Rule of Thumb

Every ethnic family cook has some sort of tradition in their recipe. Some sort of secret ingredient. Or secret technique. A rule of thumb. It is passed down from family cook to family cook.

In my family, on the Italian side, it's how we make our sauce. Or, if it's with chopped meat, then we called it our "gravy".

We have thrown our own touches in it. Made it different ways. My Grandmother would squeeze her own tomatoes. My mother would press the garlic through a garlic press long before suburban moms everywhere thought Pampered Chef was a genius for "inventing" the garlic press.

Sometimes we used canned crushed tomatoes. Pureed tomatoes. Diced tomatoes. It had to be Red Pack. Or Rienzi. Never, ever, EVER Hunts. Or the generic store brand.

I've omitted the olive oil step. Don't feel we need the extra grease. We get enough grease from the meats that we toss into the sauce. I love to add red wine. Didn't have any tonight though. I've been known to even throw in a few dashes of bottled Italian Salad dressing. (Try it! It's actually pretty good that way!)

But...there are always the rules of thumb. Some things just can't be changed. And we have added our own rules of thumbs over the years.

My Grandmother's Rule of Thumb:

Always, Always, ALWAYS use a wooden spoon. NEVER a metal spoon!! Something about the acid in the tomatoes and the metal in the spoon....it ruins the sauce (or gravy). Not entirely sure of the scientifics behind the whole wooden spoon vs. the metal spoon, but just trust me. Not only me, but generations of italian cooks everywhere. Always use a wooden spoon.

My Mother's Rule of Thumb:

Fresh, Grated Parmesan Cheese. Right in the sauce.Sounds kooky, but oh so good. Adds great flavor. Adds saltiness. Can't make the sauce without it.

And my Rule of Thumb:

I take this...a green bell pepper.....

And I put it in the chopper and turn it to this:

Frothy.

Bubbly.

Wonderfully pureed green bell pepper. And I add it to the pot.

This is actually something I discovered one day while making an entirely different dish, but it was a tomato based dish. I had meant to save some time dicing up the pepper and threw it in my chopper. I let the blades spin just a tad bit too long and ended up with this wonderful, aromatic, pepper, green, frothy puree. Not wanting to waste it, I decided to toss it into the dish.

A few months ago, I decided to try this with my sauce. It works. It works quite well. I'm not turning back. This is my rule of thumb that I will pass on to my children when I teach them how to make this sauce.

So, what goes in the pot? Three cans of pureed tomatoes. One can of beef broth. Whatever herbs you prefer. I use dried Italian Seasoning. I never remember my Grandmother or my Mother chopping up herbs. I just remember a whole lot of shaking of little bottles over the steaming pot.

A whole lot of this:

Yum. Garlic!

Of course, the grated cheese. Kosher salt. Ground pepper. And that pureed pepper.

And I let it slowly come to a bubble while I prep these:

My meatballs. Ground Beef. Or you can use ground turkey. Ground pork. A combination of different ground meats. It's all good.

I mix it with Italian Seasoning, Garlic Salt, Onion Powder, Italian Bread Crumbs, Egg, and of course another heaping handful of that Parmesan Cheese.

Roll them into the size of your choice. I usually keep them about golf ball size. Maybe a little bigger.

Look at them. You can see the seasonings and even the little grates of cheese. (Grates of cheese? Is that the correct terminology?)

Perfect.

Another rule of thumb...they go right into the bubbling sauce. No baking! Add any other meats you wish to simmer and flavor the sauce with. I added Italian sausages, cut in half. I love to add pork. My favorite is Braciole. But for tonight, it's just the meatballs and sausage.

Let it simmer. And simmer. And simmer some more. The house will smell wonderful. And your pasta of choice will be amazing.Don't forget to stir. And don't forget to use that wooden spoon.