Like my favorite movie heroine Kathleen Kelly, "I like to start my letters to you as if we were already in the middle of a conversation"
(You've Got Mail).
You see, in my head, this conversation between you and me has been going on for quite some time now. I've had so much to share with you.
So here I am, continuing our talk. Only now I've let you in on it. Aren't I thoughtful?
Welcome to my flavor spot,
my talk-about-food spot,
my set-my-obsession-free-at-last spot.
If you'd like to read more about my vision for this place, please visit the "About" page up at the top of this screen. Or just read on and figure it out for yourself.
Beginning with my all-time favorite dinner dish seemed fitting for our first official conversation, so let's start with a fabulous and simple fresh tomato sauce. From as early on as I can remember, my mother made spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner almost weekly. It was our staple, our I'm-not-in-the-mood-for-anything-but-spaghetti-sounds-good meal. And despite its weekly appearance on our menu, spaghetti was my birthday dinner of choice every year. And my dad's. And my sister's. There's something about spaghetti that makes your palate smile.
When I purchased a little basket of baby heirloom tomatoes over the summer, I decided it was time to perfect my own spaghetti sauce recipe. My sauce would need to have great chopped-up texture and the classic flavor that reminded me of mom's kitchen, but I also wanted it to have fresh, fresh, fresh ingredients. The recipe that follows is merely a blueprint--my sauces are different every time--but at the very least, it offers the best sort of instructions:
Chop it up and throw it into the pan.
With a short list of fresh ingredients, this sauce pairs well with any pasta, any pizza crust, and any big tasting spoon. Plus it's the perfect way to savor the last of this summer's tomatoes all winter long (pour prepared and cooled sauce into a clean ice cube tray, freeze, and store cubes in a Ziploc bag in the freezer...instant summer!).
But what am I doing trying to convince you that tomato sauce is divine? You already know that! Let's just get to it already:
Fresh Tomato Sauce
Olive oil
Olive oil
minced garlic
diced white onion
fresh basil
fresh parsley
ripe tomatoes, diced
can or two of tomato sauce (less sauce means chunkier, more sauce means saucier)
dash of onion powder
s&p
(If need be, dried herbs may be substitutes for the fresh basil and parsley,
canned stewed tomatoes for the fresh ones,
and dried onion for the diced white one.)
diced white onion
fresh basil
fresh parsley
ripe tomatoes, diced
can or two of tomato sauce (less sauce means chunkier, more sauce means saucier)
dash of onion powder
s&p
(If need be, dried herbs may be substitutes for the fresh basil and parsley,
canned stewed tomatoes for the fresh ones,
and dried onion for the diced white one.)
In a large skillet, sauté onion and garlic in a generous drizzle of olive oil. When the onions have become soft (being careful not to burn the garlic), add the fresh basil and stir for a few seconds to release its juices.
I don't know if there is any truth to this releasing-of-the-juices, but I feel like it lets the flavors emerge in the right way.
Stir in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, and let simmer. Now is the time to add any additions that sound good (see below for tips), and to begin boiling the water for your pasta in a separate saucepan. Once the pasta is ready, the sauce will have had nice, adequate time to meld its flavors together and become truly fabulous.
Of course the more carefree instructions would be to dump all ingredients into a pan at once, like you see above. That works too. I've just found that the flavors are more present if you release them one at a time.
Toss-ins to consider:
zucchini or squash
mushrooms
browned ground beef, sausage, or turkey
bell peppers
fresh spinach leaves
Happy palate-pleasing!