The PERFECT Holiday Dinner

What I'm about to share may very well change your life. I know it certainly changed mine... And it all came from a Bachelorette party. I will detail the recipe for you to try at home yourself, as well as the best wine to pair with it. As a little bonus, I'll also include one of my favorite desserts and the wine pairing for that! So without further ado... Allow me to begin detailing how one can make the best "spasagna" (spaghetti in lasagna format):

What you will need:

• 1 box angel hair pasta
• 1 - 2 lbs ground beef (depending on your own personal taste, I find that 1 lb is more than enough)
• 2 cans tomato sauce
• 1 can petite diced tomato
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 2 tbsp olive oil (1 for sauce, 1 for pasta)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 1 cup diced bell pepper
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (or 3 cloves, minced)
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of pepper
• Parmesan Cheese
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• (OPTIONAL) 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• (OPTIONAL) 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Once you have all of your ingredients, I highly suggest making the sauce first. I find that it's the most time consuming and is often best left to sit overnight (in a refrigerator, of course) to allow all the flavors to blend perfectly and set into the meat. To make the sauce, follow the steps below:

1. In a large, deep pan, allow the olive oil to warm up and coat the bottom. Add onion once oil is highly fluid and cook until browned (when the onion is pretty much translucent), stirring almost constantly. Add in garlic and bell peppers, continue to cook until fragrant.
2. Put in tomato paste and cook until it coats the onions. Add in ground beef a little at a time and stir constantly to allow the meat to break up into fine chunks. Brown slightly before adding diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, oregano, and thyme. If you are doing the optional red pepper flakes, add them in now as well.
3. Stir to combine and let simmer, partially covered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent any sticking to the bottom. Adjust heat if necessary, but do not go above a simmer.
4. After the 2 hour simmer, add in your butter and basil (as well as parsley if using it) and stir until butter is melted. Taste before seasoning with salt and pepper.
5. Let cool before storing in a large container and (optional, but recommended) place it in the refrigerator overnight.

With your sauce done, you can start preparing the noodles and the pan for your "spasagna" to go into.

1. Put water in a large pot. Add oil and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil.
2. While waiting for the water to boil, grab a large, oven safe pan (like this 3 qt one) and use either cooking spray to "grease" it or a little bit of butter. Your pan is now ready. Pre-heat your oven to 350º F.
3. Once water is to a vigorous boil, add noodles (breaking them in half as you add them) and turn down the heat to a low-medium. Cook for seven (7) minutes or until al dente (still firm on the inside, but soft enough to chew).
4. Put a thin layer of noodles on in the pan. add a slightly thicker layer of your sauce on top of that. Sprinkle some parmesan on top. Repeat, being sure to cover sauce and parmesan with noodles before moving on to the next sauce layer.
5. Once you are either out of noodles or out of space, top whatever layer you are on with more parmesan and top it off with a lot of Mozzarella (or if you aren't a fan of super cheesy lasagna, just use enough to cover the top). This works best if there is at least just little bit of sauce beneatxh all the cheese. (Note: be sure to leave some space at the top to allow the noodles to expand and soak in any juices they can. This will help prevent over-flowing in the oven.)
6. Place in oven, lightly covered with aluminum, for 30 mins. Once done, take it out and let cool before serving.

And voila! You have "spasagna" and you made it all from scratch! When serving, pair it with some chilled Roscato Sweet Rose to compliment the savory notes of the dish. And when you're ready for desert (which is paired beautifully with some Lambrusco), give the following recipe a try:

You will need:

• 1 package Devil's Food Cake mix (plus whatever the box says you need to bake the cake)
• 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
• 6 oz caramel ice cream topping
• 2 bars chocolate covered toffee (crushed into small chunks, not crumbs)
• 1 bar 80% dark chocolate (half shaven, half crushed)
• 1 container frozen whipped topping, thawed

To prepare the cake:

1. Follow all directions on box to bake cake in a 9x13" pan. Cool slightly on a wire rack; cut slits into the top, being careful to not cut completely through the cake.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and well blended. Once blended, gently poor over the cake while both are still warm.
3. Sprinkle the chocolate covered toffee liberally across the entire cake, while cake is still warm. Let cool
4. Once cake is completely cooled, top with whipped topping. Decorate the top with the dark chocolate shaves and chunks/crumbs, as well as any remaining chocolate covered toffee bits you may have.
5. Dessert is served!

I hope you enjoy these recipes and their wine pairings, and if you did, please leave a like to let me know! These are my go to for when family is over, and I intend to make these as my contributions to Thanksgiving or even Christmas dinner this year. Thank you for reading!