Messy rainy day here,working on reels,it's a spaghetti day,Raos sauce & texas toast,movie sorta day.
I know some of you guys must make your own sauce,meatballs,pasta,& bread.If its not a family secret,please share?
I have eaten in little Italy Baltimore a few times,my memory fails me
which restaurant,
but my favorite is Italian sausage link spaghetti!
Diced up garlic onion and mushrooms sauteed in olive oil, and then when they start to cook add a sploosh of cheap red wine and a but of butter. Let that simmer down a bit and add the meat before it's all boiled down. I'm very fond of mezzetta marinara sauce. Or whatever it's called. Something with an M. I can't eat real pasta anymore so I eat mine over shoestring French fries.
I tried Raos once after seeing a review about how great it was. I thought it pretty much sucked, but then Omaha has had a huge population of Italians and genuine Italian eateries for decades so it's easy to get spoiled. Most of the jarred pasta sauce makers seem to feel the need to add msg (hidden under "natural spices"). I wish they wouldn't taint their products with that crap!
The secret to great meatballs is just the right amount of moist Italian bread added to the ground beef. 🤔 😉
I use Prego Roasted Garlic & Herb with extra garlic, a small can of italian tomato paste, chili flakes, mushrooms, hamburger. Works for me. BTW, MSG is not horrible thing, it's basically low sodium salt.
For a quick sauce, I brown 1 lb of Italian sausage, maybe add some mushrooms and/or onion or garlic, add a jar of Newman's Own Sockarooni sauce, simmer and eat. For a from scratch sauce, I prefer a meat sauce.
Quote from: MarkT on May 02, 2026, 10:20:21 PMBTW, MSG is not horrible thing, it's basically low sodium salt.
I have a container in the spice cabinet. A little goes a long way, but really does act to crank up the umami. - john
Puttanesca is a quick but tasty dish. Italian whores could make it between clients... To make Puttanesca Sauce, follow this recipe from AI:
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup black olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and anchovies, cooking until fragrant.
Stir in crushed tomatoes, olives, capers, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Serve over pasta and garnish with fresh parsley
Quote from: MarkT on May 02, 2026, 10:20:21 PMBTW, MSG is not horrible thing, it's basically low sodium salt.
When sweat beads on your forehead, your stomach cramps up and you feel like crap for two days after you've unknowingly eaten it, it is not anything you want to consume regularly. MSG sucks and should identified on the ingredients list as such and not hidden as "natural spices".
Quote from: Midway Tommy on May 03, 2026, 05:03:33 AMQuote from: MarkT on May 02, 2026, 10:20:21 PMBTW, MSG is not horrible thing, it's basically low sodium salt.
When sweat beads on your forehead, your stomach cramps up and you feel like crap for two days after you've unknowingly eaten it, it is not anything you want to consume regularly. MSG sucks and should identified on the ingredients list as such and not hidden as "natural spices".
If the % is so low it's not listed as an actual ingredient, it's not any MSG giving you an issue!
Quote from: MarkT on May 03, 2026, 05:08:05 AMQuote from: Midway Tommy on May 03, 2026, 05:03:33 AMQuote from: MarkT on May 02, 2026, 10:20:21 PMBTW, MSG is not horrible thing, it's basically low sodium salt.
When sweat beads on your forehead, your stomach cramps up and you feel like crap for two days after you've unknowingly eaten it, it is not anything you want to consume regularly. MSG sucks and should identified on the ingredients list as such and not hidden as "natural spices".
If the % is so low it's not listed as an actual ingredient, it's not any MSG giving you an issue!
Yes it is/does, so we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Quote from: Midway Tommy on May 03, 2026, 05:18:40 AMQuote from: MarkT on May 03, 2026, 05:08:05 AMQuote from: Midway Tommy on May 03, 2026, 05:03:33 AMQuote from: MarkT on May 02, 2026, 10:20:21 PMBTW, MSG is not horrible thing, it's basically low sodium salt.
When sweat beads on your forehead, your stomach cramps up and you feel like crap for two days after you've unknowingly eaten it, it is not anything you want to consume regularly. MSG sucks and should identified on the ingredients list as such and not hidden as "natural spices".
If the % is so low it's not listed as an actual ingredient, it's not any MSG giving you an issue!
Yes it is/does, so we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Then son, you've got quite a condition. You should avoid all salt... not a bad idea considering all the salt in processed food.
We Had noodles left over & grilled jalapeño/cheese sausage with members mark tomato sauce,imo its as good as any store bought spaghetti sauce.I like to taste the tomato in the sauce.Added Italian seasoning just thrown together goodness!
I'm waiting for Dominick to reply here.
I don't think you guys would have the patience. The real deal takes 3 hours and it's definitely a secret.....
I am sure it is worth it!
Grow your own tomatoes make the pasta,sauce,meatballs,& bread sounds like a labor of love :al
The only part I do is grow
maters ...
Thanks for the request. I don't think I have put my Sunday gravy in writing. Right now it seems like a lot of typing, so I might create a PDF File and attach it at a later date. However, if you have a desire and patience to make a knock out meat sauce google and read several recipes to get the basics down. Once you understand the balancing of different meats, browning, timing of when to add the next ingredient you can make the recipe yours. Also, the gravy has very little herbs and spices relying on the natural flavors of the meat and tomatoes. Dominick
PS. Since taste is subjective add as much spice and heat as you want.
I recommend this recipe. https://coleycooks.com/authentic-italian-sunday-gravy/ Dominick
Recently went to 50/50 mix of ground pork and groud beef in the sauce- works really well.
I make 50-50 spicy ground sausage/ground beast meatballs and just throw em raw in the crockpot with 2 jars of Paul Newman Sockarooni sauce, let em simmer for a couple hours. I associate pasts with being broke, because when I was a kid my dad got paid once a month and sometimes we had more month than money, and if we were eating pasta that was not great news.