Shannon's Asian Sauce

I use this sauce for stir fry or lettuce wraps mostly.  These are my go to ingredients that help me make a pretty convincing Asian sauce for my tastes.

1/4 cup Soy sauce
1/4 cup Rice vinegar
1 Tbsp  - 1/2 Dijon and 1/2 whole grain Dijon
1 thumb sized piece of ginger - minced
1 large clove garlic - minced
2 tsp Sesame seed oil
1 Tbsp Sweet and Sour Thai Chili Sauce
2 tsp Siracha (or chili paste)
1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
1 tsp Brown sugar (optional for sweetness)
1 tsp fish sauce (optional)

Whisk all ingredients together.  These are approximate proportions, it is a good start but if you like more sweet or more spice add more of a certain ingredient.  Just keep tasting along the way until you find what you like.    

Neapolitan Ragu

I saw something like this on an episode of No Reservations and I figured I'd try my hand at it. This is not for the impatient or meat averse among us. This makes a ton of sauce, but it is pretty versatile.

Neapolitan Ragu

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch carrots, diced
• 2 28oz whole canned plum tomatoes
• 1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoonful oregano
• 1/2 tablespoonful salt
• 1/4 tablespoonful pepper
• 3 tablespoonfuls olive oil
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 pound pork shoulder, chopped
• 1 pound lamb stew meat, chopped
• 1 pound beef stew meat, chopped

Directions:

      Heat the oil in large heavy pot. Saute the onions over high heat until translucent, about three minutes, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the carrots and stir for an additional 2 minutes. Add the meat and brown them on all sides. Add the basil, tomatoes, cream, and pepper.
      Heat until boiling, then reduce the heat until you get a single large bubble every 2-3 seconds. If you have a lot of small bubbles, cook uncovered until the ragu thickens. Once at the correct temp cover and let cook for 6-7 hours, stirring every half hour to break down the tomatoes.
      You can serve the sauce separate from the meat over pasta, but what we did was use this as a sauce over pretty much everything from polenta to fresh spaghetti to smearing it on bread and eating it like a pulled pork sandwich.