Mrs. Eng’s (nearly) Famous Pasta Sauce…

I have this most wonderful and dear friend, Mrs. Eng, who has a daughter that is the same age as Maryanne.  Once upon a time Mrs. Eng invited us over for a play date and most graciously welcomed us to stay for dinner, where she served us pasta with her (nearly) famous pasta sauce.  She told me, as she dished up the plates that this sauce was the same recipe that her mother used to make.  Being from an old Italian family, this sauce was the real deal!  One bite and I was sold.  Never again would I buy sauce in a jar.  Never again would I pretend that 30 minute sauce was just as good as sauce that has cooked all day… I would never go back!

I pleaded and begged for the recipe.. (which she was all too glad to hand over… no need to beg) and with her blessing I am sharing Mrs. Eng’s (nearly) Famous Pasta Sauce with you.

First you will need to gather your mise en place:

2# ground meat (I use 80% ground beef, Mrs. Eng does ground turkey… I have also used italian sausage with good results)

2 (28 oz) cans of whole peeled tomatoes (no extra stuff)

4 (8 oz) cans of tomato sauce

2 (6 oz) cans of tomato paste

1 (32 oz) Box? of Beef Stock (broth will do, but remember it already has mucho salt ease up a bit when you start to season.)

Your favorite blend of Italian Herbs (I use a premixed blend)

Bay Leaf

Crushed Red Pepper

S&P (that’s kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper)

(note:  make sure that all your containers and cans are open and ready go before starting… nothing is worse than burning the sauce because you were wrestling with the can opener…)

step one:

In a stock pot (the one I use is a 12 quart size) brown the meat, and break it into small bits as you go.
Once the meat is browned, drain off excess fat (or like me don’t… ).  Add the tomato paste and combine with the meat.  Let it cook just a bit (be careful not to burn) and then add the whole tomatoes.

Using your stirring utensil, crush the tomatoes (you can avoid this crushing business and just buy them pre-crushed, I just don’t).  After the tomatoes are taken care of add the tomato sauce. Stir.

Now add the Beef Stock and 32 oz of water. Stir.

Now we season.  And now those of you that feel the need to measure absolutely everything in the kitchen will start your panic attacks…

So here’s how I do it.  Shake the Italian herbs over the top of the mixture until the whole thing is covered with a nice even coat (let’s say 1/3 cup).  Then you sprinkle some crushed red pepper (if you like it hot, shake, shake, shake.  If you sweat just looking at the jar, just a sprinkle will do.).  5 or so bay leaves and S&P to taste.

Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Cook for 6-8 hours.  I can see the eyes buggin’ out now.  Don’t worry, regardless of what I said previously…I’ve done 4 hours before (and Mrs. Eng confessed that she’s left it only an hour and it was just delicious!)

After the sauce is done.. Boil some water, cook some pasta (fish out the bay leaves), and Mangia!  We serve ours with fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano… yum-me.

You will most likely have lots of sauce left over… Cool it completely and then store it in the freezer for “fast-food” that’s not.

lower wolf creek…

so this week was our annual camping trip to lower wolf creek which is right outside prescott, az.  last year we had it together, this year with a combination of a job interview the morning we were  to leave, which was preceded with long nights preparing a resume and getting ready for the big once over, we were not as prepared as we had been in year’s past.  let’s just say we spent a lot of the drive up, remembering all the things we had left.  some were things that we really didn’t need and some, like the diapers and coffee filters, were things we needed.

but over all, an investment in a citronella candle kept the bugs down and once again we had a really great time.  this year the creek had water, so the girls (including the dog) got some much needed rinsing off.

the girls helped michael with the fire wood…

i once again got to do one of my favorite things.. cook over an open fire (one that doesn’t have a knob) in my trusty dutch oven..  but my favorite thing is to watch the girls, find their way around the woods… discovering the world around them.

as michael put it, maryanne would put a hitch up to “nature” and bring it home with her if she could…  a little smile on my face as i imagine what that would look like..  of course all exploring left some in our party on a little on the tired side..

there was some fun with the food,

and a lot of just being.  now we’re back to the heat, the grass has started to take over the garden area… this weekend, we’ll re-till and start to solarize… back to the grindstone.

toufet 101

so maryanne has been talking about this dessert that she wants to make for a few weeks now…  when she first started talking my ears perked up and I thought, “oh my little chef..” and then I heard the words, “salt, water, milk and sugar” in the same sentence.  no, no i did not want to choke down that sludge.  but it got me thinking… when i was about her age, my grandmother use to watch the frugal gourmet, so i used to watch him too.  in one episode (in my 5 year old brain) he did a stir fry with something that looked like iceburg lettuce and vinegar.  i don’t know how many bowls of that my loving grandparents choked down.. but i remember how special i felt that i had been able to make something “on a real stove”!… so tonight maryanne asked again and i looked at her and said, “sure, what’s the recipe?”  so, here you go, the play by play… toufet 101

first you cut up about 8 strawberries (yes, that is maryanne with the sharp knife!.. she is very careful.. so she will tell you.)

then you add 3 spoonfuls of sugar..

a handful of milk…

3 handfuls of flour…

1 scoop of salt.. stir and into the microwave for 2 hours (she must get the time frame from her daddy, who once put oatmeal in the microwave for 13 min… it started on fire.)  luckily i was in charge of the buttons, in the microwave for 2 min.

voila.. toufet.  it tastes sort of like oatmeal, only not.  margot was stoked until she saw what it was and refused to even try it… but nothing compares to the smile on maryanne’s face that she got to invent her own recipe.. she rocks!

the t-shirt says it all.. miss independent.