Meat Life Style

 This rich 15-minute ragù turns pasta or polenta into a quick hearty dinner any night of the week. Preparation Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente; drain and transfer to a large bowl. Meanwhile, process onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Heat oil in a large skillet over high. Add chopped vegetables, beef, and pork and cook, breaking up with a spatula, until meat is beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, oregano, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until reduced by half, about 1 minute more. Stir in tomato sauce, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, then stir in butter. Toss meat sauce with pasta, top with Parmesan, and season with pepper. Do Ahead  Let sauce...

Two of the top five meals I ate this year were at Earth at Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport, Maine, a Ken Oringer restaurant run by chef Justin Walker. It’s a seasonal restaurant, and they have a handful of pop-ups going on this winter that are listed at the bottom of this post. I ate about 20 different dishes during those two meals, and one of the real standouts was the squid ink chicken wing. As a jaded chicken wing eater, I always think I have seen it all before. But, these were really exciting. It’s basically a teriyaki recipe that uses squid ink instead of soy sauce. First, marinate the wings in beer, garlic, ginger, and chile paste. For many, the hardest part of this recipe will be finding the squid ink. I suggest just grabbing from Amazon, but if you are lucky like me you can also get fresh squid ink from a local Italian market . When the wings come out of the marinade, give them a very light dredge in rice flour. Then fry them until very crispy. Straight ...