my father remarried an italian woman after my parents divorce. that woman's grandmother was an INCREDIBLE cook!! omg, eating at her house was an EVENT!! makes my mouth water thinking about it

anyway, her meals always seemed to start out with what i thought, and would have been just fine with, what i thought was a main course. it was a fantastic red sauce and mostacolli (sp?). then would usually come a mouth watering salad with most incredible dressing, i have never had any like it before or since. followed by what is similar to a chicken spideni (again with the spelling?) - it was like a flattened chicken breast, hand breaded, fried golden, but not really 'fried' like fried chicken ... there was definately some garlic - quite a bit of garlic in there my goodness it was so good!

i had all of those recipes written down, but can no longer find them i have been out of touch for many years with my dads ex, he died 21 years ago, so calling her up to get a recipe (if i could even find her) would be strange to say the least lol. if any of you know this recipe and would be so kind as to share, i would be very grateful!

what i remember about the sauce is that it was very basic ingredients, there was no meat in it, when i made it before, i was thinking the whole time 'this is never gonna work' because it was so watery. the secret is that it has to cook for quite awhile to thicken up... please help, i want to have this again
[Edited 5/30/09 14:46pm]

This is usually how I make mine:

2 cans crushed tomatoes
olive oil
lots of garlic
crushed red pepper
1/2 a yellow onion, chopped
dried or fresh basil, oregano, rosemary
sugar
salt and pepper

Smash a bunch of garlic cloves with the side of a knife, or mince them if you want. Pour a few tablespoons of good olive oil into the pan, along with the garlic and a few good shakes of crushed red pepper. Turn the heat on low, and allow the garlic to roast and infuse the oil with its flavor. When the garlic begins to brown (but before it gets too brown), turn the heat up to medium and throw in the chopped yellow onion. Saute until soft, then pour in the tomatoes, a handful or two of sugar, lots of herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and taste, and adjust seasonings. Simmer for hours with a crooked lid, enough to keep it partially covered but letting some steam out so it can cook down and reduce.

Optional: a splash of red wine with the herbs, some mushrooms when you throw in the onions, or a bunch of fresh grated Parmesan stirred in at the end.

Is this it?

Ingredients
10 red ripe whole tomatoes (beefsteak, use more for romas)
5 garlic cloves
1 cup fresh basil leaf
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt
crushed red pepper flakes, for arrabiata sauce (angry sauce) (optional)

Directions

1.Wash, and core tomatoes. I also like to cut the little "nub" off of the bottom of the tomato. Just the nub, and this will make it easier to remove the skins from the tomatoes.

2.Place whole tomatoes in a large pot and drizzle 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over tomatoes. Place lid on pot and heat over medium.

3.After about 15 minutes give the tomatoes a stir (I use a fork to do this), ensuring not to break them up. This moves the ones on top to the bottom to help the skins to become loose and to prevent burning any skins. Cover and allow to cook for 15 more minutes.

4.After 15 minutes, take a fork and fish out a tomato from the bottom. Keeping the tomato in the pot, use two forks, or a fork and wood spoon to start removing the skins. If you like, you can take the tomato out and place on a plate or in a bowl to do this, just make sure you keep the juices. If the tomatoes are not fully ready to be skinned, put the lid back on and check every 5 minutes. (This is the most time consuming part, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes really simple.).

5.After all or most of the skins have been discarded, lower the temperature to medium low and allow to simmer uncovered. This is simply stewed tomatoes at this point.

6.Once an hour, check the sauce and stir thoroughly. Using a wooden spoon, start to break up the tomatoes over the period of checking them. (Note: Don’t break them all the way up on the first, second of even third time of checking them. Break them down over time).

7.After about 5 hours, smash all tomatoes with whatever instrument you can find that will work. Add garlic cloves whole, use more than 5 if you like, I DO! (Do not mince/chop garlic) Allow to simmer for another hour. (Note: If you feel the sauce has reached your desired consistency or is nearing, you can add the garlic earlier).

8.After 1 more hour, the garlic should be soft enough to smash easily on the side of the pot and the garlic will literally disintegrate into the sauce. If sauce is at your desired consistency, you can remove from the hot eye at this point and go to the next step, if you like your sauce a little less runny, or thicker, leave on and continue to monitor to your liking.

9.Once the sauce is to your desired consistency, remove from heat and add 1 cup of fresh basil leaves, stir. Fresh is important to making really good sauce. Salt to taste. If you like a little spice, add some crushed red pepper.

Don't be afraid to season the hell out of it. Really. Just keep tasting so you don't over-season. But in my experience people tend to err on the side of under-seasoning.

that first recipe is getting close...


the thing is, there was never any 'bits' in her sauce at all, it was so smooth...no chopped up onion or garlic visible. i did read a recipe that said to put a whole onion in (peeled and ends cut off of course) then removing it after its cooked for several hours - you get the taste, but no whole onion pieces.


as far as using the whole tomatoes, dont you then end up with the skin and the seeds in there? where do those things go?? maybe they cook away...

i DID forget however about the parmesan cheese at the end!!! i know she added quite a bit of that

oh dear god, we are so close!! this is the most amazing pasta sauce i have ever had - trust, i will be doing a happy dance in the kitchen if i can either find the one i had or take hints from all the recipes together!! thanks for reminding me about the cheese


think about it, this is such a cheap meal, easy to make, you can make a huge batch of sauce and then break it down and freeze it. you can toss in other stuff if you want or have it on its own - so yummy, so damn yummy!!

oh, ok, if my silly ass would just learn to read

i see where the skins and garlic goes now thanks ladies

does anyone know if you could do this in a crockpot? like, not the original mixing, cooking part - but the part that has it cooking for 4 or 5 hours

nakedpianoplayer said:

Take one Italian from Jersey Beat Profusely, let sit

Pssst, don't use the whole tomatoes. It won't have the texture you're after.

As a matter of fact, you can use my recipe and substitute tomato puree for the crushed tomatoes; that's the smoothest. And you can omit the chopped onion and use a little onion powder. My grandmother would smash the garlic cloves and throw them in like that, then when it was done she would take them out. She also would add a dash of chili powder in with her seasonings, but I never do that.

PunkMistress said:

yes yes, thats part of it too, i forgot, you have to let the steam escape or it wont thicken!

we are getting so close...

nakedpianoplayer said:

Yes, of course.

PunkMistress said:

im getting excited...

im pushing my luck here, but what about that chicken?? does that recipe sound formiliar?

nakedpianoplayer said:

I make it about once a week. Sometimes with meatball and sausage, sometimes with mushrooms. Sometimes over chicken parm, sometimes just over pasta, or for meatball subs. I don't eat meat, so when I make chicken parmigiana for everyone else, I make tofu parm for myself. I slice a block of tofu into thin rectangles, then bread it and fry it just like the chicken cutlets and cook with the sauce and mozzarella. Yum!

Anyone who grew up in an Italian family will most likely have fond memories of waiting for dinner and their grandmother handing them a slice of Italian bread dipped in the bubbling sauce.

nakedpianoplayer said:

Not specifically, but one of the secrets to melt-in-your-mouth Italian chicken breasts is pounding them. I don't have a proper mallet, so I end up pounding them with my fists. Put the breast or cutlet between two sheets of plastic, and pound evenly until it is about 1/4 inch thick.

Pat dry, then set up a tray or pan with flour, one with a couple of beaten eggs, and one with Italian seasoned bread crumbs mixed with Parmesan cheese (about a 2:1 ratio). You can mix some fresh chopped parsley in with the bread crumbs too, yum.

Dredge the chicken in flour, then dip in egg, shaking off excess, then press into the breadcrumbs. Be sure to really press the breadcrumbs onto the cutlets, leaving no spaces uncovered. Fry them in about 1/4 inch of olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan for about 2-3 minutes on each side, turning once with tongs. Take them out, shake off the oil and place on paper towels to drain. You can eat them like that, or bake them with your sauce and some nice fresh mozzarella cheese for chicken parm. Or you can look up a nice butter-white wine sauce online and pour that over them.

PunkMistress said:

freakin meatball subs!!!!!

i totally promised my son that i would find a recipe that we could try those at home since im not big on eating that kinda "mixed up" meat(?) in public places - it never really looks like what you make at home lol...

this is perfect! so now, i can make the sauce from scratch, cheap cheap cheap! make a large batch of meatballs (i make really good ones) and then freeze them in meal size portions. so, for dinner all i would need to buy is the rolls (lord dont get me started on making those from scratch) lol... and the cheese on top!


in case anyone is wondering what the hell im doing, im trying to find ways to stretch the buck around here in my meal planning. my kids are used to eating good dinners since i love to be in the kitchen - but the cost of food is killing me every month so i am trying to find good but inexpensive ways to satisfy their meal needs...especially since its summer and i have to feed them what seems like 200 times a day


thanks for the help hun

PunkMistress said:

yummy!! ok, im dyin over here

by the way, are you a fantastic cook who just knows a ton of recipes, or is this a family thing?

Make sure the olive oil is nice and hot before placing the cutlets in, or they will just soak up oil and the breading will fall off. But you don't want it too hot, or the outside will burn before the chicken is cooked through. You want bubbles to immediately start sizzling around the chicken when you lay it in the pan, but you don't want it foaming crazily - that's too hot. I usually pinch off a piece of the breading off an edge and drop it in to test the oil. If I get the nice bubbles immediately, I know it's hot enough.

And to avoid getting splattered by hot oil, take the cutlet in two hands and gently lay the widest end in first with one hand, holding the pointier end in the other hand. Let go of the wide end, then quickly kind of roll the cutlet away from you as you lay the rest into the oil. I hope that makes sense.

PunkMistress said:

it does

im so excited about this

nakedpianoplayer said:

Um, both?

I love to cook for my family, but I first learned at the knee of my grandmother who was born in Calabria, southern Italy.

nakedpianoplayer said:

Yay!



I love food!

nakedpianoplayer said:

you mean a Marinara suace then ?

nakedpianoplayer said:

I make my sauces in the morning and then put them in a crock pot to simmer all day before dinner

nakedpianoplayer said:

No problem. I have a family of six and we're in the same damn boat right now.

My secret for meatball subs: Take some nice Provolone cheese (or whatever you've got, really) and cut it into 1/2-inch cubes. When you're making your meatballs, hide a cheese cube in the middle of each one. When you cook the meatballs, the cheese melts and everyone always loves them.

Mach said:

Usually marinara is more chunky than smooth, with onions and chunks of tomato.

i found what appears to be a fantastic recipe for baked ziti - its kinda out of the norm, since instead of ricotta or cottage cheese its using sour cream! the recipe is here... http://allrecipes.com/Rec...etail.aspx i figure any recipe with 3,178 COMMENTS after it is something that i wanna know about

again, it seems to make a lot, wouldnt be that expensive at all if you were making your own sauce! and the kids would like it a lot. read it and see what you think...


being very moneywise right now, i also looked up a recipe for homemade pizza sauce http://allrecipes.com/Rec...etail.aspx and i know i can make the crust dough in the bread maker - so for very little money put into cheese costs and some pepperoni (hamburger is easy enough to fry up from another recipe and keep some behind for this) you have a dinner that could cost you a total of maybe 5 bucks and its all made here so i know exactly what the kids are getting...

nakedpianoplayer said:

That's my favorite part of making mostly everything from scratch...that, plus it just tastes better!

PunkMistress said:

WTF ? So was I thinking a Vodka sauce ?

PunkMistress said:

there we go!!!!

thats freakin awesome! thanks so much for sharing all these lovely hints and helps i will think of you, and your grandma everytime i serve these meals!

PunkMistress said:

what do you think of that ziti recipe? think its gonna be any good?