There is nothing better than spending a Sunday afternoon lovingly
stirring a pot of tomato sauce as it simmers on the stove. While I
must admit that there have been significant improvements in the quality
of store bought sauces over the years, they just pale in comparison to
the product you get from home. I always start with really good olive
oil in the bottom of my pot, and add in a couple of chopped cloves of
garlic and a chopped onion-- two if they are small ones. After
bringing the onion to translucent, I pour in three cans of tomatoes.
It dosn't matter so much what brand, as long as they are from Italy.
And never use a brand whose name is also on the ketchup bottle! I use
whole tomotes and press them down with a potatoe masher. Then I add a
large can of puree...also from Italy...and a small can of tomato paste.
All this I bring to a slow simmer. A spoonful or two of sugar at this
point helps cut the acidity, and salt and pepper to taste are added as
well. And a bay leaf or two. Simmer and stir with love is now the
objective-- at least for an hour and a half. I usually put on NPR on
the radio at this point to give me something to think about while I
stand in front of the pot. But the stirring has a relaxing effect,
transforming the anxieties of the week into vague memories. When I
come to the last twenty minutes or so of stirring, I add in the
spices-- usually oregano, basil, and red pepper to taste. And yes,
it's OK to taste-- either with a small spoon or by dipping a small
piece of Italian bread into the sauce. When all is through, I run it
through the food processor to get the desired consistency. Later in
the afternoon, I warm up the sauce and pair it with a pound of boiled
Barilla pasta and the family enjoys! I try to get a friend or two to
stop by and share the love. It dosn't get much better than this. So
the next time you are tempted to pick up that jar of Ragu, Classico, or
whatever jarred sauce you might see, pull your hand away and keep
walking down the isle with an image of Sunday morning relaxation and a
dinner of love! For more of my gastronomical exploits, visit
www.4fordinner.com

Since you're not drinking, you might try a stick blender and your
beloved pot of sauce never has to leave the stove.

Wow....great idea. That might also stop my wife from complaining about
what a mess I make with the food processor!

Exactly when did you move to la-la land?

--
Wayne Boatwright o¿o
____________________

BIOYA

>I use
>whole tomotes and press them down with a potatoe masher. Then I add a
>large can of puree...also from Italy...and a small can of tomato paste.

Okay, see, you're using three kinds of tomatoes, none of which is
fresh, and being snobbish about brands besides.

You should pick one kind, preferably fresh but if you have a regional
preference (there are san marzano freaks out there no doubt but if it
says POMI on the carton forget it at any price) go with that.

The really irksome thing is, whole tomatoes PLUS passata PLUS tomato
paste?

They're all the same with different amounts of water (and salt and
other things if you're not reading labels). Just silly. If you're
boiling for hours, go with one and use the time to get the consistency.
If you're time constrained, use passata or crushed and add paste to
get it thicker quicker.

And meanwhile, please don't spam, especially if you cook like you enjoy
spam...

Blair P. Houghton wrote:
>>I use
>>whole tomotes and press them down with a potatoe masher. Then I add a
>>large can of puree...also from Italy...and a small can of tomato paste.
>
>
> Okay, see, you're using three kinds of tomatoes, none of which is
> fresh, and being snobbish about brands besides.
>
> You should pick one kind, preferably fresh but if you have a regional
> preference (there are san marzano freaks out there no doubt but if it
> says POMI on the carton forget it at any price) go with that.
>

Are you saying that Pomi is good, or bad? It looks like you're saying
it's bad. (I usually just use Hunt's or Contadina)

Canned tomatoes are usually better than fresh for making sauce -- unless
it's a quick sauce where you just peel, dice, and saute really good
tomatoes in lots of olive oil and add herbs.

Bob

Joe wrote:
> There is nothing better than spending a Sunday afternoon lovingly
> stirring a pot of tomato sauce as it simmers on the stove.

I would agree that an afternoon making a real "Italian gravy,"
preferably one whose main ingredient is pork shoulder, can be fun and
rewarding.

The recipe you give is pretty silly, though, and far from guaranteed to
be better than opening a jar of store bought sauce. If you really want
to entice people to your website you're going to have to do better than
this. -aem