Garlic? Garlic!

My girlfriends and I have been having Downton Abbey marathons every Saturday night for the last month and a half or so. We are officially all caught up and have just started season three. It is so good, right? (I know that most of you are watching it!) We have been watching 3-4 episodes a night so I have been making dinner and setting out tea and biscuits and then we all cozy up with blankets and pillows and transport ourselves into England in the early 1900's. 
Last week I made spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread. I've been keeping it pretty simple but both of these recipes turned out great. I got the sauce recipe from my friend, Tricia. I tweaked it a bit by adding red wine. Wine really adds good flavor to sauces. I use it all the time. The garlic bread is my mom's recipe, when you read the recipe you will be amazed at how much garlic is in there - five heads! Not five cloves... five heads! That is a lot of garlic! So if you are looking for a nice "comfort food" Italian dinner, look no further, my friends. Here are the recipes:

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 cup minced onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

2 6 oz. cans tomato paste

1 16 oz. can tomato sauce

8 oz. sliced mushrooms

1 cup red wine (divided in half)

2 Tbs. sugar

1 1/2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil leaves (or 1 1/2 tsp. dried)

2 Tbs. chopped Italian flat leaf parsley (or 2 tsp. dried)

1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

½ tsp. oregano

1 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

a dash of red pepper flakes

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (additional cheese for topping)

1 lb. Spaghetti, cooked Al Dente and tossed with Olive Oil

Directions:

In a large pot, cook sausage and ground beef. Remove meat from pot with a slotted spoon and put into a bowl. Set aside. Discard any grease in pot, but do not clean the pot. Add olive oil to the pot and sauté onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Add in the mushroom and cook until they soften and give up their juices. Pour in ½ cup of wine and allow it to bubble up and reduce for about 1 1/2 minutes. 

Add in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and the rest of the wine. Stir in all of the spices. Add drained meat back into the pot. Simmer, covered for 1 ½ hours. After an hour, add the grated Parmesan. Stir to combine, then put the lid back on and allow it to simmer for another 30 minutes or so. Discard bay leaves before serving on top of spaghetti. Top with additional cheese if desired.

Rosemary Garlic Bread (makes 3 loaves)

5 whole garlic bulbs

2 tsp. olive oil

1/4 cup fresh minced rosemary

1 Tbs. chicken broth

9-9 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cups sugar

3 pkg. (6 3/4 tsp.) yeast

3 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup water

3/4 cup butter, divided

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Remove papery outer skin from garlic (do not peel or separate cloves). Cut top off garlic heads, leaving root end intact. Place cut side up in a small baking dish. Brush with oil, sprinkle with rosemary. Cover and bake at 425°F for 30-35 minutes or until soft. Cool for 10 minutes; squeeze softened garlic into bowl. Add broth and mash. In large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat milk, water and 1/2 cup butter to 120-130°F. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened.

Beat in egg and garlic paste until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). Turn onto floured surface; knead about 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into thirds. Divide each third into 3 pieces; shape and roll each into an 18" rope. Place three ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under.

Repeat with remaining dough. cover and let rise until double; about 30 minutes. Bake 350°F for 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter and garlic salt. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire rack and cool.