Spaghetti Sauce

[IA_Seth]

Anyone have a secret family recipe they wouldn't mind sharing with a few thousand people?

I've only made an attempt at homemade sauce a few times, both with mixed results. I'd love to get a few recipe ideas to experiment with this weekend.

Help me!

[Shell Beau]

1. My husband's Nona (grandma) is full blooded Italian and I

have her recipe for that (although they call it gravy) and her lasagna!! But I am keeping it in the fam!! Sorry! :)

[GalleryGod]

15. We Italian Americans really don't enjoy the term "Full Blooded".

As opposed to what?
Faux Blooded?

[ohiosmith]

2. OK man. The family recipe. My grandmother is probably spinning in her grave.

[trof]

4. Damn! That was my granny's recipe too.

I'm serious.
:-(

[ohiosmith]

6. Maybe we're kin.

[trof]

9. It's even worse.

When granny decided on a 'spaghetti dinner', she'd open a can of Chef Boyardee spaghetti in tomato sauce.
Not even meatballs.
Whew.

We were SO whitebread.

[GalleryGod]

18. So Olive Garden would be a "Step UP" ??

[GalleryGod]

17. Not funny, Tooch ! I'm sending deez guys !!

[applegrove]

3. This isn't mine..and it is a little salty..but a can of tomato soup does

add some zing. Alternatively if you use some pork & shallots as the base..and cook it then chop it up..then add the tomato sauce..it works great.

[Critters2]

5. I carefully open a jar of Ragu Organic, pour it in a saucepan or

microwaveable bowl, apply appropriate heat, and PRESTO!

Oh, and I call it "marinara" to class it up a bit.

Feel free to add this to your recipe box! :hide:

[GalleryGod]

19. Madre' Mia !!!

[LostinVA]

7. Use Giadia DeLaurentiis' marinara recipe

Very easy and very good.

[Left Is Write]

8. This isn't a secret, but it's my method.

Brown some hamburger or crumbled Italian sausage with chopped or sliced onion. Add canned or fresh tomatoes, cut up. Adjust amounts to taste. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, marjoram, and freshly minced or chopped garlic. Add a bay leaf if you have one. Let the sauce simmer on low until the flavors blend. Add more tomatoes, tomato liquid, or water if you like. You can also add browned meatballs and let them simmer in the sauce.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. I'm no gourmet.

But I just sweat some onions, anise, and garlic. Drop in a can of basic tomato sauce, add any italianish seasonings I've got around, salt, pepper, and a heaping pinch of brown sugar and heat to simmer.

I also usually garnish with bleu cheese too, instead of parmesan.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

11. I tend to eyeball the proportions, but here's mine...

Combine in a blender:
5 large cans of whole peeled tomatoes
2 large can of tomato paste
(In a standard blender, combine 1 1/2 cans tomatoes and about 1/2 can paste at a time)

Add fresh oregano, salt and pepper to taste
Add 1 tsp sugar (if you want something to cut the acidity a bit)

Add:
1 clove of crushed garlic
1 large onion, diced
2 green peppers, diced
8oz sliced Crimini mushrooms

Heat to boiling, then simmer until peppers are cooked thoroughly

If you like, add some lean cooked ground meat
You can also add some zing to it by adding your favorite hot sauce

[trof]

12. Paul Neuman makes some good stuff too.

[yewberry]

13. I make marinara pretty often.

Unfortunately, I tend to vary it a bit depending on what I'm going to be using it for.

The basics for a small batch:
use a pan with high sides--this can make a mess as it simmers

saute a little chopped onion (and celery & carrot if you have it around) in a bit of olive oil until translucent
add a large can of stewed tomatoes (diced is fine, pureed is not)
add a dollop of cheap red wine
press a clove of garlic into it
add a few shakes of dried basil and slightly less oregano (use more with fresh herbs; tie those together for easy removal)
add a couple of shakes of red pepper flake
s & p
simmer for a while (it doesn't take hours)
adjust with sugar if it's too tart

That's pretty much it. I hope I haven't forgotten something important!

[mondo joe]

14. My Sicilian grandmother didn't have a recipe per se - and she might rise from the

grave and pull me down if I give away TOO much - but it involved tomato puree and a lot of meat. (Oxtails are especially good.)

[GalleryGod]

16. Pork Bones !

:thumbsup: :hi: :thumbsup:

[WhollyHeretic]

20. If you are faithful he shall answer your prayers

I don't have any recipes, I usually just wing it when making sauces and soups. One of these is great for making pasta sauce though



http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CSB-76BC-SmartStick-200-Watt-Immersion/dp/B000EGA6QI/sr=1-3/qid=1167968045/ref=sr_1_3/103-8317544-3409400?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen

[Q3JR4]

21. Though

I don't have a spaghetti sauce recipe, I do believe that spaghetti sauce is the holy condiment.

[benny05]

22. How About Nancy Pelosi Sauce!

I hear she makes her own special cranberry sauce, but I too would love a special spaghetti sauce recipe too.

[astral]

23. Mine's vegetarian but you can add meat if you want to

I don't measure, so these are suggested / guesstimate amounts, play it by ear!

1 can regular tomato sauce
1 jar Muir Glenn Fire Roasted Spaghetti Sauce (or just 1 can Muir Glenn Fire Roasted Tomatoes -- crushed, moosh with blender)
1 onion finely chopped (red, or white, or brown, whatever you like)
1 garlic -- big pile finely chopped, about 5 or more big cloves
1 shallots -- big pile finely chopped, about the same amount as the garlic, or whatever
1 green pepper (or more) finely chopped
4 celery stalks -- finely chopped

OPTIONAL -- sliced mushrooms, zucchini (add a little later if you use zucchini so it doesn't turn to mush)

cook the veggies and the cheap tomato sauce covered on medium for maybe 10 minutes, add the Muir Glenn, simmer another 5 minutes or however long you want.

Spices and Herbs:
Worchestershire sauce -- generous splash or four
Balsalmic vinegar -- not too much, less than a tablespoon probably
Oregano -- overdo it! Couple tablespoons or more if you like
Marjoram -- overdo it! Couple tablespoons or more if you like (Organic's way more flavorful! Bulk organic is affordable!)
Stevia leaf -- powdered -- 1/2 teaspoon (alternatively, use some honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar, to round out the flavor, maybe a tablespoon, for more dramatic flavor but be careful not to ruin it by adding way too much!)

The best: Serve over cooked angelhair pasta, add melted organic butter to your plate, and fresh shredded (or Costco bag) Parmesan cheese, sprinkle with a little cayenne pepper, stir up on plate / pasta dish

My trick, the way I like it, is to chop the veggies very small so (a) they cook quicker and (b)they taste good in there being a little UNDERCOOKED, if you love them that way like I do.

This keeps good in the fridge for 7 days easy if there's no meat in it and if on the 2nd day and days afterwards you only heat up the amount you want to eat leaving the rest in the fridge. Or if you don't like eating the same thing day after day, freeze the leftovers in zip-lock freezer bags, 1 serving each.

[u4ic]

24. Here's my recipe

though there's no exact measurements...I like a very thick sauce with lots of veggies. It's quite simple, but very tasty.

- ground bison (I like it better than ground beef, as the flavour is stronger)
- at least one large onion, chopped
- lots of chopped zucchini, green and red pepper, and mushrooms (spinach as well if I have it on hand)
- plenty of fresh pressed or diced garlic (at the very least 4 large cloves)
- black pepper and Italian seasoning

I use Classico Fire Roasted Tomato and Garlic, plus a Classico Extra Garlic Bruschetta as the base sauce.


Pour sauces into a crockpot and set on high.

Sautee ground bison in a skillet until brown. Pour into sauce, including the juices (there is very little with bison, anyway; it gives it some extra flavour. If you're using ground beef, just add some of the juice).

Add a bit of olive oil to the pan and sautee onion first, then the other veggies, and the garlic last of all. (the veggies just need to be softened; as with the garlic, to release the flavour. Browning garlic will make it bitter) Add that to the crockpot, then add plenty of black pepper and Italian seasoning. Taste it and adjust if necessary, then keep it on high for about 1/2 hr; change setting to low and leave it for 3-4 hrs, stirring every 20 minutes-1/2 hr.

Periodically taste, and add more seasoning, if desired. I may also sautee and add more veggies if the sauce becomes too thin.

I like to leave it overnight, to let the flavours meld, before I use it. It's not necessary though.