purposes. I wouldn't freeze good wine and then drink it, but if it weren't for the little bottles and I had to buy big ones, I'd freeze it to keep it from going bad.

 

[di reston]

I'm intrigued. I've never heard of cooking wine, so please excuse my ignorance, no offence intended. I spent many years in the wine trade over here as well as being a high flying independent interpreter, and not once, was there mentioned anything called cooking wine, not even on the supermarket shelves.

But please enlighten me: what do you mean by 'wine.....going bad': oxidised?:
turning to vinegar? This is a serious question. Forgive my ignorance.

di reston

Peeple of ze wurl, relax
Tom Robbins Fierce invalids home from hot climates

 

[GotGarlic]

I'm intrigued. I've never heard of cooking wine, so please excuse my ignorance, no offence intended. I spent many years in the wine trade over here as well as being a high flying independent interpreter, and not once, was there mentioned anything called cooking wine, not even on the supermarket shelves.

But please enlighten me: what do you mean by 'wine.....going bad': oxidised?:
turning to vinegar? This is a serious question. Forgive my ignorance.

di reston

Peeple of ze wurl, relax
Tom Robbins Fierce invalids home from hot climates

di, cooking wine was invented during the Prohibition Era in the United States, when it was illegal to sell alcohol. In order to allow people to continue to cook with wine, salt was added to it to make it unpalatable for drinking. It's still sold, but it's really terrible for cooking. A lot of old recipes, or recipes passed down in families, still call for it.

When wine is exposed to the oxygen in air, it's oxidized. It will eventually become vinegar, but in the meantime, it doesn't taste very good.

 

[Caslon]

Just about finished simmering this batch of basic spaghetti meat sauce. I spoon tasted it and it's good, not overly seasoned, or oily or too wet. I used my stew pot instead of my large non-stick sauce pan. I noticed the sauce was getting a little bit wet, so I took the glass lid off after 20 minutes to let some of the moisture evaporate out. I drained the diced tomatoes before adding them, something the recipe didn't mention to do (a lot of liquid in that can). A tiny splash of red wine might have given it more of a classy taste, but I'm still remembering my mistake of adding just a little too much wine to my beef stew and ruining it. All in all I'm pleased with my first attempt at making this recipe. It was easy to make too, once I had all the ingredients ready to go beforehand. Last time I had it was over 20 years ago when my mom used to make it. Since then I've settled for packaged frozen spaghetti meat sauce. Not anymore. I'll freeze it into portions now.

Thanks for all the helpful input here, from this firehouse type cook wannabe.

 

[Andy M.]

That’s great! Glad it worked out for you.

 

[buckytom]

Way go go, Cas! Well done.

I like the firehouse cook analogy.

 

[Caslon]

Whoever replied saying not to try and brown the hamburger with the cut vegetables mixed in (to start tenderizing them) was spot on. An hour of simmering didn't quite tenderize the onions enough (a bit crunchy). I'll read back your post and surely do that, next time. I think I'll buy a couple of fresh mushrooms next time too, rather than canned. One fresh mushroom used right equals an entire can. I may add some fresh burgandy next time, too. 1/2 teaspoon, lol.

Whoever mentioned that just a little too much red wine can sway a dish the wrong way...that is spot on.

 

[Addie]

I'm intrigued. I've never heard of cooking wine, so please excuse my ignorance, no offence intended. I spent many years in the wine trade over here as well as being a high flying independent interpreter, and not once, was there mentioned anything called cooking wine, not even on the supermarket shelves.

But please enlighten me: what do you mean by 'wine.....going bad': oxidised?:
turning to vinegar? This is a serious question. Forgive my ignorance.

di reston

Peeple of ze wurl, relax
Tom Robbins Fierce invalids home from hot climates

Consider yourself most fortunate. It is horrible tasting stuff.

 

[Caslon]

I'm intrigued. I've never heard of cooking wine,

Interesting reply that "cooking wine" was filled with salt during the prohibition days. Salt is still listed as the second ingredient.
I thought it was red wine that could stay in my cabinet awhile, use when needed down the road.

 

[caseydog]

Interesting reply that cooking wine was filled with salt during the prohibition days. It still is.
I thought it was something that could stay in my cabinet awhile, use when needed down the road.

Avoid it like the plague.

Like others here, I buy the small bottles of wine that come in four packs. They are below snob level, but perfectly drinkable wines. Plus, you can use a small amount, and not open a big bottle.

CD

 

[Kayelle]

Good for you Caslon!! See, now you're already thinking about your next batch so that's a great sign. By the way, a drained small can of sliced black olives is a nice addition too. I'm dying to know if you were talked out of using the bell pepper? I hope not.

 

[Caslon]

Good for you Caslon!! See, now you're already thinking about your next batch so that's a great sign. I'm dying to know if you were talked out of using the bell pepper? I hope not.

Thing I'll do next time: 1. Not try and brown the meat with the three cut vegetables mixed in. Why? Because, by the time the hamburger is browned, the veggies haven't really gotten much tenderizing heat prior to simmering. The recipe's one hour of simmering isn't enough time to fully tenderize the vegetables. This sauce came out nice, a tiny bit crunchy.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

You can freeze wine, you know.... it doesn't oxidize that way

I often watch an old cooking show, "Anna and Kristina's Grocery Bag". One episode that involved a LOT of wine (Himself and I have dubbed their show "Two Drunk Cooks") showed them testing three different preservation methods along side a sommalier and his wife who, I think, was a wine representative. Besides the regular "stick the cork back and put the bottle in the fridge" method, they used an inert gas, extracted as much air from the bottle before re-corking, and stuck the cork in the bottle and put the half-empty bottle in the freezer. A week later they all reconvened and sampled, opening a fresh bottle of the same wine so that they could compare to the previously opened bottles. The winner was the leftovers that had been stored in the freezer! They were nearly as good as the freshly opened wine, and much better than the other saved bottles.

I never have room in the freezer, so I just finish off the wine right away...:

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Caslon, it sounds like you are going to rock this sauce! See, you CAN cook!

... A tiny splash of red wine might have given it more of a classy taste, but I'm still remembering my mistake of adding just a little too much wine to my beef stew and ruining it...

1) Pour 8 oz wine into a wine glass.
2) Pour an ounce or two of wine from the glass into the pot.
3) Wait 15 minutes, then take a small taste of the sauce or stew gravy. If you think it needs a bit more wine, add another ounce. If the sauce tastes good, drink the rest of the wine. After all, some of us operate by the saying "I like to cook with wine - sometimes I even add it to the food".

 

[Caslon]

4: Take one glass of burgundy wine. Then...take another glass of burgundy wine.

 

[caseydog]

Thing I'll do next time: 1. Not try and brown the meat with the three cut vegetables mixed in. Why? Because, by the time the hamburger is browned, the veggies haven't really gotten much tenderizing heat prior to simmering. The recipe's one hour of simmering isn't enough time to fully tenderize the vegetables. This sauce came out nice, a tiny bit crunchy.

Yes, definitely brown your meat first, then set it aside and sauté your veggies. You really don't want to do both of those things at the same time. But, you can still use the same pan, so it is still a one-pot meal.

CD

 

[Just Cooking]

Avoid it like the plague.

Like others here, I buy the small bottles of wine that come in four packs. They are below snob level, but perfectly drinkable wines. Plus, you can use a small amount, and not open a big bottle.

CD

Two thumbs up...
Love that in bold..

Ross

 

[Andy M.]

I keep a bottle of dry vermouth on hand, it lasts forever unrefrigerated, and that satisfies most of my wine-for-cooking needs. If the recipe calls for a red wine, I open bottle and have wine with dinner.