[jacksonpt]

OK, so it wasn't from scratch, but it was very much doctored sauce.

I started with a can of really bland, basic sauce (del monte, I think), added 1lb of ground beef, LOTS of garlic salt, LOTS of onion powder, a bit of coarse ground black pepper, and a bit of aregano and man was that stuff good!

I'm not much of a cook, so I was very proud of myself. The key is to cook the ground beef very slowly (took me about 30 minutes to brown it) and add the seasoning to the beef while it browns, NOT to the sauce. Then let the sauce/beef simmer for and hour or so.

 

[TreeSaw]

It's always fun to experiment with seasonings when you cook. I made spaghetti last night too!

 

[MMcG]

Nice.

I made a killer pot roast complete with some tasty gravy last night!

Yum!!

 

[SkaredShtles]

Excellent start, man! Check the archives in here for other killer pasta sauces. Next step - just use plain tomatoes (crushed or whole). Once you leave the jar/can sauce you'll never go back to it. Congrats!

 

[jacksonpt]

Excellent start, man! Check the archives in here for other killer pasta sauces. Next step - just use plain tomatoes (crushed or whole). Once you leave the jar/can sauce you'll never go back to it. Congrats!

definitely... canned anything is never as good as fresh, but it was a last minute thing... take care of kids, let dogs out, get mail, take care of kids, feed dogs.... o crap, it's 6:00, I should probably start thinking about dinner. Ah, we've got ground beef to use... hrm, I'll make spaghetti sauce - one of those kinds of deals.

--edit--
Holy run-on sentance batman!

 

[Tenchiro]

Lately what I have been doing is taking a jar of whatever sauce, adding some pre-mixed "Spaghetti Seasoning" and a package of frozen meatballs. It is quick, cheap and easy.

I put most of the effort into the bread. I roast a clove or two of Garlic. Then take a loaf of crusty bread and cut it in half. Smear the roasted garlic across it, splash some olive oil across it and then shred Romano cheese to coat. Then put it under the broiler until it is nicely browned.

 

[narlus]

i like to cook down some onions and red peppers, then add garlic (being careful not to brown), then plop in some prego. mushrooms are good to add too. add in some chopped oregano and maybe a touch of thyme and you are good to go.

pureed tomatoes can work well too, but you need to season it bit more.

 

[OGRipper]

If I am going to take the time to cook down onions, garlic, etc., I will usually just use crushed or diced tomatoes instead of a jar sauce, I like the cleaner flavor and depending on what you buy you'll usually get a lot less of the added crap. I also like to brown a little sausage, pancetta, or ground meat before the onion and garlic, then add a little red wine after the tomato and let it simmer...MMMM...pasta....

I always have a couple of these around:

 

[narlus]

I also like to brown a little sausage, ... then add a little red wine after the tomato and let it simmer

two essentials i forgot to include in my writeup.

 

[OGRipper]

two essentials i forgot to include in my writeup.

Gotcha covered mang.

 

[SkaredShtles]

definitely... canned anything is never as good as fresh, but it was a last minute thing...

Don't be afraid of canned tomatoes - find some good quality ones. Just try to get the ones with no salt so you can truly control things.........

 

[SkaredShtles]

If I am going to take the time to cook down onions, garlic, etc., I will usually just use crushed or diced tomatoes instead of a jar sauce, I like the cleaner flavor and depending on what you buy you'll usually get a lot less of the added crap. I also like to brown a little sausage, pancetta, or ground meat before the onion and garlic, then add a little red wine after the tomato and let it simmer...MMMM...pasta....

I've found that invariably the jar/canned sauces are too sweet and salty for my taste. And plain tomatoes are alot cheaper. That's probably the biggest factor for me. :

 

[OGRipper]

Don't be afraid of canned tomatoes - find some good quality ones. Just try to get the ones with no salt so you can truly control things.........

Yeah just check out the labels. The Pomi tomatoes (pic above) are just tomatoes, nothing else - no preservatives, sweeteners, etc. They are not as good as fresh local stuff, but it ain't always tomato season.

 

[Nobody]

definitely... canned anything is never as good as fresh, but it was a last minute thing... take care of kids, let dogs out, get mail, take care of kids, feed dogs.... o crap, it's 6:00, I should probably start thinking about dinner. Ah, we've got ground beef to use... hrm, I'll make spaghetti sauce - one of those kinds of deals.

--edit--
Holy run-on sentance batman!

I'll try to fix a misconception here... about 'Fresh' vs. 'Canned'

It's not always the case, but most decent canned tomatoes are picked at the height of proper ripeness and then canned within a couple of days. This means that what you get in a can will have the most nutrients and best 'tomato-y' flavor DURING THE OFF SEASON!

That Off Season is when 'Hot House' or HH tomatoes or Toms from far away (other side of the country, different country, different continent) make their appearance.

Most of these are picked BEFORE their optimum ripeness, so no matter how red they are, they're only 'half there'. My recent experiences with HH tomatoes has been very disappointing. Virtually no smell = nearly no taste. And some of the foreign or far away originating alternatives are just as bad.

Most professional chefs will concur - if it's out of season, use good canned goods.

Now, if it's IN SEASON, that's a different story. But guess what? It makes no difference in most sauces, anyway, so go ahead year-round for cooked sauce to use canned tomatoes.

Try to get Roma or Plum tomatoes - and away you go!

 

[Atomic Dog]

Although I haven't tried it, I saw on the Food Network a while back to add a couple spoonfuls of the water that you boil the pasta in to the sauce before you drain the pasta off. Not exactly sure what the reasoning was, I might have to do some experimenting to find out if it tastes any different.

Edit: I did a search on this to see what it was all about. I found some info saying it made no difference, and others that said it was for thinning/thickening the sauce, not for flavor or anything.

A quote from one website:

Reserve some of the cooking water before you drain the pasta. If a sauce is too thick, a little pasta water will lighten it; if a sauce is too thin, add pasta water and then reduce it. The starch will thicken the sauce.

 

[narlus]

reserving pasta water and using it later is a good idea if you need some liquid (ie, cream sauces, or maybe carbonara, etc). definitely use it on a case by case basis.

 

[jacksonpt]

to those of you who have addressed the canned vs fresh issue - when I say fresh, I mean from the local farmer's market down the street... maters that are a day old before they hit the pot.

 

[SkaredShtles]

to those of you who have addressed the canned vs fresh issue - when I say fresh, I mean from the local farmer's market down the street... maters that are a day old before they hit the pot.

Those are the tomatoes you save for these:

 

[Nobody]

to those of you who have addressed the canned vs fresh issue - when I say fresh, I mean from the local farmer's market down the street... maters that are a day old before they hit the pot.

I understand and concur. However, others need clarification.

Best use for a back yard (sans doggie) is a place to grow yer own tamatahs.

damn!

 

[SkaredShtles]

I understand and concur. However, others need clarification.

Best use for a back yard (sans doggie) is a place to grow yer own tamatahs.

There's nothing better than pulling your own fruit off the vine and throwing it on a plate with some mozzarella di bufalo.

 

[Cash-Money]

i made my first attempt at a vodka sauce last night. two cloves of garlic sauteed (but not browned) in the grease from the sausage-meat-balls... add vodka, then some prego shroom spaghetti sauce, followed by some 1% milk. had that on some rigatoni, topped with mild cheddar and mozzarella cheese in the oven.

 

[SkaredShtles]

i made my first attempt at a vodka sauce last night. two cloves of garlic sauteed (but not browned) in the grease from the sausage-meat-balls... add vodka, then some prego shroom spaghetti sauce, followed by some 1% milk. had that on some rigatoni, topped with mild cheddar and mozzarella cheese in the oven.

Nice start! Now never use 1% milk again in a pasta sauce. You *must* use nothing less than whipping cream. Heavy whipping cream is even better. And forget the Prego next time. Just good quality canned tomato puree.

You are on the road to good livin'...........

 

[Nobody]

Nice start! Now never use 1% milk again in a pasta sauce. You *must* use nothing less than whipping cream. Heavy whipping cream is even better. And forget the Prego next time. Just good quality canned tomato puree.

You are on the road to good livin'...........

A lot of people think using the milk they drink in a sauce will save them some carbs, not realizing that because of the low fat content they have to add nearly 5 times as much 'milk' as they would use for cream, ending up with about the same fat content, but wasting more fluids, taking too long to reduce, and likely damaging the flavor.

You can get by with 18% or 'table cream' in a pinch, but here's a cheat, and i know i'll take some heat for this, but i keep a half-pint of sour cream in the fridge for a lot of last-minute thickening of certain types of sauces.

The fact is, if the sauce has a fair amount of salt and other spices, the sour cream's delicate flavor will be hidden or drowned out altogether.

 

[SkaredShtles]

A lot of people think using the milk they drink in a sauce will save them some carbs, not realizing that because of the low fat content they have to add nearly 5 times as much 'milk' as they would use for cream, ending up with about the same fat content, but wasting more fluids, taking too long to reduce, and likely damaging the flavor.

Yep. Cream is the way to go. Besides - a pint of heavy whipping cream lasts *forever.* I'm not sure how long it takes to spoil, but it seems like weeks.

You can get by with 18% or 'table cream' in a pinch, but here's a cheat, and i know i'll take some heat for this, but i keep a half-pint of sour cream in the fridge for a lot of last-minute thickening of certain types of sauces.

You ain't gonna take any heat for that. At least not from me. I think it's an excellent idea.

 

[Jeff P.]

You guys are really making me want to make some ghetti... too bad for me im stuck at work.

 

[trailblazer]

most chefs use crushed tomatoes.
I add some fresh pineapple and shredded carrots. The pine disolves and the carrots melt down. One large ass tablespoon of crushed red peppers as well with 2 tbsp of soy sauce.

 

[BikeMike]

I haven't seen anyone mention adding kalamata olives. Mmmm... so tasty...

I'm going to have to defrost a can of sauce and have some pasta tonight (again).

 

[Dartman]

If you really have to use jar sauce get Newmans Sockarooni it kicks arse.

Mike

 

[trailblazer]

allways use fresh herbs. A huge difference.
Fresh tomatoes that were dropped into boiling water for a 1/2 minute so the skin falls off.
if you must use canned tomatoes use Itallian crushed with basil inside.
they need crushing anyway....it's not chilli

 

[binary visions]

Those are the tomatoes you save for these:

My girlfriend's mom made us absolutely the most amazing bruschetta while I was up there over thanksgiving. So good.

And I don't even like uncooked tomatos.

 

[SkaredShtles]

My girlfriend's mom made us absolutely the most amazing bruschetta while I was up there over thanksgiving. So good.

What made it great? The tomatoes?

And I don't even like uncooked tomatos.

Dan... is that you?

 

[binary visions]

What made it great? The tomatoes?

No, mostly just a good combination of herbs. I could have eaten it for dinner by itself.

Dan... is that you?

:huh:

 

[SkaredShtles]

No, mostly just a good combination of herbs. I could have eaten it for dinner by itself.

Spill it, Quayle. What herbs were in it? Basil is the classic, but it sounds like it might have had more?

 

[binary visions]

Spill it, Quayle. What herbs were in it? Basil is the classic, but it sounds like it might have had more?

I can look up the recipe when I get home but from what I remember it had basil, oregano, sun dried tomatoes, roma tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, sweet onions, garlic and pepperoncini. I'm probably forgetting something.

I'm sure there was a couple other things tossed in (I think she mentioned red wine vinegar?) and mozzarella sprinkled on top.

 

[SkaredShtles]

I can look up the recipe when I get home but from what I remember it had basil, oregano, sun dried tomatoes, roma tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, sweet onions, garlic and pepperoncini. I'm probably forgetting something.

I'm sure there was a couple other things tossed in (I think she mentioned red wine vinegar?) and mozzarella sprinkled on top.

Now *that* is some fancy bruschetta. Sounds killer.