The Legendary Sauce

Here it is everyone. You've heard all about it. Finally, the day has come. My personal, homemade, Mrs. Solazzo’s inspired, Marinara Sauce. For years, I have been trying to replicate my mom’s sauce always never coming to par with her taste and quality. BUT the day has finally come… well it’s pretty close but still nothing will ever compare to her sauce. NEVERTHELESS, I think this might be the closest I could get without growing long brown hair, wearing heels, and sounding like I’m straight from Brooklyn.

My mom is the best cook I know. Now that I think about it, there has never been a time when I didn’t enjoy her cooking. Every time I come home, I know I’m gonna get a delicious homemade meal. And I can’t explain it but it always makes me feel 10 times better. It could be that I’m just home with my family, or it could be the drugs she crushes on top of the pasta (just kidding… I hope), either way something reminds me that I’ll be ok. It must be the mama’s touch. The other day, I was walking home with my friends and I heard my friend’s heels clack on the ground and I instantly felt relaxed and settled. I told my friend later that my mom always wears heels and it reminded me of home. Although it was an extremely awkward moment when she thought I considered her motherly, it made me realize how much I miss my family. OK! I’m a momma’s boy. I admit it. Anyway, I knew it was time to make something in her honor. And here it is; my mom’s inspired homemade sauce. I hope you enjoy this sauce and feel the same warmth in your heart as I did.  

The sauce is relatively easy to make. I would like to share some helpful hints before I give you the recipe. Sauce reminds me of wine a bit. The longer it sits (on the stove), the better it gets. The best sauce I ever had was when my mom made sauce when she woke up and let it sit on the stove (on low heat) all day. Even my friend Annie Betz, whom I have been friends with since we met freshman year at orientation, agrees with me when we made it the other day. We were so anxious to taste the sauce that we had a spoonful every 15 minutes. And BY GOLLY, I was right. The sauce got better and better as it sat on the stove. However, if you’re in a rush, sauce can take as little as 20-30 minutes to make. Another helpful hint I would like to add is… when I make sauce I always throw some sort of meat in there, such as sausage or meatballs. The meat adds a lot of flavor to a sauce and gives it a little more body to it. And on the plus side, the sausage or meatballs soaks up all of that sauce and tastes even more delicious.

Thank you all for reading our blog, Shut Up and Eat. We really appreciate all of the comments and likes on facebook. Please feel free to comment below to tell us what you think or follow us on Twitter for updates. You can also submit your e-mail on the side bar to receive e-mails every time we post! Now, Shut Up and Eat.

Bon Appetite,

Dom

The Legendary Sauce:

Click here for the PRINTABLE VERSION!

Ingredients:

2 cans of Crushed Tomatoes

4 sweet (or hot) sausage links

½ medium sized red onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

3 Tbls. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tbls. Fresh (or dried) Basil, chopped

Spices: Garlic powder, Emril’s Original Essence Seasoning, Crushed Red Pepper, Oregano, Italian Herb Seasoning. Add about 2 tsp. of each to sauce, to taste.

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Description:

To start, you have to cook the sausage a little bit so the raw meat doesn’t mix with your sauce. In a medium-large sauce pan, heat up the olive oil on medium heat. Throw the sausage on when the pan starts to get hot and wait for it to brown on all sides, flipping them over occasionally for a couple of minutes.

After that has cooked, throw in the red onion and garlic and let them brown as well (2-3 minutes). Once everything is browned, open the 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and pour slowly into the pot… At this point I would put on an apron because sauce is notorious for spilling everywhere.

Stir the crushed tomatoes in with the sausage, onions, and garlic and change to low heat. After that, it’s time to spice it up, Emril Style. BAM! Place all of your spices into the pot including the chopped basil. Remember that not all of these spices are necessary and can be changed with spices that are more desirable to your palate.

Stir in all of your herbs and let the sauce rest on the stove for at least 20 minutes, uncovered. Like I said, you can leave the sauce on the stove all day if you wanted to… checking and stirring it occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn on the bottom. My mom uses this stove plate that she places under the pot that keeps the sauce from burning… I have to get one of those. 

Anyways, let the sauce cook for as long as you want and place it on every kind of meal you can think of. I use it for pasta (of course), mix in with veggies and rice... (Quinoa and Roasted Veggies Recipe), chicken parm, anything your heart desires. And if you can't think of anything to use it with simply put it in some tupperware and place it in the freezer. It's always good to have some extra sauce ready to eat... except when its jarred and from a store. Then no, it's not good. I hope you all enjoy my legendary sauce! 

Now, Shut Up and Eat.