Bolognase for you and 20 of your closest friends.

In the spirit of Purim, where one tradition is to give 2 different ready-to-go foods to 2 or more people, I decided to make two of my team members some food. (I haven't made the hamentashen cookies, and I may not get to it. Coworkers may get store bread instead. Shared food does not need to be homemade.)

Influenced by an article in a magazine, I decided I would make bolognase. I love bolognase, and Sunday is a great day to make bolognase.
Bolognase is also a good dish to have going while you clean the house. It takes some time, but then you let it simmer forever.

This bolognase was made with the thought of feeding many people without going broke. If you are making bolognase for a smaller crowd, are looking for a more traditional recipe, or want to treat your guests to a dish equally impressive as it is expensive, you can use my authentic recipe, and double it to feed however many people you need.

Bolognase is a Tuscan dish, best for hungry people on a chilly night. It is heavy and serious, and delicious.

As I made it, this recipe has filled my 9 qt. Le Creuset. It will feed at least 12 hungry people when put over pasta. That is, if I don't eat it all first.

Save time by chopping veggies in a food processor. I did not put the onions into my food processor, but I was being silly.

You will need:

1 stick unsalted butter
1 medium and 1 large onion, fine chopped
5 carrots, fine chopped
1 small head or 1/2 large bunch celery, fine chopped
EVOO
5lbs ground beef (I recommend not using anything above 90/10. The fat adds flavor, and can be removed later. Because our store was out of family pack meats and 90/10, I did 3 lbs 85/15 and a pack of 93/7.)
1.5 lbs HOT Italian sausage, removed from casing
3 cups WHOLE milk (don't try to save yourself now...)
12 oz. tomato paste
3 cups of a dry white wine... this leaves just enough in the bottle for you to have a glass.
salt and pepper

Melt butter in a large, heavy dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add veggies and allow them to sweat, but not brown (about 10 minutes). While they are doing their thing, decase the sausage. Add all meat and raise the heat to high, breaking the meat up as it cooks. If you need, add some EVOO to keep from burning stuff to the bottom. (I needed about 2 TBS)

Once meat is mostly cooked (little bits of pink are okay), add wine, milk (stir this in slowly, so that it does not curdle), and then work in tomato paste. I sometimes add some heavy cream if I have it, just to make it that much better for our arteries.
Add in salt. Use disgression, and remember you can correct later. Seasoning will depend heavily on your sausage. I started with 1/2 TBS. I added a pinch more later. Remember, you aren't supposed to be able to taste salty when you eat this, but if you don't taste the tomatoes, the meats, the veggies, then salt will help bring their flavor out.
Allow mixture to come to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 1.5 hours more, or until sauce has thickened up. I stir this about every 30 mintues, and take sauce out to skim each time, letting it settle and then returning it to the pot.
After about an hour of cooking, taste, add pepper, correct salt, and allow to thicken a little longer.

Serve over a thick pasta (either something short, like rigatoni or rotini, or something like fusili bicate (long fusili, which are very fun to eat, if you ask me) or pappardelle, an egg-based noodle from Tuscany, intended to be eaten with hearty, gamey* ragu or bolognase.

Top with fresh Pecorino. I like to serve this with bread. What better to soak up the goodness?

* Outside the big cities of Italy are small towns, where Nonas still cook with whatever meat happen to be caught that day. For a Tuscan treat, you can cook this bolognase version or the smaller one mentioned in the beginning substituting the beef for wild boar, venison, or hare meat.