Looking For A Great Italian Sauce Recipe?

Sunday Gravy Never Tasted So Good

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients
1 large onion, sliced and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-cup olive oil
1 28-ounce can tomato puree
1 18-ounce can tomato paste
1-teaspoon dried basil
1-teaspoon oregano
1-teaspoon salt
1/4-teaspoon crushed anise (or 1/2-teaspoon whole)
2 tomato paste cans of water (see note)

Sauté onions and garlic in oil in a large pot. Cook until golden. Add rest of ingredients. After sauce starts to boil, lower heat to a simmer. At this time add a pinch of baking soda which will cause sauce to foam. Remove foam with spoon. Cover pot and let cook for 2 to 2.5 hours. Recipe can be doubled and then frozen for future use. One half-hour BEFORE sauce is finished cooking -add meats such as meatballs, pork or Italian sausage for flavor. If using ground beef, cook separately and drain off fat and then add to cooking sauce.

NOTE: More water may be needed if sauce becomes too thick.

Looking for a great Italian meatball recipe?

Looking for a great Italian meatball recipe?

Looking for a great Italian meatball recipe? Wrap your lips around this one.
I've known Tom Hartman since first grade. That means we've been friends for a long time. Since childhood Tom has always come across as a "worldly" type of fellow. He's always been very knowledgeable in politics, sports, the arts, history, and music. Especially music. He and I have listened, enjoyed, and argued about music for thirty years.

Tom is also knows a lot about food. He lives in Philadelphia and enjoys eating out often. Name the food and Tom has tasted it somewhere in Philadelphia or New York or around the world (Tom travels a lot. When it comes to food -- Tom has tried it all including Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Thai, French, and Italian. Now, given his background, experience, and his fondness for food I value his opinion and his recommendations about such matters.

I told you about Tom so you'll understand my disbelief when he told me that my meatballs were the best he's ever eaten. My meatballs? Tom has eaten thousands of meatballs in hundreds of restaurants in and around Philadelphia, New York, and other places, yet my meatballs are his favorite, "...the best I've ever tasted." Wow, what a compliment. Thank you Tom.

So given my new found respect for my meatballs I want to share my recipe:

The Best Meatball Recipe
Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients
1 pound combined beef, veal, pork (must be fresh)
3 large eggs
1 cup grated Romano Locatelli Cheese
1 cup bread crumb
1 clove garlic - minced
1 tablespoon salt

Preparation
(All mixing is done be hand) In a large bowl mix beef/veal/pork with eggs. Then add bread crumb, cheese, and salt. Finally add minced garlic in stages. Add a little then mix. Add some more, then mix. This way all the garlic does not end up in one meatball. Now, it's time to roll up the balls. Average size is roughly 2 inches in diameter. I usually get around 18 to 20 meatballs per pound. IMPORTANT! Do not cook meatballs in your pasta sauce! Meatballs cooked in sauce loose their flavor. The real key to a tasty meatball is cooking the them in an oven. So, heat oven to 375. Place meatballs on a rack - then on a cookie tray. Bake for 12 minutes on one side then 10 minutes for the other.

I freeze the meatballs in bags and take out what I need per dinner. I just drop the meatballs into the sauce as if heats up.

Buon Appetito!