Spaghetti Sauce (Catie)

So originally I thought my first food post would be Gumbo seeing as how Gumbo is such an important dish to our family that I named this blog with it in mind, however I realized a few days ago that I don't know the measurements to include because its been several years since I measured anything when I made gumbo. SO it looks as though that recipe will have to wait until the next time I make it and can give you all proper measurements.

Instead the first recipe I will share is Spaghetti Sauce. It, like gumbo, is one of those dishes that everyone and there dog makes differently and is passionate that their way is the ONLY way to do it properly but the great thing about it is that you can make small changes and varie the taste of it to your own likeing.

Like many of my recipes this started with a recipe I got from my dad and then altered to suite my taste. Interestingly some of the alterations I did to it made it more similar to how my grandmother and great grandmother used to make theirs. It tugged at my heart a little when my dad told me that. The connection to family through food is important to me and it helps me feel close to them.

I should make note of a few things before I start.

 A) I am not including the recipe for the meatballs I usually put in the sauce because I use part Italian sausage that our family makes every year around Thanksgiving and I will need my dad to post up that recipe at some point. You can use your own recipe for meatballs or you can mix 1 lb. ground meat with 1 lb store bought raw Italian sausage, 3/4 Tbs. onion powder, 3/4 Tbs. garlic powder, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs, and 2 eggs and fry those up in 2 Tbs. Olive oil before adding them. (Ok, so maybe I am including the recipe only I use family made sausage not store bought)  OR you can leave out the meatballs altogether, this sauce is a stand alone sauce and doesn't require any meat to be added unless you so desire.

B) If garlic and onions aren't your thing then you should probably stop reading now unless you are just here for the stories. I mean in general... not just this recipe. I can't think of really anything I make that doesn't include those things. Usually in large quantities. My dad told me as he was writing this out "If someone is garlic sensitive you could use 5 cloves instead of six". I had to laugh...like 5 cloves vs. 6 is going to make a difference to someone who doesn't like garlic...and also why would I hang out with someone who didn't like garlic?! Please.

C) This is one of the few dishes I make that takes a pretty fair amount of time. Most everything I make is a simplified version because I rarely have much time to pour into making dishes that take more than an hour from prep to table. This dish however I save for days when I have all afternoon around the house. It has been so long since the last time I made it that I lost my original recipe and had to hit up my dad to write me out a new one (that I then changed). A good spaghetti sauce needs to cook for most of the day and is always better two or three days after you have put it in the fridge. Most sauces are like that, but that is good news for those of you who like leftovers. I already have plans to have a friend over on Wednesday to help me eat mine.

So enough rambling. Here is my resipe for made from scratch Spaghetti Sauce.

1- 6 oz. can tomato paste

1- 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (or San Marzano tomatoes if you have them)

1- 15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 quart (32 oz... or something like that) chicken stock

1/3 cup red wine* (optional)

6 oz. jar sliced mushrooms (drained) 

1/4 cup sugar

2 medium onion- diced

6 large cloves of garlic- minced

2 or 3 celery stalks- diced

1 green bell pepper- diced

olive oil


 Herb Mix (mix these together in a small dish and set aside before starting ) : 

1 Tbs dried parsley

1 Tbs dried basil** 

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp ground black pepper 


After you have cut up your veggies start by putting 2 Tbs of olive oil in the large pot (7.5 quart pot is perfect) you will be making the sauce in and heating over medium to medium high heat. Once oil has heated add the 6 oz. can of tomato paste and the 1/4 cup sugar and fry. It is important to stir this regularly...do not walk off and do something else or you will burn it.

Once the tomato paste and sugar have caramelized some (2-4 min.) add the diced onion, bell pepper, celery, minced garlic, and your herb mix. You may need to add a little more olive oil at this point as well. Cook siring regularly until your veggies are soft and onions translucent. Then add the wine, scraping at the bottom of the pan to get up any yummy caramelized bits. Let cook for another couple of minutes, continuing to stir. This will cook out the alcohol but leave a really lovely flavor that adds depth to your sauce.

Dump in your can of tomato sauce, can diced tomatoes (with liquid), drained mushrooms, and your chicken stock. Stir everything together and bring to a boil. If you are adding meatballs now is the time to fry those babies up and drop them in.

Once the sauce comes to a boil turn it down to low and let simmer the rest of the afternoon. You may need to add more stock or water if your sauce gets to thick for your likeing.

Lastly, right before you are ready to serve break your pasta (I like linguine in this) in half to better fit in the pot, crank up the heat, and cook the pasta in the sauce until done (10 ish min. give or take a few). Cooking your pasta in the sauce lets it absorb all the yummy flavor.

Enjoy!


*Notes on wine:

Always use a wine that you would drink. I have pretty cheap taste so this is pretty easy for me, but if you wouldn't enjoy drinking a glass of it then don't add it to your food. I used a Chianti Classico for this.

Another thing to keep in mind if you are planning to drink the rest of your now open bottle of wine with your meal is that red wine in particular really really needs to aerate and is best served at close to room temperature. So if you have a wine carafe (preferably with a lid) feel free to go ahead and transfer the continence of your bottle and set it on the table to wait till dinner. OR be sipped on as you cook. 

**Note on basil:

Either you like lots of basil or you don't. I do. If you don't then cut this back to 1 tsp.

-Catie