mama with wine
December 18, 2017 family stories / personal / recipes 0 Comment

…to Grandmother’s house we go” –to taste the flavors of the season! 

 MamaIn this LifetimeWriter Author’s Forum blog post, I’d like to encourage all to share a recipe with a theme –a traditional dish we each inherited from a beloved relative and we have updated with some personal flavors or a regional flair.

Julianne’s story…

In my youth, we called our grandmother “Mama,” and “Italian” was the cuisine.  Mama’s Christmas day feast began with antipasto plates brimming with meats and cheeses, tomatoes and onions dotted with exotic olives and peperoncino so hot they made me cry. The kids waited patiently while aunts and uncles plowed through the prelude to a feast we waited for all year long.

Soon Mama appeared with the fish and the chicken, and the kids waited some more.

Another hour or so passed and it looked like everyone was sated, but no! Miraculously, we all saved room in our tummies for the best of the best.  In no time at all, we spied Mama in the kitchen, balancing the platters on her petite but strong arms, and we all ran to help her.  She announced in a voice that sounded a bit like St. Nick: “Mangiare! Pasta and sauce for all and to all a good meal!”

Mama’s pasta sauce was a labor of love and she took all day to make it.  She used only the freshest ingredients from Dad’s garden, and she took such care to wash every piece of meat, stirring the pot constantly, gradually coaxing the flavors to blend. My hungry eyes were fixed on Mama as she added the ripe plum tomatoes, onions and garlic.  She sautéed them in only the very best extra virgin olive oil, which she bought in gallon containers. Before introducing the meat to the sauce, she washed and dried each piece of beef neck bone and lamb, and then hand-grated imported cheeses too. Red wine was her “secret” ingredient and no one really knows how much wine Mama added, but her sheepish grin revealed that maybe she had a sip or two while stirring!

And now, my sweet Mama is long gone from this life, but her recipe lives on with me and my cousins who think of her every time we add her signature sauce to lasagna, baked ziti, ravioli, spaghetti and manicotti for Christmas, New Year’s Day and many other feasts.

So that’s where this traditional recipe originated, and now, in 2017, I’ve changed it up a bit, and I wonder: Have you done the same with recipes handed down generation after generation in your family? If so, share them here!  

See below for Mama’s recipe and my personal adaptations:

Mama’s recipe Julianne’s update – see in red
Tomato Sauce for Pasta Dishes
Ingredients:2 large Cans of Whole Italian Plum Tomatoes1 small can of Tomato PasteWater, add until you have the desired consistency

Olive Oil, enough to cover onions

1/2 onion, sliced very thin

2-4 large cloves of garlic, diced

1 Tbsp. each: basil and parsley

1 Bay Leaf

1 Tbsp. ground pepper

1 Tbsp. salt

¼ cup any dry red wine. Mama used Fortissimo

½ cup block Locatelli Cheese

1 Package of beef neck bones or lamb

12 Ground Beef Meatballs

Prep:

Wash and dry meat, set aside.

Open all cans, set aside.

Strain whole plum tomatoes to remove seeds.

Slice onion very thin.

Dice garlic, set aside.

If using fresh basil and flat leaf parsley, coarse chop, set aside.

Grate Locatelli Cheese

Cook slowly, simmering on top of stove, low heat:

Place sliced onions in a large, heavy pot and add olive oil just until it covers onions.

Cook onions on low heat until transparent.

Add meat. Brown on all sides, increasing burner heat slightly.

When meat is browned, add wine.

Cover and simmer until liquid is reduced by ½.

Add plum tomatoes and tomato paste.

Stir well.

Add seasonings (basil, parsley, pepper, bay leaf)

Cook for 2-4 hours on low heat until tomatoes and paste and liquid is combined.

Add water a little at a time, until desired consistency is achieved.

Add salt, grated cheese, and garlic.

While the sauce is simmering, taste often to check for the need to add seasonings. Be careful not to salt too heavily.

Make meatballs, brown them, add to sauce.

Serve over pasta of choice with grated cheese on the side.

Serve meat on a separate platter.

 Tomato Sauce for Pasta Dishes
Ingredients:2 large Cans of Crushed Italian Plum Tomatoes or Puree1 small can of Tomato PasteWater, add until you have the desired consistency

Olive Oil, enough to cover onions

1/2 onion, sliced very thin

2-4 large cloves of garlic, diced

1 Tbsp. each: basil and parsley

1 Bay Leaf

1 Tbsp. ground pepper

1 Tbsp. salt

¼ cup any dry red wine. I use a good cabernet or chianti if I can’t find Fortissimo.

½ cup grated Locatelli Cheese

1 Package of Short Ribs

12 Turkey meatballs

or add no meat at all, as desired.

Prep:

Wash and dry meat, set aside.

Open all cans, set aside.

Slice onion very thin.

Dice garlic set aside.

If using fresh basil and flat leaf parsley, coarse chop, set aside.

Cook slowly, simmering on top of stove, low heat:

Place sliced onions in a large, heavy pot and add olive oil just until it covers onions.

Cook onions on low heat until transparent.

Add meat. Brown on all sides, increasing burner heat slightly.

When meat is browned, add wine.

Cover and simmer until liquid is reduced by ½.

If using short ribs, and they have released a lot of fat, remove and strain off the grease, then return to pot.

Add plum tomatoes and tomato paste.

Stir well.

Add seasonings (basil, parsley, pepper, bay leaf)

Cook for 2-4 hours on low heat until tomatoes and paste and liquid is combined.

Add water, a little at a time, until desired consistency is achieved.

Add salt, grated cheese, and garlic.

While the sauce is simmering, taste often to check for the need to add seasonings. Be careful not to salt too heavily.

Make meatballs, brown them, add to sauce.

Remove Bay Leaf. (My husband hated finding this leaf in his food!) Ha!

Serve over pasta of choice with grated cheese on the side.  Serve meat on a separate platter.

 “Hurrah for fun; the pudding’s done; Hurrah for the pumpkin pie.”