"Pete C." ha scritto nel messaggio
...

The OP's Classico is one of the better commercial sauces, with no funky
ingredients. It's a pretty good starting point for enhancements if you
don't want to go "from scratch".

I live in and teach cookery in Italy, ergo I do not buy commercial sauces,
even those made here. I have tried refigerated and a few tinned sauces here
to see what they were like, however.
Generally, the ingredients you listed weren't scary, but they also weren't
like homemade. Why would a homecook start with tomato paste? Calcium
chloride? Do you put that in your tomato sauce?

Giusi wrote:

"Pete C." ha scritto nel messaggio
...

The OP's Classico is one of the better commercial sauces, with no funky
ingredients. It's a pretty good starting point for enhancements if you
don't want to go "from scratch".

I live in and teach cookery in Italy, ergo I do not buy commercial sauces,
even those made here. I have tried refigerated and a few tinned sauces here
to see what they were like, however.

Generally, the ingredients you listed weren't scary, but they also weren't
like homemade.

They aren't far off from home made.

Why would a homecook start with tomato paste?

To save time, since tomato paste is the end result of cooking and
reducing your sauce for a long time.

Calcium
chloride? Do you put that in your tomato sauce?

Not if I'm starting from scratch, but it's certainly something you might
put in the tomatoes you canned from your garden to use over the winter.
It just helps preserve texture.

Pete C. wrote:
kilikini wrote:
meatnub wrote:
Right now we buy Classico. But I am curious - is there a way to make
homemade pasta sauce that is better than premade jarred namebrand?

I would like to if it's not all that time consuming.
It is time consuming, but it tastes great and it doesn't have high fructose
corn syrup in it like the store-bought brands do.

Just for reference, not all the store bought brands have HFCS or
anything else "funky". Indeed the Classico that was referenced does not
contain anything at all "funky".

Classico Tomato Basil ingredients: Tomato puree (water, tomato paste),
Diced tomatoes (tomatoes, tomato juice, citric acid, calcium chloride),
onion, olive oil, salt, basil, garlic, garlic powder, spices, soybean
oil.

No oregano?

Pete C. wrote:
Giusi wrote:

"jmcquown" ha scritto nel messaggio
...
Giusi wrote:
"meatnub" ha scritto nel messaggio

...
Right now we buy Classico. But I am curious - is there a way to
make homemade pasta sauce that is better than premade jarred
namebrand?

I would like to if it's not all that time consuming.

There are hundreds of them and there are also hundreds of people
who skillfully make them and publish the recipes on food blogs.

Not discounting your suggestions, Guisi, but sauces for pasta are
not exclusively Italian. Pre "blogs" there were cookbooks. Pasta
sauces abound. To the OP, look for some cookbooks in the library.
Read up on different types of sauces and go from there. I happen
to prefer a Hungarian
sour cream sauce (like stroganoff) for pasta to an Italian ragu
and there
are many variations on it... mmmm!

Jill

I like other versions with various pastas, too. There's an
Indonesian pasta I make at least twice a month. But when someone
says he's been using a jarred Classico sauce I reckon he wants
Italian. I didn't mention the cookbooks because he is concerned
about time. The internet gives you the fastest result. The other
thing is that when I read most American cookbook versions of many of
the common sauces, I find recipes so laden with extraneous stuff I
can't figure out why or I find sauces which have so much added fat
that I would be reluctant to eat them.

The OP's Classico is one of the better commercial sauces, with no
funky ingredients. It's a pretty good starting point for enhancements
if you don't want to go "from scratch".

Agreed. I still prefer Newman's Own. And as for the tomato-basil not being
found on shelves anymore, I clicked the contact us link to ask about it.

Jill

Anthony Ferrante wrote:
On Wed, 14 May 2008 16:12:53 -0500, "jmcquown"
wrote:

on different types of sauces and go from there. I happen to prefer
a Hungarian sour cream sauce (like stroganoff) for pasta to an
Italian ragu and there are many variations on it... mmmm!

Jill
Jill,
You got a recipe you can share of the Hungarian sour cream sauce?
That sounds great!

Anthony

Pretty basic, Anthony. Find any stroganoff recipe which nets a beef gravy
and add a dollop of sour cream right at the end.

Mom's Beef Stroganoff

2 lb. beef tenderloin
1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
2 c. beef stock or canned beef consomme
water if needed
3 Tbs. butter
1/4 lb. sliced mushrooms

Cut the beef into 1/4 inch slices and then into strips about 2 inches long
and 1/2 inch wide. Mix flour, salt & pepper. Dredge the meat to coat.
Heat 1/3 c. butter in a large skillet and cook over moderate heat until
browned. Add stock or consomme and simmer, covered, about 25 minutes.
While meat is cooking, melt 3 Tbs. butter in a small skillet. Cook the
mushrooms for 5 minutes or until tender. When the meat is done, combine 1/2
cup of the stock from the meat with the tomato paste and Worcestershire
sauce and stir until well blended. Add the sauteed mushrooms. Gradually
pour this mixture in with the meat and stir well. Stir in the sour cream
until just heated but do not boil. Spoon mixture over hot cooked egg
noodles. Serves 6

On May 14, 5:05*pm, Scott wrote:
meatnub wrote:
Right now we buy Classico. But I am curious - is there a way to make
homemade pasta sauce that is better than premade jarred namebrand?

I would like to if it's not all that time consuming.

If you want to do it right you have to put some time into it

Well I just have this stereotype in my head, I guess from growing up
and watching cooking shows, that you need a hundred ingredients and
everything you need to cook takes hours to make. Stupid, I know. But
I'm waiting for the weekend to get here so I can start to cook and
experience first hand and get past the preconceived notions I have
about cooking. With that said...

The other reason I say time consuming is that I cook a lot on sunday
night for the week coming, for our work lunches and for our 1 yr old's
lunches and snacks at daycare (meals, veggies, snakcs, etc.). So I
just didn't want to spend 1 hour on 1 thing (like pasta sauce). If I
can make a decent pasta sauce to last a week in 20 minutes that would
be great.

Then again.. perhaps I just have to learn how to manage my time and
multi task. After all I do have 4 gas burners on my stovetop.

You are right, I guess there are hundreds, even thousands of pasta
sauce recipes. Well I'll just have to start with the basics,
experiment, get it down pat and go from there.

Thanks everyone for chiming in. And I do enjoy stroganoff type sauces
as well as creamy ones. So again, it looks like I'll have to go to the
library or google some recipes.

"Giusi" wrote in message
...
"TammyM" ha scritto nel messaggio
...
"Giusi" wrote in message
...
snip
I like other versions with various pastas, too. There's an Indonesian
pasta
I make at least twice a month. But when someone says he's been using a
jarred Classico sauce I reckon he wants Italian. I didn't mention the
cookbooks because he is concerned about time. The internet gives you
the s
fastest result. The other thing is that when I read most American
cookbook versions of many of the common sauces, I find recipes so laden
with extraneous stuff I can't figure out why or I find sauces which have
so much added fat that I would be reluctant to eat them.

I would LOVE that Indonesian pasta recipe/method!

I've looked all over for the recipe as received or where I first saw it,
with no luck. This, however, is a general view of how I make it, with
many substitutions.

For 2

You are such a dear! I'm sorry to have caused you trouble looking for it,
but I sure am grateful for the basic recipe. Sounds wonderfully ta.sty.

Thanks so much, Giusi!

(is it Judith?)

ciao!
TammyM

Scott wrote:

Pete C. wrote:
kilikini wrote:
meatnub wrote:
Right now we buy Classico. But I am curious - is there a way to make
homemade pasta sauce that is better than premade jarred namebrand?

I would like to if it's not all that time consuming.
It is time consuming, but it tastes great and it doesn't have high fructose
corn syrup in it like the store-bought brands do.

Just for reference, not all the store bought brands have HFCS or
anything else "funky". Indeed the Classico that was referenced does not
contain anything at all "funky".

Classico Tomato Basil ingredients: Tomato puree (water, tomato paste),
Diced tomatoes (tomatoes, tomato juice, citric acid, calcium chloride),
onion, olive oil, salt, basil, garlic, garlic powder, spices, soybean
oil.

No oregano?

Presumably that would be included in the "spices".

On May 15, 10:14*am, "Pete C." wrote:
Classico Tomato Basil ingredients: Tomato puree (water, tomato paste),
Diced tomatoes (tomatoes, tomato juice, citric acid, calcium chloride),
onion, olive oil, salt, basil, garlic, garlic powder, spices, soybean
oil.

Calcium Chloride. Now how the heck am I gonna cook without that! ; - )

"TammyM" ha scritto nel messaggio
...

"Giusi" You are such a dear! I'm sorry to have
caused you trouble looking for it, but I sure am grateful for the basic
recipe. Sounds wonderfully ta.sty.

Thanks so much, Giusi!

(is it Judith?)

ciao!
TammyM

Can be, but I am in my rebellious phase, ergo Giusi.

On Wed, 14 May 2008 23:28:49 +0200, "Giusi"
wrote:

I like other versions with various pastas, too. There's an Indonesian pasta
I make at least twice a month.

this sounds interesting, giusi. is there a name to the dish, or a
recipe you can point us toward?

thanks.

your pal,
blake

On Thu, 15 May 2008 10:36:11 +0200, "Giusi"
wrote:

"TammyM" ha scritto nel messaggio
...
"Giusi" wrote in message
...
snip
I like other versions with various pastas, too. There's an Indonesian
pasta
I make at least twice a month. But when someone says he's been using a
jarred Classico sauce I reckon he wants Italian. I didn't mention the
cookbooks because he is concerned about time. The internet gives you the
fastest result. The other thing is that when I read most American
cookbook versions of many of the common sauces, I find recipes so laden
with extraneous stuff I can't figure out why or I find sauces which have
so much added fat that I would be reluctant to eat them.

I would LOVE that Indonesian pasta recipe/method!

I've looked all over for the recipe as received or where I first saw it,
with no luck. This, however, is a general view of how I make it, with many
substitutions.


man, that was fast! thanks.

your pal,
blake

Thanks for this great recipe!

Anthony


Mom's Beef Stroganoff

2 lb. beef tenderloin
1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
2 c. beef stock or canned beef consomme
water if needed
3 Tbs. butter
1/4 lb. sliced mushrooms

Cut the beef into 1/4 inch slices and then into strips about 2 inches long
and 1/2 inch wide. Mix flour, salt & pepper. Dredge the meat to coat.
Heat 1/3 c. butter in a large skillet and cook over moderate heat until
browned. Add stock or consomme and simmer, covered, about 25 minutes.
While meat is cooking, melt 3 Tbs. butter in a small skillet. Cook the
mushrooms for 5 minutes or until tender. When the meat is done, combine 1/2
cup of the stock from the meat with the tomato paste and Worcestershire
sauce and stir until well blended. Add the sauteed mushrooms. Gradually
pour this mixture in with the meat and stir well. Stir in the sour cream
until just heated but do not boil. Spoon mixture over hot cooked egg
noodles. Serves 6

"kilikini" wrote in message
...
meatnub wrote:
Right now we buy Classico. But I am curious - is there a way to make
homemade pasta sauce that is better than premade jarred namebrand?

I would like to if it's not all that time consuming.

It is time consuming, but it tastes great and it doesn't have high
fructose corn syrup in it like the store-bought brands do.

Dice up some onion and garlic. Blanch tomatoes in hot water for 30
seconds, peel. Let cool. Cut the tomatoes in half, deseed if you like,
dice, and add to the onions and garlic. In a pot with olive oil, toss in
your tomatoes, onions and garlic. Throw in some basil, oregano and a bay
leaf. I, (check the labels for corn syrup!), add canned tomato paste,
canned tomato sauce and a touch of red wine. At this point, add whatever
else you like - olives, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, spinach.

Let it go until the flavors blend and the veggies have cooked. If you
prefer a smoother sauce, blend it, but take out the bay leaf before you
do.

Some people might like to cook the onions and garlic first, but I just do
it all together because I simmer it for a couple of hours. It's really a
simple process, but it does take time on low heat.

kili

You can put carrot, onion, celery, and garlic into the pan without sauteing
but the end result is much different than if you saute the sofrito first.
Use onion, celery and some carrot diced. Garlic is optional, depending on
what you're trying to accomplish. Marcella Hazan uses both. The important
point is that the end result is quite different; for her two different
recipies.

I like to saute first.

To each his own.

Kent

"kilikini" wrote in message
...
meatnub wrote:
Right now we buy Classico. But I am curious - is there a way to make
homemade pasta sauce that is better than premade jarred namebrand?

I would like to if it's not all that time consuming.

It is time consuming, but it tastes great and it doesn't have high
fructose corn syrup in it like the store-bought brands do.

Dice up some onion and garlic. Blanch tomatoes in hot water for 30
seconds, peel. Let cool. Cut the tomatoes in half, deseed if you like,
dice, and add to the onions and garlic. In a pot with olive oil, toss in
your tomatoes, onions and garlic. Throw in some basil, oregano and a bay
leaf. I, (check the labels for corn syrup!), add canned tomato paste,
canned tomato sauce and a touch of red wine. At this point, add whatever
else you like - olives, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, spinach.

Let it go until the flavors blend and the veggies have cooked. If you
prefer a smoother sauce, blend it, but take out the bay leaf before you
do.

Some people might like to cook the onions and garlic first, but I just do
it all together because I simmer it for a couple of hours. It's really a
simple process, but it does take time on low heat.

kili

You can put carrot, onion, celery, and garlic into the pan without sauteing
but the end result is much different than if you saute the sofrito first.
Use onion, celery and some carrot diced. Garlic is optional, depending on
what you're trying to accomplish. Marcella Hazan uses both. The important
point is that the end result is quite different; for her two different
recipies.

I like to saute first.

To each his own.

Kent