Even in the garage I could detect the familiar fragrance. Garlic! As I entered the kitchen my eyes locked on to a large pot on the front burner. Drops of thick red tomato sauce were leaping from the pot, speckling the surrounding stovetop while instantly spreading on the surface. I turned the temperature control to low.

There was music playing. Some sexy jazz station was softly whispering from the receiver in the family room.

As I turned I saw a sock on the floor. Then another. Beyond the socks were a pair of jeans, then a tee shirt. I followed the trail of clothes to the hallway. I opened the bathroom door to find Tom reclined in a tub filled with bubbles, surrounded by candles emitting a soft glow.

“Welcome home” he said.

Spaghetti sauce is really the basis for our relationship. A few weeks later, while visiting Uncle Frank and Aunt Sue across the street I overheard a phone conversation Frank was having with his brother Lugi, Tom’s father, in Cleveland. “Yah, it must be getting serious. He is teaching her to make the sauce.”

There has been a pot of sauce made on our stove just about every week of our 27 year marriage. And, people who truly know good sauce have told me….”It ain’t bad.” (That is Italian for “delicious!”)

Here is the secret to making a really great sauce:

INGREDIENTS

Minced garlic – 5 cloves
Olive Oil – 5 tbsp.
6 Italian Sausage sweet and hot combined
2 large cans of crushed tomatoes (Find a brand you like and stick to it!)
1 large can of diced tomatoes (Same as above)
1 can of Contadina Tomato Paste
1 cup of grated parmesan Reggiano
1 cup of good red wine (If you wouldn’t drink it don’t use it.)
Sugar 1 tbsp.
Oregano
Basil
Salt and Pepper

In a large dutch oven heat the oil and brown the sausage. When browned, cut into 1″ pieces and return to pot. add garlic and allow to soften, but NOT burn. Add the cans of tomatoes and the oregano, basil,sugar and salt, pepper. Next add the wine and the grated cheese.

Allow the mixture to come to a boil then reduce the heat to simmer and with the lid off allow to simmer for at least one hour.

TIPS:

The sauce will be best the second day. It can be kept in the refrigerator for one week. It can be frozen for up to a month.

Add meatballs to the sauce for an even greater taste.

If you like, you can add a center cut pork chop or a chicken breast with skin and rib bones attached, while the sauce is simmering for taste. Just brown the meat as you did the sausage and leave it in the pot until the first serving.

Oh and, some Italian families call this “gravy”.

The post Judi Z’s Spaghetti Sauce first appeared on Zjudes blog.

We love to dip. Although most people enjoy dipping their crusty artisan bread in infused olive oil with plenty of dried oregano, some basil and a splash of rich balsamic vinegar, we enjoy a simple red sauce made of tomato, onion and garlic. My table would not be complete without a basic marinara sauce.

This is my recipe for a this delicious accompaniment to any Italian dinner.

Ingredients

Olive Oil (enough to cover the bottom of your pan and get it hot)
Butter (just a couple of tablespoons to richen and thicken your sauce)
Onion (the sweeter the better and chopped fine)
Garlic (minced nice and fine)
Canned Crushed Tomatoes ( With canned tomatoes, find a good Italian brand you like stick to it.)
Canned Diced Tomatoes
One Cup of good Red Wine (If you wouldn’t drink it don’t use it!)

Also, if you prefer
Fresh roughly chopped fresh basil
and or a couple of tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese

Now, just follow the order of the ingredients.
So as not to let the butter or the garlic burn, saute the onion first, then add the garlic. Saute until they are tender and translucent. Next add your tomatoes and wine. You can salt and pepper to taste.

Allow to cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.

You will love this simple sauce. Tom even spoons it over his fresh garden salad!

Enjoy.

The post Simple Marinara first appeared on Zjudes blog.

Time could not pass quickly enough for the return of my cooking/traveling companion/friend Kelly and her lovely family to Seven Mile Drive. They had stayed on in Europe traveling to Naples, Sorrento and Florence for a week longer than I.  But, I was excited for her to arrive home.

My cookbook from Casa Ombuto was getting plenty of use. Each day I would prepare a breakfast buffet just like the one we had at CO and then a luscious recipe, like Grandma’s Cake or Tuscan beans for my family. They certainly were enjoying my newly acquired talents.  It was all so delicious and I knew Kelly would be as excited as I to share our culinary skills with a

mediterranean dinner party for some of our closest friends.

We met on Tuesday to prepare the menu. We chose Eggplant Caviar, Bruschetta and Antipasta for appetisers. For our first course we chose  Casarecce’ Pasta with speck and saffron; Basil, green beans, fresh tomato and mozz salad with a light dressing plus baked goat cheese salad. For the main course we decided on Roast Pork Loin Arezzo Style with Chunky Olive Oil and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. We would finish with a light dessert of Zabaione and Strawberries. Each course would have a pairing of regional wines to compliment the flavors and we would finish with after dinner liquors: Limonciello, Amaretto d’Saronna and Frangelica. With the menu set,we agreed who would prepare which items and we were off to the Fresh Market to shop.

It was important that our friends get a true feeling of what our experience had been so we agreed we would prepare a sit down dinner, meaning table settings for at least 20 of our friends.  This could be challenging for most, however, you must remember, Kelly works for Williams Sonoma. I seem to recall her saying some weeks she actually owes them money when the mark-downs have been exceptionally tempting. So, we pulled the dining room table and chairs into the kitchen for the final 6 settings, visited the buffet holding all of my table cloths and napkins for the perfect selection and then raided Kelly’s kitchen for additional glass and bakeware.  We had a plan and it was coming together nicely.

We agreed to prep as much as we could. On Thursday we shopped and Friday we spent the entire afternoon together cooking. Some might find the idea of entertaining 20 dinner guests to a sit down dinner a bit intimidating but, Kelly and I were up for the challenge. In fact, we agreed we were having fun even during the preparation. Oh,and let me tell you I wish I had an application that could record the aroma in the kitchen to share on this blog! (Maybe we could invent that Matt?$!) We plugged my I-Phone in to the kitchen Bose to hear Andrea Bocelli belt out  “La voce del silenzio”. There  is something to be said for the smell of garlic and pork roasting along side cippolini onions in balsamic vinegar that just exudes Italia. We felt as if we were back at familiar Casa Omboto once again.

There is one element of our dinner party that was a true blessing to us all. On Wednesday I got in touch with Liza Chung, the brilliantly creative florist for Lindsay and Matt’s wedding. She had prepared a trial centerpiece for them a couple of weeks ago and had graciously brought it to the house for us to enjoy. This centerpiece was over the top gorgeous. ( I don’t wish to give any of her secrets away, so I will not include the picture in this post. Just stay tuned for wedding pictures after October 2nd.)  We loved having the scent of the flowers in the house but, like us, fresh flowers drop their petals, wither and die. The beautiful 3 and 1/2 foot tall glass vessel had been sitting in the living room waiting for Finn to send it toppling over. I phoned Liza to find out when and where to return it. She explained she had a meeting on Friday at TPC and would swing by and pick it up, asking what time would be convenient for me.  I explained I would be cooking all afternoon for a dinner party.  “Ohhhhhh…” she said.  I could hear a sparkle in her voice as she told me she would drop by late afternoon. Around 6 Friday evening Kelly and I had set the tables, the water and wine were chilling and just a few last minute dishes were warming in the oven when the doorbell chimed to “The Wedding March”.  It was Liza and her son with two of the most magnificent floral masterpieces I had ever seen. Liza had put a pic of them on Facebook the day before and I commented “I loved dahlias”, one of the main flowers of the design. They placed the beautiful gold vessels on the buffet , and were on their way, the perfect compliment to our culinary masterpieces.

By seven-thirty Kelly and I donned our clean Casa Ombuto aprons as the guests began to arrive with bottles of rich Tuscan wines in hand. They snacked on appetizers and drank chilled Prosecco until we were ready to share the main course. Our friend Michele led us in a beautiful blessing then Kelly and I explained each dish. We opened the buffet to our guests and smiled at the “oohs and aahs” as they loaded their dinner plates and headed for their seats.

In true Zitiello tradition, the wine was poured and Tom offered up the first toast, explaining what a wonderful experience Kelly and I had shared. He explained the trip was a dream of a lifetime but, better yet, one we could all benefit from….Munga!

It was a beautiful evening with great food, great wine and even greater friends.

Thank you to our teacher, friend and Chef Laura Giusti of Casa Ombuto, who was in our hearts and on our minds the entire week.  We miss you so Laura.

The post Good friends, good wine, good eats equals good times. first appeared on Zjudes blog.