The Literate Chef

Posts Tagged ‘Del Monte’

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Dorothea’s Homemade Italian Sauce

In Beef, Meat, Pork, Recipes, Sauces on March 10, 2012 at 3:55 PM

Dorothea’s Homemade Italian Sauce served Over Penne

By Grammy Betty

Ingredients:

3 35 oz. cans of San Marzano Tomatoes, mashed
3 small cans (8 oz.), of Del Monte Tomato Sauce
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 ½ tsp. sugar
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1 small onion, chopped
16 Grammy’s Meatballs – 2 lbs. prime (90% lean beef) chopped meat, 1 ½ lbs. used for Grammy’s Meatballs and the remainder reserved for adding to the sauce.)
2 small cans (6 oz.) of Contadina Tomato Paste

Preparation:

1.    Add the mashed tomatoes and their juice to a large (8 qt.) pot.
2.    Add the garlic, sugar and Del Monte tomato sauce.
3.    Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer.
4.    In the meantime, add the sausage to a skillet, pierce them with a fork, and cook over medium heat until done.
5.    Remove cooked sausage and add to the sauce, and remove all but 2 tbsps. of rendered fat and add to sauce.
6.    Add chopped onion to the scrapings and remaining fat  from the sausage, brown and deglaze the pan, add to the sauce.
7.    Make the 16 meatballs (see Grammy’s Meatballs for recipe) and add to the sauce.
8.    Brown the remaining ½ lb. of chopped meat, add in the tomato paste, stir and cook for 5 minutes or so, over medium heat, remove and add to the sauce.
9.    Simmer sauce uncovered, on a low flame, for approximately 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Due to the thickness of the sauce, it is best served over a pasta shape that will trap and hold the sauce, such as Penne, Ziti, Rigatoni or Shells (conchiglie). Add some chopped fresh basil to each bowl, and serve with grated imported Italian Cheese, and Dorothea’s Homemade Hot Pepper Sauce, on the side.

A good bottle of Italian red wine, such as a Rosso di Montalcino, the less expensive cousin of Brunello, makes this pasta dish just perfect!

Please see: The Secret’s Out!

Note: The unused sauce can be frozen in meal sized batches. Often it thickens after taken from the freezer. When this happens, simply add some water to thin the sauce to your liking.

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Eat Your Brussel Sprouts! Mother Commanded

In General Articles on October 25, 2011 at 10:20 AM

Let’s face it, Brussel sprouts are good for you, but getting past the gag-inducing, cabbage smell is tough going. As with all cruciferous vegetables, such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and kale, Brussel sprouts are known to contain significant health benefits. But to obtain those benefits you have to eat them, as well as cook them properly beforehand.

My mother, being very health conscious, periodically tried to get us to eat Brussel sprouts. She would boil them and serve them with butter (ugh!), or boil them and serve them with onions and smothered in Del Monte tomato sauce (nice try, but it didn’t work!). Either way, the gag effect took hold for me as soon as she started boiling them. As a result, I could never get past the first taste. Poor Mom, she had good intentions, but didn’t know that boiling Brussel sprouts is probably the best way to destroy their nutritional value.

After reading several articles, skimming through various cookbooks, trying several techniques and listening to my daughter extol the virtues of roasted vegetables, I decided to try roasting Brussel sprouts with hazelnuts. The result proved to be delicious and, based on my readings, healthful. Please try Brussel Sprouts Roasted with Hazelnuts to see for yourself.

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Spaghetti with Del Monte Sauce

In For Moms on the Go, Pasta, Recipes on April 9, 2011 at 3:06 PM

Ingredients:

¼ cup + 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
2 12 oz. cans of Del Monte tomato sauce
1 pound of spaghetti
Kosher salt or sea salt
Freshly ground Locatelli Romano cheese
Dorothea’s Homemade Hot Pepper Sauce

Steps:

1.    Fill a six quart pot with water and bring to a boil.
2.    In the meantime, pre-heat a mid-sized sauté pan on medium then add the ¼ cup of olive oil.
3.    When the oil is shimmering add the garlic, sauté until it becomes light gold in color.
4.    Add the oregano and stir quickly.
5.    Reduce the heat to low, add the tomato sauce, return heat to high and bring to a boil.
6.    When the water is at a full boil, add a dash of kosher salt or sea salt plus the tablespoon of olive oil.
7.    Add the spaghetti and cook according to the instructions on the box.
8.    After tasting the spaghetti to determine if it is al dente, drain it in a colander.
9.    Transfer the sauce to the large pot, return the spaghetti and mix thoroughly.
10.    Serve in bowls for people to add their own grated Locatelli Romano cheese and Dorothea’s Homemade Hot Pepper Sauce.

Note: This quick, easy to prepare dish is best accompanied by a simple salad with Homemade Italian Dressing, a loaf of fresh, crusty, Italian bread and a bottle of Chianti Classico.

Please see Pasta Memories

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Pasta Memories

In General Articles on April 9, 2011 at 3:00 PM

My earliest Pasta Memory, one filled with nostalgia for the simpler times in life, is Spaghetti with Del Monte Sauce. This was a ritual many Friday nights in our 3½ room apartment in the Inwood neighborhood of northern Manhattan, when I was growing up in the 1940s and 50s. First came the savory aroma of sliced garlic sautéed in hot olive oil, then the pungency of dried oregano added to the pan, finally the sizzling sound of canned Del Monte tomato sauce as it hit the hot oil and the fragrant aroma of tomato was released into the apartment. With the water for the spaghetti already at a boil, dinner was less than 15 minutes away.

My father, Big Mike, the designated Friday night cook, (he learned to cook from his mother, but I suspect that he perfected this meal while serving with the CCC out West) would sample the macaroni (he never called it ‘pasta’) after about 9 minutes of boiling and announce that it was al dente; that was the signal that we should take our seats at the table. After draining the spaghetti in a colander, (a ‘skoola pasta‘, in the Sicilian dialect he learned from his immigrant mother) he would return it to the pot, mix in the sauce, stir it well and scoop it into bowls. The spaghetti was always accompanied by freshly grated Locatelli Romano cheese, which was to be sprinkled liberally over it, by all. All that is, except my mother, Dorothea, who disdained cheese on her macaroni, as she claimed it detracted from the flavor of the sauce. Instead, she would heap one or two teaspoonfuls of her homemade Hot Pepper Sauce onto her bowl, as if that did not detract from the flavor of the sauce! She then proceeded to cut the spaghetti with a knife and fork and eat it with a spoon, so as to ‘get the spaghetti together with the sauce in one mouthful’.

Big Mike working for the CCC (circa 1934)

After my wife and I married, Spaghetti with Del Monte Sauce became a regular meal in our household, though not every Friday night, as it was quick, easy, inexpensive and delicious. Big Mike had another pasta dish that he enjoyed cooking and eating, and Another of Big Mike’s Favorites was also a regular Friday night dinner.

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