An Inspiring Meal,Wine Pairing And Fiesta Friday #38
Pork Ragu With Pappardelle
I want to thank everyone who submitted recipes and so sorry it’s a day late. I wanted to cook/bake each one of them (I think I just might do just that). I am inspired when I see the wonderfully delicious and creative recipes you all make and I want to do the same. Thank you. I fed everyone’s names into Random.org and the two recipes that were chosen are:
Pork Ragu with Pappardelle by Matt @ Inspired Food
Tiramisu by Lindy @ Love in the kitchen
Tiramisu
I needed some comfort and the angels must have been at the helm of the random pick, Italian comfort food is just what I needed. Matt’s pork ragu is rich and meaty, and when eaten with pappardelle (I love those pasta ribbons) it’s like getting a hug from Nonna. Rather than make a salad I decided to make brocolli rabe sauteed in garlic and olive oil with toasted pine nuts and shaving of pecorino romano. I deviated only slightly from Matt’s recipe, I did not use oregano, it’s a personal preference.
As luck would have it, or I guess this was fated, when I fed the desserts into the random sorter it spit out Tiramisu, how perfect is that with this wonderful pasta dish. Lindy’s tiramisu is exactly how I like it, the perfect comforting, creamy sweet dessert. I used Kahlua in the dipping/soaking coffee, Lindy gives you a choice of Kahlua, Frangelico or Amaretto and I added 1 tbs of Marsalla to the mascarpone/cream. What a fantastic dessert!!
I could not enjoy such a wonderful bowl of pasta without a great wine. My dear friend Michelle agreed to do a wine pairing. Michelle’s wine blog Rockin Red Blog is a veritable wealth of information on wine. You have to read her wine reviews, I am so in love with her writing style, her reviews are downright sexy (can I say that). Well they are, and I have learned so much from her. I sent her Matt’s great recipe and she paired it with a wonderful Italian red. Here is the wine recommendation and review from Michelle:
cesari mara ripasso
I spent a week in Valpolicella in September visiting wineries and tasting lots of terrific wine. When Suzanne shared this recipe with me it immediately took me back to Italy. I am sure there are many wines that would pair well with this meal but I try to follow the mantra “If it grows together it goes together;” therefore, my recommendation for a wine to pair with Pork Ragu with Pappardelle is a delicious Ripasso from the Valpolicella region of Italy. Many of the fantastic wines I enjoyed in Valpolicella have limited if any distribution to the US. I am recommending a wine that is distributed within the US; however, if you are unable to find this exact wine please go to your favorite local wine retailer, share this recommendation with the wine buyer and ask him/her to please suggest a Ripasso the store has in stock with similar body and flavor profile to enjoy with this meal.
Cesari Mara 2012 Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso DOC: This beautiful Ripasso was crafted from a blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes. It poured a beautiful deep ruby into the glass. This wine opened with quintessential Ripasso aromas of ripe cherries and spice. On the palate it delivered pleasing flavors of ripe cherries, baking spice, cocoa and fresh tobacco leaves with a hint of vanilla on the back of the palate. This Ripasso offered a velvety full mouth feel with a lingering finish coupled with refined tannins and round acidity. This Ripasso begged to be paired with a rich and full pasta meal. I thoroughly enjoyed this wine paired with Bigoli Pasta topped with a Barnyard Ragu and fresh shaved Parmesan Cheese. Furthermore, the Cesari Mara 2012 Ripasso will make an excellent pairing with Pork Ragu with Pappardelle. Click here to find this wine; if necessary I encourage you to order it online. Average retail price $17.
The meal was so wonderful I decided I would make enough pasta and tiramisu for a crowd and bring it to Fiesta Friday hosted by the amazing Angie@The novice gardener. This weeks co hosts are Hilda and Julianna, they are so wonderful agreeing to co host a second week. I hope you brought your appetites since I have brought a lot of food and with everyones amazing and delicious offerings FF#38 is going to be a great party!! Enjoy Everyone!!
Bowl of comfort
YUM!
Fiesta Friday
apuginthekitchen 
Suzanne, I had the same thought — both sound like the epitome of comfort food! And the wine, simply divine. Today I definitely have to satisfy my jonesing for Italian food. Huge hugs!
Total comfort food, really delicious. I am sharing this with some friends tonight. It’s such a great meal. Thank you.
Excellent — i’m glad to hear you’re doing something like that. 🙂
Ok then, it seems to be in my country today, and I love this feeling! Thanks a lot Suzanne, it’s always pleasant to see someone who love my country, or better, the food of my country! I hope you’ll have a great evening and a great we too!
I am a first generation Italian American, I grew up immersed in the Italian culture and it will always be my favorite food and my favorite country. Thank you so much.
I’ll make the whole meal – what a perfect combination. Right down to the broccoli rabi and the wine choice – a bottle we actually have on hand! I loved this idea right from the beginning.
Beautiful job – gorgeous photographs – and thank you for the shout out! Easy Tiramisu isn’t it?
You actually have the wine, incredible, it is fated that you make this. Thank you so much. I do love the tiramisu and thought it very much fated that it was the recipe that was picked. Thank you so much.
I am so glad you have the wine on hand! It is delicious. Please let me know how it pairs with this wonderful dish. Cheers!
I will let you know Michelle – but I’m sure it’s a perfect choice!
I made the Ragu last night with the Cesari Ripasso; it was a delicious pairing. Hope you enjoy it as well.
Oh how delicious is that, looks great Suzanne! Pasta is one of my favorite meals! We always have wine with our evening meals!
Thanks Michael, love a good pasta dish, doesn’t matter to me what kind of sauce. I love it all and yes a glass of wine is mandatory. LOL. thanks so much.
Love Italian cuisine! and totally agree about comforting pasta with rich meat sauce! Yummy! 🙂
Thank you so much! It was delicious.
The last word sums up this meal perfectly. Yum! The people who get to share this meal with you are so lucky. I love Tiramisu. There is small (it’s tiny) Italian restaurant recently opened near where I live and they do a mean version of Tiramisu. 😉
One of my all time favorite desserts and I love that it’s no bake. Buy the lady fingers, whip up the cream and mascarpone, dip, flavor, sprinkle et voila!! Thanks so much.
Oh! This meal is fantastic! I love the dessert! Actually, this is one of my favorites;p
Me too, thank you so much.
Wow, what a wonderful post. Two great Italian recipes by two great cooks (well 3 if you include yourself). Then you gifted it to Fiesta Friday the way it was gifted to you. Love it. Great wine stories too. That ragu looks so hearty, I want to eat it now. In contrast the tiramisu looks so fluffy and delicate. Perfect!
Thank you Amanda, it was a perfect pairing, pasta dish, wine and dessert. So thankful to Matt and Lindy for the great recipes and to Michelle for the amazing wine and review.
I love pasta and I make a great dish using those noodles and chorizo. Tiramisu is always a good way to finish the dinner 🙂
Oh would love to see your recipe is it on your site? I’ll have to search that out. I agree Tiramisu is a great way to finish a meal.
Yes, it is called “Pappardelle With Hot Sausage Sauce” and was one of my first recipes I posted almost 3 years ago. A sister married a Sicilian and so my family has had a good taste of Italian food 🙂
I’m going to find it on your site. It sounds delicious, thank you so much.
Hi Suzanne, so glad you followed through and the selections were a hit! Great job to everyone!!! Cheryl
Yes me too, thanks Cheryl. It helps to keep busy doing what I love.
What a serendipitous selection by the random picker! I love your idea of cooking this way, and I can see how it must be inspiring. If everyone did this our mealtimes would be a whole lot more interesting – and delicious, no doubt. It’s like opening a cookbook and doing whichever recipe you land on!
I hope you are alright at the moment. Things can be tough but just know you’ve lots of friends. x
I was amazed at the selection really, but any one of the recipes would have made me happy. I am going to make them one by one. It was like opening a cookbook, closing my eyes and pointing my finger. I am ok, thank you so much.
Those two dishes look smashing, Suzanne! What can I say? Hurray for Italian cuisine!!! Someone might think that I’m biased … 😉
Well call me biased also, I love Italian food but then I grew up eating it so I think naturally it would be a favorite. Thank you so much Francesca.
That is a perfect meal. Ragu, wine and a great piece of crusty bread!
Thsnk you so much, it was wonderful.
Hi Suzanne, my husbands mom is from Italy and she is the most wonderful cook, she can make anything out of a bag of flour. Love these recipes!
Cheri, your Mother in law sounds amazing. Itslian Mama”s are the best. Thank you.
How did you know?!! How did you make my favorite kind of meal–pasta followed by tirmisu!! Looks amazing!
Awww,… well happy to make your favorite meal, if you lived close I would have brought you some. Thank you so much.
Who’d have thought you could put on weight just reading a blog. I’m salivating so much I know I need to buy a bib today.
Any alternative to the wine as I don’t drink, or perhaps wine with a meal doesn’t count as drinking.
xxx Hugs Galore xxx
LOL, wine with the meal counts as part of the meal so even if you don’t drink in this case it would not count, Thanks David, hugs back!!
Can I tell you how many ill fated attempts I’ve had with Tiramisu! This one looks lovely and well behaved, unlike mine! I’m feeling a bit inspired by both dishes, even though I don’t have an Italian bone in my body…or gene in my DNA!
Follow Lindy’s recipe, you will not fail. You don’t need any Italian bones, just a love of the food. Thank you so much. You are an amazing cook, it will work for you.
Oh my Suzanne that tirmisu looks amazing and pasta is my all time favourite…. and your Ama-zing dear Suzanne. … keep rocking. .. 🙂 🙂
Thank you so much Chitra.
Congratulations up the winners! So sorry Suzanne! I forgot to send mine!
I almost sent you an email reminding you but figured you were probably really busy. I am going to do this again I could pick from your site but prefer you to send me a recipe you think I could make. I love what you make, every one sounds incredible. Thank you so much.
Tiramisu is my ALLTIME favorite dessert. I don’t think there is anything that could ever top it. This tiramisu looks just perfect! Wine sounds fab too. Great idea to do this Suzanne.
Thank you it was outstanding. I also love tiramisu. Every ingredient goes so well together and the sum of all of its parts is pure deliciousness!
When it comes right down to it, nothing beats comfort food and this is such a beautiful example of one. Loved reading that eating it is like getting a hug from Noona! Awww! Beautiful post Suzanne.
Amen, Persian and Italian are my two favorites when it comes to food in general but I find both so comforting.
Suzanne you have done it again! What a great post. The ragu and tiramisu look delicious. I am definitely going to make this meal very soon. Thank you for including me. Your words of kindness and support mean so much to me. Blessings to you dear friend! Cheers.
Thank you Michelle. The wine was a very important part of the whole meal. Thank you for taking the time to do this and I hope we can collaborate again.
Reblogged this on ROCKIN RED BLOG and commented:
Friends, please check out this delicious meal: Pork Ragu and Tiramisu paired with a fantastic Italian Ripasso by yours truly. It was such a treat to collaborate with the fabulous A Pug in the Kitchen. This is what’s for dinner tonight!
YAY!! Thank you for re blogging and I hope you enjoy.
I think fate definitely played a part in this, these two recipes are perfect for each other! They both look delicious, i’m definitely going to have to try that pasta when I’m in need of comfort food! Thanks for sharing and bringing to FF!
Thanks Michelle, it was perfect.
Hey Suzanne! Hope you have some leftovers because I am jumping on a plane right now to come and get them!! OMG what an amazing meal you randomly prepared! I’m not kidding! My mouth is watering! Phew! Thanks a million for sharing this perfect meal with us today! 😀
Just tell me when your flight arrives, LOL. Thank you so much I just loved sharing with everyone.
Pork Ragu and Tiramisu sounds like the perfect meal. It could not look any more delicious! I have just eaten a big meal and my tummy is full, but I am salivating at the thought of eating this!
It pretty much was the perfect meal. Delicious, thanks Christin.
Thank you for the delicious double treat. Love the look of the Tiramisu. Yummm….
Thank you so much, the tiramisu was really totally YUMMMMMM
Oh my… what a perfect meal! I think I just might take inspiration from your inspiration and cook up this dinner exactly as you have (hopefully I can source the Italian red as well!) Such a lovely post Suzanne! Thinking of you. M.xx
It really was the perfect meal, weather was cool, a hearty ragu, creamy dessert. Love it, thank you so much Margot!
This was such a fantastic idea! I’m glad my recipe was edible! haha looks like quite the feast 🙂
Edible, LOL, yes Matt it was more than edible it was delicious, thank you for the recipe.
Something about pasta with a Ragu sauce that just says yum!
Yum absolutely!
Delicious! 🙂
Thanks so much Petra!
I love this idea, and what fantastic looking dishes! Yum!
Thanks so much Sarah!
What a wonderfully comforting meal – I hope it hit the spot! I’ve never had pork ragu – sounds delicious!
It’s really good, I usually mix beef and pork for a really hearty sauce. This was really delicious with just pork. Perfect with the ribbony pasta. Thanks so much.
Oh my gosh, these look so yummy! And you are making me so hungry. That pasta looks delectable and don’t even get me started on the tiramisu. Sooo good!
Thank you it was an awesome meal.
oh my goodness gracious me. These look like fine dining, but better because you’re making it at home. Great picks, Suzanne! Love that you’re featuring a main, dessert, and the vino 😀
Thanks Liz, it was a great meal. I always have room for dessert.
Very hearty and filling meal Suzanne! I love it!
Thank you, it was a wonderful meal.
What a comforting meal – Suzanne that tiramisu has me drooling wow – Tiramisu is my favorite dessert – but I have never ever made it!
I love tiramisu, love that it’s so easy, and so delicious. Thanks so much.
Perfect pairings. It sounds like you have a lot of cooking in your near future. Look forward to seeing what the fates have you eating next. I am still sending good thoughts your way.
Thanks so much Stacey, really appreciate it.
The pork ragu looks amazingly delicious, it would work well over rice too:) And the tiramisu is a delight…definitely bookmarking these to try out:)
It’s a really good recipe. I totally agree it would be wonderful over rice, I am a rice lover! Thank you so much.
Good gracious! What a fabulous pairing random.org spit out! Delicious and beautiful, Suzanne!!!
Thanks so much Em, it was delicious!!
This pasta dish has my name all over it. We’re getting cool nights finally, and this would be perfect for dinner over the weekend 🙂
It’s really good, I don’t eat that much meat but it’s so nice in this rich sauce. Thanks so much.
Suzanne, this looks fabulous. I’m with you, I love the pappardelle ribbons of pasta… a perfect combination with the pork ragu. Just delicious. I think I’ll be giving this one a go too. And anything out of Lindy’s kitchen is pure comfort. Love this idea that you had… I can’t wait to see what else you’ll be sharing!! ❤ I hope all is well.
Thanks so much Prudy, must agree love everything Lindy posts is wonderful. The ragu was delicious all in all a fabulous meal.
Great recipes… Italian food is so comforting to me, too! Your photos are hunger inducing, Suzanne. 😛 Delicious!
Thank you so much Nancy.
This looks fantastic
Thank you so much!
Both dishes look wonderful, Suzanne! I’m sure they tasted as good as thy look 🙂