Family Sicilian Sauce and Meatballs

Family Sicilian Sauce and Meatballs

Recipe by: PETEIYC 

"My mother's family originally came from Sicily and every family member makes his or her own version - this version came most recently via Brooklyn. If there are any leftovers, they freeze very well. MANGIA! Serve with red wine and a good loaf of crusty Italian bread.”

Meatballs:

3 slices white bread, torn into pieces
1/4 cup milk or water
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1 pinch dried parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Sauce:

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
12 (3.5 ounce) links sweet Italian sausage
1 1/2 pounds cubed beef brisket
1/2 pound pork neck bones
4 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
3 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
4 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
3 (16 ounce) packages dry pasta

To Make

To Make The Meatballs, combine bread and milk or water in a medium bowl. Mix in ground beef, eggs, Romano cheese, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Form golf ball-sized meatballs; place into freezer to firm up.

To Make The Sauce, heat olive oil in a large pot on medium heat; stir in onion. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and 1 sausage link; cook about 3 minutes more.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, brown beef chunks and pork neck bones; set aside.

When onions and garlic are done, turn heat down to low. Add tomato paste and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the browned beef and pork, crushed tomatoes, wine, bay leaves, cinnamon, parsley, basil, and salt and pepper. Bring sauce to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 3 to 4 hours.

Once you add the meatballs, let sauce simmer for 1 hour. When sauce is nearly ready, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Cover pasta with sauce and meatballs and serve immediately.

Bolognese Sauce

Recipe by: Kimber

 "An excellent chunky pasta sauce with beef, pork, lots of vegetables and tons of flavor. Freeze any unused portions for later use. If you have fresh herbs, you may substitute 2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil for the dried basil in this recipe."

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 large onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 carrots, shredded

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 (28 ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes

6 ounces tomato sauce

1/2 cup dry white win

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

To Make

In a large skillet, warm oil over medium heat and saute bacon, onion and garlic until bacon is browned and crisp; set aside.

In large saucepan, brown beef and pork. Drain off excess fat. Stir in bacon mixture, mushrooms, carrots, celery, tomatoes, tomato sauce, wine, stock, basil, oregano, salt and pepper to saucepan. Cover, reduce heat and simmer one hour, stirring occasionally.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Serve sauce over hot pasta.

Wedding Gift Spaghetti Sauce

Wedding Gift Spaghetti Sauce

Recipe by: Dog Fish Head aka Fabius

 "This recipe was given to me as part of a wedding gift recipe collection from a very dear friend. It is rich, aromatic, flavorful and makes A LOT. So please grab the biggest pot you can find. I mean REALLY BIG. Extra sauce freezes well for future pasta dishes."

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pound ground beef

1 pound mild sausage

4 teaspoons Italian seasoning

2 teaspoons salt (optional)

2 teaspoons dried rosemary

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

76 fluid ounces water

1 (29 ounce) can tomato puree

3 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

To Make

Heat butter and olive oil together with onion and garlic in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir ground beef and sausage in the onion mixture until browned and crumbly, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir Italian seasoning, salt, rosemary, oregano, and black pepper into ground beef-sausage mixture; simmer for 20 minutes.

Pour water, tomato puree, and tomato paste into ground beef-sausage mixture; simmer, stirring occasionally, over low heat until flavors have combined, at least 2 hours.