Day: July 30, 2025

• Ina Garten has a quick Bolognese pasta that she says is perfect for busy weeknights.
• The dish includes ground sirloin, orecchiette pasta, dry red wine, and fresh basil leaves.
• Garten’s Bolognese only took 30 minutes and was packed with so much delicious flavor.

Ina Garten has always been my go-to when it comes to pasta. I’ve tried so many of her recipes that I’ve even ranked them.

One of my favorites is her weeknight Bolognese, which is super quick and can be easily adapted with whatever’s in your pantry and fridge.

The rich and comforting dish was exactly what I needed after a long day. Better yet? I whipped it up in just 30 minutes.

Garten’s weeknight Bolognese is made with ground sirloin, orecchiette, and dry red wine.

To make Garten’s weeknight Bolognese for 4-5, you’ll need:

• 1 pound of dried pasta, such as orecchiette or small shells
• 1 pound of lean ground sirloin
• 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 ¼ cups of dry red wine, divided
• ¼ cup of heavy cream
• ¼ cup of chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

When it comes to the canned tomatoes, it should be noted that Garten strongly recommends using the San Marzano variety. The “Barefoot Contessa” star is not a fan of plain canned tomatoes.

But Garten does allow for other adjustments. The point, after all, is for this recipe to be pantry-friendly.

You can substitute the sirloin for any ground meat or chopped mushrooms. Garten says it’s also fine to “use any dried pasta that you like” for this dish, and that it’s OK to skip the cream and basil if you don’t have any on hand.

Before I started making the Bolognese sauce, I just needed to do a little prep.

I minced my garlic and chopped my basil.

Then, I began making the Bolognese sauce.

I heated 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and added my meat to the pan.

I used a wooden spoon to crumble the meat, stirring it occasionally. Garten’s recipe recommends cooking the meat for five to seven minutes, until it’s no longer pink.

After the meat had fully browned, I added my seasonings.

I threw in my minced garlic, along with the dried oregano and red pepper flakes.

It was time for some wine!

After letting the seasoned meat cook for one minute, I poured 1 cup of red wine into the skillet.

Garten’s recipe specifies using a dry red wine. A quick Google search showed that I could pick a cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, or merlot — I went with a pinot.

After pouring the wine, I used my wooden spoon to stir everything together.

Then, I added my San Marzano tomatoes and tomato paste.

I couldn’t find crushed San Marzano tomatoes at my local supermarket, so I had to get peeled ones instead. I ran the tomatoes through a food processor before I threw them into the pan, but you could easily use your hands.

After adding the tomato paste, I seasoned everything with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I gave everything a good stir, then brought my sauce to a boil.

Once it began to bubble, I lowered the heat and allowed the pan to simmer for 10 minutes while I got a separate pot of water going for my pasta. (Don’t forget to add salt!)

As the noodles cooked, I put the finishing touches on my sauce.

I added fresh basil leaves, along with the nutmeg and heavy cream.

I let my sauce simmer for another 10 minutes while I waited for my pasta to turn al dente.

The sauce smelled delicious and had turned into a comforting deep-red color.

After 10 minutes, the pasta was ready.

I used a slotted spoon to transfer the shells to my sauce.

Per Garten’s instructions, I made sure to save my pasta water.

I added another ¼ cup of the red wine and a few spoonfuls of my pasta water.

Then, I started mixing everything together.

After another minute of cooking, the pasta was ready. It looked glorious — and tasted even better.

Bolognese is my favorite type of pasta, so I had some pretty high hopes going into this — and Garten delivered.

The “Barefoot Contessa” star has a knack for giving classic recipes a new twist, and her weeknight Bolognese is no exception. The shells are the perfect vehicle for this dish, catching all of the flavorful sauce so you can have some in every bite.

The nutmeg in the Bolognese nicely balances the kick from the red pepper flakes, and the freshly grated Parmesan cheese I added on top melted beautifully into the warm sauce.

My family, who helped me test the recipe, only had rave reviews.

“It’s a very meaty, very hearty pasta,” my dad said. “Perfect.”

“I really enjoy how the pasta holds onto the sauce,” my sister added. “With every spoonful, you get a good amount of meat and a good amount of pasta.”

I’ll definitely be adding Ina’s weeknight Bolognese (along with her five-cheese penne pasta) to my comfort-food repertoire.

• When I was pregnant with my fourth child, I found out he had a life-threatening heart defect.
• He had his first surgery at 5 days old, and I wasn’t able to hold him for 55 days.
• A stranger said the words I needed to hear until my son was able to come home.

When I was five months pregnant with my fourth child, I found out I was having a boy — my first after three daughters. I was elated. But that moment of joy quickly blurred into fear when doctors also told me he had only one functioning kidney and a life-threatening heart defect called aortic stenosis. His heart wasn’t pumping blood properly. The outlook wasn’t good.

Every specialist I saw repeated the same idea: That’s a big surgery for such a tiny body. As the pregnancy progressed, the condition worsened. They told me they would try to keep him inside for as long as possible to let him grow stronger, but at 38 weeks, they decided to induce me.

They said if he cried at birth, I’d get to hold him briefly. He let out a cry — a strong one — but I only saw his face for about a second before they whisked him away. He was transported to another hospital where they’d prepare him for open-heart surgery. I was too weak to sit up, so I asked a nurse to take a photo so I could see what he looked like after they cleaned him up and were about to load him into the ambulance. He was beautiful.

I didn’t get to hold him for 55 days after that.

On day 5, he had open-heart surgery

Levi was born on October 18, 2023. His surgery took place five days later, on October 23. That was, without question, the most stressful day of my life.

At the time, I was freelancing. In theory, I had the freedom to work on my own schedule. But there was no schedule anymore — just fear, doctor’s updates, and daily NICU visits. I couldn’t focus. I could barely reply to emails. I eventually reached out to my editor and explained that I was emotionally unavailable and needed to step back. I expected silence and maybe a well wish or two. Instead, she told the CEO of the company about what was going on.

And he did something I’ll never forget — he started a fundraiser to help us through that time. He didn’t share my name, just a picture of Levi and a short version of our story. Donations started pouring in. Strangers left messages of encouragement, prayers, and hope. Within a week, over $10,000 had been raised.

It was humbling. I remember sitting with tears in my eyes, grateful that someone — many people — cared. I emailed some of the donors to thank them. One woman responded kindly, and I sent her a photo of Levi in return. She replied with a message that would become a lifeline for me in the months to come:

“Levi will be home, and he will heal well, and you will be loving him up soon. Of that I am sure.”

I didn’t know how much I needed those words until they became my anchor

What stood out wasn’t just the sentiment — it was the certainty. That confidence from a stranger, spoken without hesitation, felt like a warm blanket wrapped around a shivering soul. It reminded me that sometimes, even when things are falling apart, someone else’s belief can keep you stitched together.

Because things did fall apart.

Levi didn’t wake up a few days after surgery like many babies do. He was hooked up to tubes and surrounded by machines for weeks. The left side of his heart, which had been compromised from the start, remained weak. Then the right side began failing. He developed two blood infections, then thrombosis in his groin and neck. Fluid built up around his heart and lungs. The complications were relentless. Every step forward was followed by another setback. I began to fear that maybe we wouldn’t get the storybook ending.

And yet, that stranger’s words echoed in my mind.

I repeated them to myself like a mantra on long rides to the hospital, on tear-streaked days when doctors couldn’t give answers, on quiet nights when I’d sit with my girls and pretend everything was normal. Her assurance carried me when I had nothing left to hold onto. That confidence became mine.

He came home

The first time I held him — really held him — was 55 days after he was born. I had dreamt of that moment, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the wave of emotion that hit. I didn’t want to let go. I finally had my son in my arms. He smelled like hospital soap and baby lotion and something uniquely his. I cried, and I smiled, and I told him I was proud of how strong he was.

As the weeks passed and Levi slowly began to heal, I stayed close. I held him through setbacks and celebrated every little win: a removed tube, a better scan, a good day with no new alarms. And then, one day, it was over. No more timed visits. No more sterile gowns and masks. Just me, my baby boy, and the chance to love him freely, just like she said I would.

When we were finally discharged, I wrote that stranger again: “He made it. He’s coming home.”

She responded with joy, and we still exchange messages now and then. I send her updates, photos, and a small window into the life she had faith he would eventually have.

In a world that can often feel indifferent or rushed, her words were a stillness. They were a pause, a gift, even. She didn’t have to say anything at all, but she did. And what she said mattered more than she’ll ever know.