"Julie Bove" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Evelyn" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Julie Bove" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> "Evelyn" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> Whenever I have to use jarred sauce, I always add a can of tomatoes to
>>>> it. I never use dried onion, as it disagrees with my stomach. I often
>>>> will sautee some onion and garlic and then add some marsala wine, and
>>>> the jarred sauce and tomatoes. A pat of butter goes a long way
>>>> towards making sauce from a jar more palateable. We like Prego sauces
>>>> when I need to use sauce from a jar. But the very best sauce from a
>>>> jar I have ever tasted is from a local market and they sell their own
>>>> brand. It is similar to homemade.
>>>
>>> I used to use wine in cooking but am not supposed to have liquor now. I
>>> did have some in that beef that I bought at Costco.
>>>
>>> I would never put butter in a red sauce even if I were not allergic.
>>> Olive oil, yes.
>>
>>
>> It's quite delicious and a Northern Italian thing. Most Americans are
>> not that familiar with Northern Italian cooking and in different regions
>> of Italy different ingredients are used. Olive oil is used everywhere,
>> but in the North in particular a lump of butter is often added to sauce
>> just before using it. It stretches the sauce, adds greatly to the
>> flavor, and softens the sharpness of the tomatoes. Of course if you are
>> allergic, it is a moot point, so forget I suggested it.
>
> Hmmm... I had a roommate who was Northern Italian and she never did that.
> She did however fry the heck out of the dried seasonings before she put
> the tomato sauce in. In those days I don't think we ever had olive oil in
> the house. Most likely it was Wesson. She was also a terrible cook.
> Whenever she invited her boyfriend to dinner he would call me and ask me
> who was cooking. He had to call me because if he asked her she would get
> angry at him. Hehehe.


LOL! That sure blows up the mistaken belief that all italian girls are good
cooks! Well I do know a bit about Italian cookery, even if I am not
italian myself. Different areas of the country use different techniques
in sauce making. Some use spices and some don't. To some, the very
presence of garlic is offensive,....... to others they load it up! My
first husband was Italian and of his two grandmothers, I had to learn a bit
about their different philosophies of cooking. One (the northern one)
made a sauce so delicate and so clear it was really quite wonderful. She
put the garlic in the oil only for a moment to flavor the oil, then removed
it. The only spice she would use was basil and parsley, and of course
salt and pepper. The tomatoes had to be super strained, and no seeds!
She had a special mill to strain out the seeds. She would lace it
liberally with butter. The other grandmother, who was from Sicily, would
put everything but the kitchen sink into her sauce. She would have wild
mushrooms, a chunk of lamb, a chunk of beef, meatballs, sausages, lots of
spices, you name it...... it was in there. Both sauces were delicious
and unique in their own way. I still make the northern grandma's sweet
mild sauce with all the butter once in a while. It goes fantastic with
ravioli, by the way.

--

Evelyn

"Even as a mother protects with her life her only child, So with a boundless
heart let one cherish all living beings." --Sutta Nipata 1.8