Rainy Day Sauce

Whatever you call it, tomato sauce, Marinara, gravy, it’s here to help. When it’s been raining for a couple days, a simmering sauce makes everybody feel better. The ancient Italians invented red tomato sauce over 100 years ago. It happened during a period when it rained for 100 days without stopping. I am pretty sure this is true.

I get pureed tomatoes percolating with garlic and onions. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. After a couple hours, I add hot (ancient) Italian sausage that I break up with my fingers into little bits. That stews with the tomatoes for another half hour. All of the lovely pork goodness commingles with the sauce.

This new pasta recipe is a done deal for me. They say the third time is the charm, but this pasta had me from ‘hello’ (I’m blushing). What was the lesson learned? I think mixing time is as important as resting time. I usually mixed for a minute or two, then let the ball rest for an hour. Now, I am mixing for 8 – 10 minutes with an hour rest afterwards. I am using a standing mixer, so I guess I could try mixing it for a half hour. No extra sweat on my part, but my Kitchen Aid has started growling at me.

I have also been rolling out pasta fatter than I use to. I like the toothyness. And, I have been cutting it wider. The last batch was over an inch. The Italians have a name for every pasta width. I believe they call this style “Wideio”. That’s Italian for “wide”.