Delicious but worth the $$$???

Perciatelli with Meat Sauce and Fontina
Food and Wine Magazine’s Quick From Scratch Pasta Cookbook Copyright 1996,2001,2002,2004

1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
½ cup red wine
1 ½ cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (one 16-ounce can) my can was only 15-ounces
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 ¼ teaspoons salt that is way too much! I used 1 tsp and it was still very salty with all that cheese
¾ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
½ pound perciatelli I used Dreamfields spaghetti
½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 ounces Fontina cheese, grated
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

1. In a large stainless-steel frying pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the onion and cook until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and simmer until reduced to ¼ cup, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, and the salt and pepper. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the perciatelli until just donw, about 15 minutes. Drain and toss with the meat sauce, vinegar, Fontina, Parmesan, and parsley. Serve with additional Parmesan.

This dish was quite good. I tend to love any tomato sauce made with red wine. But while, I liked the taste of the Fontina, it was ridiculously expensive - over $10/pound. And it only came in approximately 8-ounce portions. I think if I made this again, I would substitute whole milk mozzarella or maybe fresh mozarella.

I loved Food & Wine Magazine’s Quick From Scratch One-Dish Meals Cookbook so I picked up the pasta and the chicken versions of this book too. I was fortunate enough to find them in my favorite store in the world, Ollie's Bargain Outlet - cookbook nirvana. Tons of cookbooks, dirt cheap. I even saw The Gourmet Cookbook there for $9.99 after I paid $25 for it. Grrrr.