A Bolognese Bon Appétempt

Alice Waters didn't have a picture of her bolognese recipe:

So Kara drew one:

And then we made one:

And then we did this:

In case you haven't noticed, I love when friends visit from out of town and we spend the afternoon in the kitchen, with maybe just a couple of short trips outside of the house—perhaps to go on a windy walk and/or to see some art in Highland Park. In short, thanks for coming to visit, Kara and Tim! It was awesome and now we have proof! Thank you also to Alice Waters for a delicious recipe that I've always wanted to try. Oh! And thank you, Bologna, for having invented this almost tomato-less pasta sauce. It was unexpected and delicious, like some kind of gravy for pasta. (Perhaps this is why Tony Soprano always referred to pasta sauce as gravy?)

And while I'm doling out thank you's, I want to send a giant one out to all of you. The encouraging comments y'all left on the last post got me through my wallowing session and spit me out on the the sunny side of the street. Here's to autumn and stewing meats!

Bolognese Sauce via The Art of Simple Food
makes about 3 cups (I doubled the recipe as it's time-consuming to make and the leftovers are even better.)

Heat in a large heavy-bottomed pot: 1 tablespoon olive oil
Add: 2 oz. pancetta, diced fine
Cook over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add:
1 small onion, diced fine
1 celery stalk, diced fine
1 carrot, diced fine
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5 sage leaves
2 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 12 minutes.

While the vegetables are cooking, heat in a large heavy-bottomed pan, preferably cast iron:
1 tablespoon olive oil
Add and brown over medium-high heat, in two batches:
1 pound skirt steak, cut into 1/8-inch cubes
4 ounces pork shoulder, coarsely ground
Cook until the meat is a nice chestnut color. Once all the meat is browned, pour in:
1 cup dry white wine
Reduce the wine by half, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the browned meat and the deglazing juices to the tender vegetables with:
2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt
Measure and stir together:
2 cups beef or chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
Pour enough of this liquid into the pot to bring it to the level of the meat and vegetables. Simmer gently until the meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. As the liquid reduces, keep topping it up with the rest of the broth and milk, and skimming the fat that rises to the surface.
When the meat is tender, remove the sauce from the heat and season to taste with more salt, if needed, and:
fresh-ground black pepper