So, what unusual ingredient do you put into pasta sauce?

[EFerrari]

I just watched Lydia shred some apple and use it with onion, celery and tomatoes.

[Duer 157099]

1. Star anise and vanilla

But just a hint

[hippywife]

2. I don't think I put anything unusual into it, really.

I use carrots, tomatoes, tomato paste, and some crushed fennel seed along with the basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. I do also stir in some parmesan cheese sometimes. Depends on which recipe I'm making.

:hi: Beth! :hug:

[pengillian101]

5. Good to see ya at C&B, hippywife!

I've missed ya!

:hi:

[hippywife]

37. Hi, gilli.

Good to see you, too. :hi:

[EFerrari]

7. Well, carrots might qualify for unusual.

:hi:

[hippywife]

35. They would have been very unusual for me, too,

a couple of years ago, until I tweaked that Italian pot roast recipe into Sunday Gravy. Now I don't make it any other way. :D

[Tesha]

3. not in the sauce, but...

I stuff a few raisins into the center of meatballs.

[EFerrari]

8. Like a reward!

That's cool. :)

[Warpy]

14. That's a trick I use with non meat balls

that makes them taste a bit meatier.

Your trick makes perfect sense to me.

It's like picadillo, formed into meatballs.

[Paper Roses]

28. Your family from Italy? My grandparents were from somewhere near Naples.

It seems quite common for them (southern Italians) to add raisins to meatballs. I grew up with Nana and my Mom mixing raisins in them. I use about a half cup for a batch made from 1 Lb ground beef.

My two daughters do the same but my youngest granddaughter picks them out, she calls them 'things'. She'll get over that when her time comes to cook. She is only 7 and anything that looks out of the ordinary is a 'thing'.

[Warpy]

4. Pinch of curry powder

it makes first day sauce taste as good as second day sauce.

If it tastes of curry, you've used too much.

[pscot]

33. I use curry powder that way. a lot

As you say, if you can taste it you've used too much. But as a background note, it adds complexity and depth.

[NNN0LHI]

6. As my mother got older it could be anything with hers

Piece of old chicken. Bone and all. Piece of Italian sausage she found laying in the fridge from another meal. Not sure when that meal was but she would throw it in anyway.

I don't eat her food any more.

Don

[EFerrari]

10. LOL

My mom never throws anything away, especially food. So you never know what you'll find in her refrigerator. Little corners of avocado, a half squeezed lemon wedge, some part of a biscuit.

But she doesn't cook at all so I don't worry. :)

[Tesha]

17. That sounds like Sunday gravy...

something pork
something chicken
maybe meatballs
something tomatoes

simmer a couple of hours

[book lady]

9. I use pork neck bones...

We don't eat them, but just use them to flavor the sauce.

[hippywife]

34. I use them sometimes.

And we do eat them but you have to be very careful as small pieces of bones end up in the sauce. :hi:

[grasswire]

11. last summer the NYT suggested fresh tomato leaves in sauce

.....I haven't tried it yet, but it's supposed to make the sauce more aromatic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/dining/291crex.html?_r=1

[Tesha]

20. Well, tomato plants are certainly "aromatic", but I'm not convinced that I want to make my food...

...smell like them! ;)

Tesha

[kestrel91316]

12. Galliano liqueur in the tomato/meat sauce for lasagne. Don't ask how

much - haven't made it in years - it was my college roommate's recipe, and really added a lot to the taste!

[tigereye]

31. well that's interesting!

[hippywife]

36. Not so odd as it is anise flavored.

Sort of replaces the fennel, I guess. :hi:

[TreasonousBastard]

13. Cinnamon. Not so much you can taste it, but enough to perk up...

the tomato flavor.

[tigereye]

32. one of the best meals I ever ate was at a local Greek place where they made

psari plaki - red snapper with a wonderful cinnamony pasta sauce. It was wonderful and I have never quite been able to duplicate it!

[Phentex]

15. My thumb...

my mom said my grandmother stuck her thumb in it, she did and so do I. Can't say it changes the flavor and before you ask, I don't detach the thumb!

[NNN0LHI]

16. Which reminds me of an old story

Guy was at the restaurant when the waitress brought out his soup he noticed she had her thumb in the soup bowl. He didn't say anything but then she brought out his dinner and she had her thumb in the mashed potatoes.

Now he was mad so he asked her why she always had her thumb in his food. She responded that she had arthritis in her thumb and the heat from the food helped it considerably.

So the guy said snidely "Well why don't you just stick that thumb up your ass?"

The waitress responded, "Thats what I do when I am in the back room."

Don

[pengillian101]

24. The waitress responded, "Thats what I do when I am in the back room."

My Mom was a waitress in a hoity-toity restaurant and I hope she is being quoted, lol!

[Phentex]

26. LOL!

Thanks for the laugh. :)

[Tesha]

18. Oh, and in the meatballs

a little nutmeg...
not so much you taste it.


I've noticed many of us use an aromatic to enhance the flavor...

cinnamon, nutmeg etc.

[wildflower]

19. I sometimes add a little coffee

But most times I do that for chili rather than plain tomato sauce.

[MajorChode]

21. Baked tomatoes

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/tomato-sauce-recipe/index.html

[yellerpup]

22. In meat sauce I like to add a little anchovy paste

or Thai fish sauce--not so much that you taste a fishy flavor, but just enough for the meaty flavor to be enhanced. Star anise, too. Little bit!

[EFerrari]

25. That sounds yummy. I wanna try that.

[yellerpup]

27. It makes a subtle difference

but just makes everything taste a bit better. :hi:

[beac]

23. Seedless red grapes, cut in half lengthwise and added to a chunky marinara about 3 minutes

before serving. The taste and texture play nicely against the chucks of spicy tomato.

[randr]

29. One dried shitaki mushroom adds a subtle musroom flavor.

I pull it out and eat by itself before serving sauce. Cooks perk!

[GoCubsGo]

30. Fennel seeds

It's a bit like having a sauce with Italian sausage in it. Not sure it's necessarily all that unusual, however.

[pinto]

38. Cinnamon.

A friend gave me the idea. Not much, but it gives it a twist.