So, our son Mark came over for dinner a couple weeks ago. The kids always come for dinner on Sunday night. We love having them come over and spend time with us. We like our family. We like to see them, to be with them, to talk to them, to hug them, to kiss them. We appreciate them. Liz and Cory and Wes were in Wisconsin, so it was just us and Mark.
He called on Saturday and said he had seen a recipe for some pasta dish and could we make that? This, in itself, was news. As far as I know, he has never read a recipe. He said he just saw it in the paper and it looked good. I said, go for it. If you bring the stuff, we will make it. I NEVER thought he would really shop for the ingredients and actually bring them. But he did.
He came in with pasta and Italian sausage and cans of tomatoes and spices. Whoa. I was really impressed. And a little intimidated. Apparently, we had to make this sauce from scratch. I've never made pasta sauce from scratch. I mean, I knew it was a possibility. It has to get into those Ragu jars somehow. But I always thought it was something only, like, Rachel Ray did.
But, you know what? It's easy!! We just sauteed (I sauteed!) onions, garlic and spices and then added cans of chopped tomatoes. Then we pureed (I pureed!) them in the blender. We added some more spices and salt and pepper, but that's it. We had sauce. That's it? You mean I could have been making homemade sauce all these years? Cool. And, really, we didn't even need to saute the onions and stuff because he bought the chopped tomatoes with onions and garlic in them. And I think I have seen canned chopped tomatoes with Italian and other seasonings, when I was looking for the Ragu. So, maybe I'll get those. I'm very excited.
And, a whole 'nother issue. Italian sausage? Is delicious. I thought Italian sausage was some exotic meat that only, say (again) Rachel Ray used. But it's, like, regular sausage - only Italian. It's easy to buy, easy to cook and it's delicious.
Whole culinary worlds are opening up to me now.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
My Son, The Chef
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3 comments:
It is absolutely amazing how much fresh veggies totally transform a dish. Often times I buy already cut and canned veggies (or frozen) so I can skip a step. Then I'll get a wild hair and use fresh-and the dish is so much better!
It is also very easy to make home made alfedo with flour, butter, whole milk, and shaved/grated parmesian. Quick and delish.
I have totally switched to only making my own sauce. I think it is so much better! I am now also making my own pasta, which really isn't hard either. You would not believe the difference it makes!!
Okay, I might have to give this "fresh" thing a try. I'm a Ragu girl also but, hey, I like to cook. I'll give it a try! And Sis, one of the reasons you like my spaghetti so much is that it's loaded with Italian sausage. You forgot?! Surely not.
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