So I'm cooking my sauce, finally

[bicentennial_baby]

I kinda started a mini-Italian flame war over marinara sauces in the Lounge, buuuut.... :D

It looks and smells incredible!! Been on for about 45 minutes now...bubbling away.

Ingredients:

5 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
1/2 Green pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 bay leaf
Fresh basil
a lil fresh Oregano
Hot Italian Sausage
Sweet Italian Sausage
Pork Chops
San Marzano tomatoes (2 cans)

I think that's all, hehe...I'll let you know how it goes. And yes, I took y'alls advice and seared the meat first, and deglazed the pan. Worked well. :)

Yay! :bounce:

[Skidmore]

1. What!!?! No 'shrooms?

Sacrilege.

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Sorry, I live with 2 shroom-a-phobes

I'd never get that past them, trust me...sigh :)

[wryter2000]

3. Apostate!

Where's the red wine? Oh, the humanity. :rofl:

[bicentennial_baby]

4. Oh jeebus....is no one ever happy?

:eyes: I've gotten more criticism of this than anything on DU....ever.

[Skidmore]

5. Actually, your recipe does sound delicious.

[bicentennial_baby]

10. Thank you

It came out great :)

[wryter2000]

8. I was kidding.

Honest. :loveya:

I do almost exactly what you do and let the sauce cook for a long time. I like the addition of red wine, though.

[bicentennial_baby]

11. I'll try that next time...

How much, and when do I add it? Do you use it for deglazing, or something else?

:)

[wryter2000]

14. I just dump some in with the tomatoes.

It makes the sauce watery, but that's okay because it thickens while it simmers. I have no idea how much. Usually until the sauce looks a little purple-y. That color goes away as it simmers, too.

[Stinky The Clown]

6. Okay ... this is not a criticism of your recipe, and most importantly.....

.... not of you.

The etymology of 'marinara' sauce in Napolitano. It is a sauce that was made for sailors retuning from the sea. Many think, because of the very word (a derivative of the Italian word for 'sea' or 'ocean') it was either what sailors made while at sea or it involves seafood. Neither is true.

It is a simple, basic, (relatively) quickly cooked tomato sauce.

I honestly can't say what the original recipe was, but it is, essentially, some garlic sweated out in olive oil to which one adds chopped tomatoes and herbs. The herbs are at least parsley and basil. Most people also add oregano. Neither meat nor seafood are added. The other essential element is speed. It is usually cooked no longer than 30 minutes, and often even less.

It also forms the basis for a nearly endless array of variants, some of which do, in fact, involve meat or seafood. They may also involve all manner of vegetables.

The recipe you posted is as legitimate a variant as any I can imagine. However, it could tend more to a ragout if the cooking time is lengthened.

There are NO hard and fast rules and there is no such thing as the Marinara Sauce Police.

Here's the REALLY essential question: Did you enjoy it? If the answer is 'yes', then that's ALL that matters.

More than many cuisines, the Italian cuisine is pretty forgiving. It is at least as much about the sensibilities of Italian cooking as it is specific recipes or even ingredients. California cuisine has borrowed much from it. The essentials are fresh ingedients and unfussy preparation. The fewer ingredients, the more typically 'Italian' it would be.

Buon appetito!

[bicentennial_baby]

12. Yes, I enjoyed it...

and the people I cooked for enjoyed it immensely. :)

A little too tart, a little too fatty for me...Otherwise good. Needs work. I wrote down what I used exactly, so I can tweak it. :)

Suggestions? :)

[Gormy Cuss]

15. Try cooking the sausage on the side.

My Italian-American friends don't cook the meat in the 'gravy.' They brown the meat and cook the sauce using the same pan, and may throw in one chop for flavor, but the sausage, meatballs, and other meats are fully cooked separately. That makes it easier to minimize the greasiness and the meat has better texture. The meat can go back in the pot for the last 30-60 minutes or can be added at the table.

For cutting tartness, you need to play around with that each time because your tomatoes may vary in acidity. Salt may help. My mother used to put a chunk of carrot into the sauce to sweeten it when needed (the carrot is fished out and discarded before serving.) I'm also from the school of thinking that a splash of wine adds a nice depth of flavor.

H2S explained marinara to us. Maybe next he'll explain the meaning of putanesca, another quick red sauce with red pepper and capers and olives ;)

[The empressof all]

7. For real gravy You need

Meatballs, Braciole and a little Panchetta and you need to add tomato paste.

I'm sure it will turn out fine....Just not authentic

[Warpy]

9. You're going to love the difference searing and deglazing

will make in the final sauce.

Sure, sauces you throw raw meat into will cook and be OK. This one will be OUTSTANDING.

(next time try some crushed fennel seed, too)

[bicentennial_baby]

13. Twas yummy....

I think that's how my mom does it, tastes very similar...Yum :9