The Chef's inspiration for the dish comes from a foodie within the Capital City.I've never met her, but here's her blog. Thank you, Ms. Yeo!
I have to admit, that for the recipe I did use dried thyme, and that after reading "Only here for the Food" I doubled the amount of sauce (a wise girlfriend once told me that it's all in the sauce. I don't think she reads this blog...). No italian ham was used either - I don't think I can find any in Camrose. The recipe really should have been halved, unless I was going to feed this damned city of Vikings I live in.
The sauce portion took the majority of my Sunday morning. What else can I do? And when the ham was browning with the vegetables and the Chianti was added, I really should have recorded that smell. It was de-LISH!
In the end, it was a fancy Mac & Cheese with ham and bits o' onion in it, that's how I would describe it. It was pretty cheesy, and with every bite, you could catch a hint of Chianti in it. Beats Kraft Dinner, that's for sure.
I'm not sure your kids would like it. But it's worth a shot. Final Outcome: 7.1 out of 10.
