Monday, February 2, 2009

February 1 Homemade Pasta Sauce





The only food I can make from scratch is pasta sauce. I had my mom teach me how to make sauce when I was a kid. I have a ritual whenever I make the sauce that I have followed for as long as I can remember. I listen to Billy Joel's "The Stranger" album. I think that it started years ago because the LP sleeve had a picture of the band sitting in a NYC apartment eating Italian food at a kitchen table. So that image and the song called "Scene From An Italian Restaurant" remind me of making pasta. I also put aside the whole day for making the sauce. I really enjoy the whole process, from cutting the garlic cloves, the wonderful smell of garlic roasting in olive oil, adding the paste, whole tomatoes and then the puree, the spices, the wine, the sausage, making the meatballs, tasting the sauce as it cooks and adding more oregano or a pinch of salt, making the garlic bread, grating the parmigiano reggiano and romano cheeses. Then cleaning up the whole mess while it cooks the rest of the day. Then, as in this case, the friends coming over for the Super Bowl Party, opening bottles of wine, having a beer, catching up, telling stories, laughing, enjoying the game. Thanks to Walt, Eric, Mike & Pat for stopping by. Notice one advantage of our cold winter, free snow to keep the beer cold.

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