TOMATO SAUCE

I haven't made this yet, but once my neighbor gives me more tomatoes I'm totally on it. YUM!


TOMATO SAUCE
4 pounds sad, unloved tomatoes (some swear by romas, I’ve had success with all varieties)

1/4 cup olive oil
Small onion
2 to 3 small cloves of garlic
1/2 medium carrot
1/2 stalk of celery
1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
Slivers of fresh basil, to finish

Peel your tomatoes: Bring a pot of water to boil. Cut a small X at the bottom of each tomato. Blanche the tomatoes in the boiling water for 10 to 30 seconds, then either rinse under cold water or shock in an ice water bath. Peeling the tomatoes should now be a cinch. If one gives you trouble, toss it back in the boiling water for another 10 seconds until the skin loosens up. Discard the skins (or get crafty with them).

Finish preparing your tomatoes: If using plum tomatoes, halve each lengthwise. If using beefsteak or another round variety, quarter them. Squeeze the seeds out over a strainer over a bowl and reserve the juices. (You can discard the seeds, or get crafty with them.) Either coarsely chop you tomatoes on a cutting board or use a potato masher to do so in your pot, as you cook them in a bit.

Prepare your vegetables: I finely chop my onion, and mince my carrot, celery and garlic, as does Bastianich. Batali grates his carrots. Burell pulses all four on the food processor to form a paste. All of these methods work.

Cook your sauce: Heat your olive oil in a large pot over meduim. Cook your onions, carrots, celery and garlic, if you’re using them, until they just start to take on a little color, about 10 minutes. I really like to concentrate their flavor as much as possible. Add your tomatoes and bring to a simmer, lowering the heat to medium-low to keep it at a gentle simmer. If you haven’t chopped them yet, use a potato masher to break them up as you cook them. Simmer your sauce, stirring occasionally. At 30 minutes, you’ll have a fine pot of tomato sauce, but at 45 minutes, you might just find tomato sauce nirvana: more caramelized flavors, more harmonized texture.

If your sauce seems to be getting thicker than you want it to be, add back the reserved tomato juice as need. If your sauce is too lumpy for your taste, use an immersion blender to break it down to your desired texture. (“Blasphemy!” some will say, but they’re not in the kitchen with you. So there.) Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and more to taste. I like somewhere between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon for 4 pounds of tomatoes. Scatter fresh basil over the pot before serving. Taste once more. Swear you’ll never buy jarred sauce again.

Recipe source Smitten Kitchen & there are more tips and tricks and there are lovely pictures of the making of the tomato sauce.

ROMAN RECIPE

My first attempt at a true from scratch Roman Recipe. Last week I was watching Anthony Bourdain No Reservations and he was in Rome eating some delicious food and I was jealous.  So I jotted down some ingredients from a few of the recipes that they actually told you what was in them.  I did some online research trying to find true roman recipes not just "hey I'm going to call myself Italian because I have pasta in me" recipe. I couldn't find this recipe so I just had to kind of guess at the amount of ingredients.  I did find some other yummy Roman recipes that I will be trying soon. More of those to come. :)
So I don't even know what the name of this recipe is because I wasn't smart enough to write that down....only the ingredients.
So this is what I did.

NO NAME ROMAN RECIPE (if you know the name let me know)

5 pieces of bacon chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
White Wine (maybe a few tablespoons or less-I think I used too much)
8 ounces Rigatoni
15 ounce can Tomato Sauce
Parmesan

Heat olive oil in a pan
Add chopped bacon, Cook
[Separate pan, boil water, add rigatoni, & cook for 10-12 minutes until you like it]
Add white wine, cook until looks like bacon is completely done & starting to get some crisp
Add tomato sauce
Drain Rigatoni and add to sauce mix
Serve
Top with Parmesan

Something they were debating on the show was whether or not to add onion.  I personally like onion but my boys don't so I left it out.  I guess the original recipe did not have onion, but over the years some restaurants have begun to add onion.  So up to you.  If you do add onion you add it while you are cooking the bacon.

This recipe had an interesting flavor, but like I said I think I put too much white wine in. It was good though.  My kiddos did not like it though, so just make it for the adults & whip up some mac & cheese for the kiddos.