The month of May is a special time for people who grew up, or have lived, in Indianapolis. It is the month the city comes alive for the summer. The flower beds around the city are dutifully planted, the parks manicured, and the fountains are slowly turned on leading into the first weekend of May.
It used to be that the first weekend of May signaled the arrival of Indy car drivers, for the Indianapolis 500, to the city. At the time, it was the major tourist influx into the city. Nowadays the drivers don’t arrive until mid-May and the convention center holds so many conventions there is always some group in town visiting. But that has done nothing to diminish the celebration and tradition of the month of May.
For 40 years the month of May and the 500 Festival has been kicked off by the running of the Indy Mini Marathon. For years the largest half-marathon and still one of the countries biggest. When we moved back in the fall of 2014 I had just run my first 5k in San Francisco. It was quite a feat for me at the time. I have loved the idea (emphasis on idea) of running the Mini for a while and decided to turn idea into reality in 2015 by running the Mini. I got derailed on my training by the flu and didn’t have enough faith or drive to continue after being sidelined for two weeks so I convinced myself I was too far behind.
Fast forward to the 2016 Mini.
This is the 40th running of the Mini and the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. Both races are steeped in tradition and I was determined not to miss this year. I started out strong on the training and then got sidelined by double ear infections and was sidelined for 2 weeks, again. This time, I pushed through. I created my own running program and worked hard to complete it. Even through tornado sirens on my first 10-mile run. I over did it at points, and because of my continuously tight muscles I had an IT band issue that provided an unfun challenge during training and on race day, but I made it. I showed up the morning of the race a ball of nerves but finished strong with my medal in hand. My special commemorative medal because it is the 100th running of the 500.
This being a food blog your interest in what I ate to carb load before the race might outweigh your interest in the details of how the training and run went. A few more race details and we will get to the food I promise.
One of the most fun parts of this race is being able to run on the Indianapolis 500 track itself. The track is called The Brickyard, because when it was built the racing surface was made of bricks. Today it is asphalt, but they kept a small strip of bricks. Tradition is, the winner of the Indianapolis 500 kisses the bricks after winning the race. So just over half way through my half-marathon, I made a pit stop.
A nice stranger took a photo of me on my way into the track.
Now on to the food.
My husband was my biggest supporter leading up to the race. I had to work the night before the race so he decided he was cooking dinner. When he told me he was making meatballs from scratch I was surprised and impressed. He doesn’t cook a lot. Matter of fact, a few years ago, he once said, I wish I had known it was this easy to cook before I met you. So it is safe to say he is new to the kitchen.
I had to work until 7pm so he was completely on his own with the recipe. I helped him make a grocery list, set out a few ingredients, and made sure the kitchen was clean, but everything else he did on his own. This is the beautiful meal I had waiting for me when I came home.
Spaghetti and Meatballs All’Amatriciana from Bon Appetit. If you are a reader of Bon Appetit, you know that a lot of the recipes can be complicated and filled with a lot of steps. Steps that get you one hell of a meal, but take some time to make. This one is not an exception to the rule.
While we were eating, what were some of the best meatballs I have every had, he tells me that he had to make the bacon into a paste, had to blend the tomatoes and brown the meatballs before cooking them in the sauce. I couldn’t believe he used the food processor. He hates cleaning the processor, nevermind using it. Aside from how amazing the meatballs taste the other thing you would have noticed if you were standing in my kitchen during this dinner…all the dishes were done. Add the fact that when I walked in the house from work he was straining the pasta and I was really impressed.
He admitted that it wasn’t an easy recipe, but that with a few fundamentals, which I got credit for teaching him, it wasn’t that hard. He got all his mis en place together and cleaned dishes during his down time (something I struggle with) and was rightful very proud of himself at how it turned out. He is my best student.
He is a keeper. Even bigger bonus he knows how to properly eat pasta with a fork and spoon!
Amatriciana sauce is a traditional Italian sauce that was originally made with cured pork cheeks. Many of today’s recipes, however, use bacon, and lots of it! The Bon Appetit recipe calls for 6 oz in the meatballs and 6 oz in the sauce. It was so full of flavor. If you are going to make this recipe be sure to get the best quality bacon you can afford. Being the key ingredient, the higher the quality the better the flavor.
I hope my husband realizes he will be making this every time I run. I might add some half-marathons to the schedule just to have the recipe again.
Are you or someone in your family a runner? Share what recipe do you cook the night before a big race in the comments or on Facebook.
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