Long before I loved food, I loved the film and novel Like Water for Chocolate…. it captured my heart in such a way that only once I began to appreciate cooking did I fall in love with it all over again. Cooking from the heart, serving food so full of emotion that it grips you from within with such a force that you no longer have control of your being….. that is cooking. Some people are born with this skill, my grandmother being one of them; I, on the other hand, had to learn the connection between food and emotion before my cooking became an extension of myself.
Somewhere on my journey towards striving to anchor myself into the food world, I lost the time to connect with my blog in a way that told less of my personal kitchen stories. The harder I worked and the more success I had in the food world, the more I slipped away from blogging to ensure that I did not slip away from my kitchen, and my family. And with that choice came fewer blog posts, and even fewer personal stories. The odd thing is, as much as I put myself in the public eye, I struggle talking about myself, because even after all this time, I wonder how much of this blog should be about me, and how much of it should be about the kitchen experience.
In an attempt to put my personal kitchen experiences out there, I’ve created a new reality series on YouTube called Coryanne Uncut. My production team and their lighting that makes me glow with healthy looking skin is absent; instead you have my daughter Margeaux as my producer, filming from my iPhone, showing me in our kitchen cooking as it really happens..no make up, no wardrobe, no plan, children running wild, and all the mayhem of my real kitchen life. After watching it, I have come to the conclusion that the “no make up” clause is utterly foolish, and that if you turn the iPhone sideways, you get a full shot…. I’ve also learned that when I post a video, people want recipes…..and darlings, when I am in my kitchen cooking, it is from the heart, there are no recipes (again, evidence that I am possibly the worst food blogger ever).
After countless tweets and Facebook messages requesting my recipe for Beef Bolognese ….this is what I can tell you, it is damn good and takes 30 minutes to make. Use my “recipe” as a guide, be bold and add your own spin to it, sometimes I add a bit of heat, just to liven things up.
Step 1. 2 zucchini, 2 peppers (usually green and red), a whole yellow onion, and 2 cloves of garlic, chopped, browned and beautifully soft. Then I blitz them in the food processor until they are minced beyond recognition.
Step 2. A package of lean ground beef (not the large family size, just the normal 4 hamburger patty size portion). Brown that, and then add a few glugs of red wine. I keep all the fat from the beef in there, sometimes if I have it to hand, I add a cup of beef stock to the blend.
Step 3. Add the minced veggie blend to the beef and stir before adding 2 cartons of tomato passata, more red wine, salt, handful of fresh basil, a pinch of nutmeg, pinch of cinnamon and then let it simmer for 20 minutes on low heat. If needed, I toss in a bay leaf to cut the acid.
I”ve got 29 fabulous people subscribing to my YouTube Channel, not sure how that happened, but I am utterly delighted…. I hear they are a riot, why not join them? Subscribe here