Recipes

[ID2]

When I buy sauce in a jar I ONLY buy Mario Batali's. I really hate when sugar is added to a tomato based sauce and his is totally free of sugar! And its delicous! It's the only sauce I'll buy!

[boby]

ID2: I'm with you on the issue of sugar. I also don't care for sauces that go "on the cheap" by adding oils other than extra virgin, or at least some kind of olive oil.

I usually make my own sauce. As far as taking the acidic edge off the sauce I grind a peeled "baby" carrot or two into the sauce. It not only adds natural sugar, it gives it a nice color too.

[kitty4me]

Thank you all for all your posts and sharing some great Recipes.

[DiamondGirly]

On 9/12/2014 doglover3 said:

I don't put cheese in mine since not everyone likes it so I put it on the table and let everyone put their own in or on. I use either Parmesan or the 3 cheese Italian blend but just put it on the table, not in my sauce as some do. This is why I didn't add cheese to the recipe but said at the end *you can sprinkle is as you wish when finished or on top of pasta as we prefer, grated Parmesan cheese.

My cousin married an Italian guy and this is his recipe but he ALWAYS puts in a cut up pork roast, cut up beef roast and fresh sausage cut into bite size pieces instead of just the lean hamburger and sausage but I only use that when making the sauce for lasagna and just use the lean ground hamburger and sausage for just regular pasta sauce. This does freeze very well so don't worry about making too much.

He also uses more onion and more garlic so I let that up to you how much your family likes.

Ohhh...I think I figured out what you meant...maybe "you can sprinkle IT (instead of is!)...took me a while! Thanks for sharing your recipes and ideas...as always!!

[buyornot]

On 9/13/2014 ID2 said:

When I buy sauce in a jar I ONLY buy Mario Batali's. I really hate when sugar is added to a tomato based sauce and his is totally free of sugar! And its delicous! It's the only sauce I'll buy!

I absolutely agree-in my area sometimes the Tops Market will have buy one get one-I stock up.

[doglover3]

On 9/19/2014 DiamondGirly said:

On 9/12/2014 doglover3 said:

I don't put cheese in mine since not everyone likes it so I put it on the table and let everyone put their own in or on. I use either Parmesan or the 3 cheese Italian blend but just put it on the table, not in my sauce as some do. This is why I didn't add cheese to the recipe but said at the end *you can sprinkle is as you wish when finished or on top of pasta as we prefer, grated Parmesan cheese.

My cousin married an Italian guy and this is his recipe but he ALWAYS puts in a cut up pork roast, cut up beef roast and fresh sausage cut into bite size pieces instead of just the lean hamburger and sausage but I only use that when making the sauce for lasagna and just use the lean ground hamburger and sausage for just regular pasta sauce. This does freeze very well so don't worry about making too much.

He also uses more onion and more garlic so I let that up to you how much your family likes.

Ohhh...I think I figured out what you meant...maybe "you can sprinkle IT (instead of is!)...took me a while! Thanks for sharing your recipes and ideas...as always!!

thanks for catching that, went back and corrected it, made the is an it.

[Sweetbay magnolia]

What great ideas. My reply is a little off topic, but the idea of spinach pesto really intrigues me, and I can't help but think how great that might be over scrambled eggs. Some ripe red tomatoes on the side - what a pretty dish.

[tkins]

I found this while searching for recipes using Sun Gold tomatoes (who knew one tomato plant could produce so many tomatoes). It is a Mario Batali recipe. I have not had a chance to try it yet, but soon.

SUN GOLD TOMATO PASTA SAUCE RECIPE

(serves 4)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 sprigs basil

1 sprig thyme

1 sprig tarragon

1 star anise

1 whole clove

2 pints Sun Gold cherry tomatoes, halved (about 4 cups)

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

4 servings dried spaghetti (about 8 oz.)

In a medium skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat; add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it softens (lower the heat if needed; you don't want the onion to get brown and crispy). Add the garlic, herb sprigs and spices; cook and stir until you smell the richness of the herbs and spices, about 2 minutes. Add the Sun Gold tomatoes and vinegar; cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down and become saucy, about 10 minutes. Remove the herb sprigs, clove and star anise and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions, use tongs to transfer it to the skillet with the sauce, adding a bit of pasta cooking water to thin the sauce if needed. Cook the spaghetti and sauce together for a minute or two, stirring to coat the pasta well and infuse it with the flavor of the sauce.

tkins

[peggy9cats]

I usually just use can of crushed tomatoes with meat placed in it after it is cooked with spices added ad lib. Can of tomatoes has much less sodium and sugar than pasta sauces and I think it tastes quite good especially when it melds with meat.

[goodstuff]

Like another poster, I start with a bottle/can of prepared marinara sauce and add extras: browned ground beef, Italian sausage, sliced mushrooms and/or ripe olives, a splash of red wine, a little sugar, Italian herbs, tabasco, worcestershire, extra garlic..........the possibilities are endless, and the results delicious.

Years ago I used to pride myself on my "made from scratch" spaghetti sauce.......until I found my then small children picking out all of the little bits of fresh veggies and leaving them on the edge of their plates. I tried the bottled sauce approach and found it much easier and excellent.......and the kids loved it. Haven't changed directions since!