Looks great, but needs more cheese. Parmigiano Reggiano I hope. I agree about the pancetta.

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I actually prefer pecorino romano (perhaps because my dad is Roman). Whatever your preference, yes to more cheese!

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Two pounds of meat for 12 oz of pasta sounds like too much meat. I like to add 1 pound of Italian sausage to 1 pound of pasta and that seems about right.

Plus I'm still a little freaked about the mad cow thing. Isn't anyone else?

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The sauce should be very meaty. And sausage is great in Bolognese as is a combination of beef, veal, and pork. If you are worried about madcow, you can always use grassfed beef.

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Sorta off-topic...Romano's Macaroni Grill used to serve one of my FAVORITE pasta dishes, Ravioli alla Bolognese. It was a meat ravoli-based dish that was covered in a bolognese that was so good. They don't make it anymore (and since it was the only reason I went, have lost a customer). Anyone know of a recipe that duplicates it? I miss that dish. It's been so long since I've had it, my attempts to duplicate have fallen way short.

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One other question. The grease from the meat is never drained off. Doesn't that make for a pretty heavy dish?

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Good recipe. Not the proportions I'd use, but that's really a matter of personal taste. However, I think it makes the common yet critical mistake of adding milk later in the cooking process. To maintain the sweetness and the richness that makes a Bolognese, I'd recommend adding the milk and almost completely cooking it away BEFORE adding any of the tomato products.

But that's one guy's opinion :-)

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