Time to experience a true, Aussie sporting event: a Wallabies rugby union game!
The Wallabies are Australia's national rugby union team. The best players are chosen from rugby union teams across Australia, and take part in a number of well-attended matches throughout the year. B-i-g d-e-a-l. The equivalent of Canada's national hockey team ... if they were to play in tournaments throughout the year.
On an unusually cold Saturday night, canuck friends Lauren, Alex and I headed off to Telstra Stadium in Olympic Park (roughly 30 minutes west of Sydney) for the Wallabies' match against England. Impressive stadium, big crowd. Hard to imagine what the excitement level would have been like during the 200 Olympic Opening Ceremonies held in the same building.
The last time the two teams met in 2003, England was victorious, ensuring there were lots of english fans in attendance for our game, no doubt hoping for a repeat victory in their favor.
After joining the crowd in a rendition of "Advance, Australia, Advance" and "Waltzing Matilda", the game quickly got underway. Green and gold (Wallabies' colours) everywhere!
Two hours later, the result was Australia (34) / England (3).
As per ESPN, "Australia recorded an emphatic victory over under-strength England at Telstra Stadium, beating the world champions 34-3 without seriously breaking sweat. Although they led only 9-0 at half-time, Australia turned the screw in the second half and three tries in 20 minutes demonstrated the gulf in quality. England revisited the scene of their 2003 World Cup final triumph knowing they faced a potential damage-limitation exercise." And that's exactly what it was ...
Great game, great night. Hmm, maybe I should take up the sport while I'm here in Oz. (foreshadowing)
Given that we were all hungry and (surprisingly) chilled-to-the-bone from our rugby game (that's the last time I ever by "nose bleed" seats in an open-air stadium), we headed off to a local pub upon returning to Sydney in search of grub.
Has anyone else noticed that pub food is getting a lot less ... well ... "pubby"? Once upon a time, nobody would expect to see curries or Italian dishes on the menu ... yet, there they are.
It was no time to mess around with new culinary "explorations" - something tried, tested and true was in order: spaghetti bolgnese.
Classic Bolognese Sauce - Recipe:
2 tablespoons olive oil (you can use all olive oil or all butter, here)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons carrot, finely chopped
3/4 pound minced or coarsely ground lean beef, veal or pork
Salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup dry white wine
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
14 oz tinned Italian tomatoes (you can go up to 28 oz or 36 oz for more 'tomato' in the sauce), roughly chopped, with their juice
In a deep pot, heat the oil/butter. Add the chopped onion and saute briefly over medium heat until just translucent. Add the celery and carrot and cook gently for 2 minutes.
Add the minced beef, breaking it up with a fork. Add salt to taste, stir, and cook only until the meat has lost its raw, red color. Add the wine, turn the heat up to medium high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the wine has evaporated.
Turn the heat down to medium, add the milk and the nutmeg, and cook until the milk has evaporated. Stir frequently.
When the milk has evaporated, add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly. When the tomatoes have started to bubble, turn the heat down until the sauce cooks at the gentlest simmer, just an occasional bubble. Cook, uncovered, for a minimum of 3 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and check for salt.
Serve over hot pasta.
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