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.

"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. Everyday
millions of Italian homemakers go into the kitchen and make a pasta and a
sauce in 20 minutes or less. There is no one sauce and many have no tomato
in them at all.

If you want to start with a tomato sauce, make a simple one with a vegetable
sofritto, tomatoes and seasonings. Don't over do it. You will learn how to
elaborate by beginning with making the best from the simplest. Remember the
adage, "when cooking with tomatoes, it is less than 10 minutes or more than
2 hours: the acid lives between." Start with the 10 minute sauces using
already cooked canned tomatoes. Expect a bright, fresh tasting sauce. Once
you have mastered that, start looking for sauces like arabbiata, puttanesca,
amatriciana and those will be easy, too. Don't get stuck in a rut thinking
there's only one way to do these things and that it must be hard and time
consuming.


--
http://www.judithgreenwood.com

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

"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.

"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!

TammyM, salivating

TammyM wrote:
> "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!
>
> TammyM, salivating

Yes - that does sound interesting!

Dave

"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.

For 2

4 ounces of Asian noodles: bean thread, rice, wheat, always thin ones. Soak
in hot water. Cook in boiling salted water about 5 minutes.

seed oil, usually peanut
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 very hot tiny peppers, crushed
4 ounces thinly sliced steak (or chicken, or whole shrimp, whatever)
Some slivered vegetable if you are in the mood, but they weren't in the
recipe

Sauce:
heaped Tbsp of fermented black bean sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Mix this up and reserve.

Heat the seed oil in a wok and when it isa very hot, toss in the garlic, the
hot pepper and sauté briefly, then add the meat, stirfrying until it loses
its red coloring. Ass the sauce mixture and stir in. Lift the noodles out
of their water with a slotted spoon and toss them into the wok. Stir quite
well and serve hot.

Thji8s was a recipe offered by an Indonesian fellow on Group Recipes, but he
called them Chinese noodles.

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".

"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?

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

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 Wed, 14 May 2008 16:12:53 -0500, "jmcquown"
> wrote:

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

Anthony

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

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
>

Giusi wrote:

> If you want to start with a tomato sauce, make a simple one with a vegetable
> sofritto, tomatoes and seasonings. Don't over do it. You will learn how to
> elaborate by beginning with making the best from the simplest. Remember the
> adage, "when cooking with tomatoes, it is less than 10 minutes or more than
> 2 hours: the acid lives between." Start with the 10 minute sauces using
> already cooked canned tomatoes. Expect a bright, fresh tasting sauce. Once
> you have mastered that, start looking for sauces like arabbiata, puttanesca,
> amatriciana and those will be easy, too. Don't get stuck in a rut thinking
> there's only one way to do these things and that it must be hard and time
> consuming.
>
>
and ohmygawd did I make a killer sauce today too! It started out because
when I made chorizo this weekend, I needed pork fat. So getting big fat
pork chops and other bits just to get the fat off them, I then had these
chops and bones left that couldn't go to waste, right? No, right!
The sauce was a rich ragu, which was a tad too rich for a warm sunny day
I thought, so I lightened it up with the addition of some creme fraiche.
Wow. I can't describe how amazing that sauce became.....that one will be
with me in my memory for a long time yet. <deep satisfied sigh>

"Goomba38" > ha scritto

> and ohmygawd did I make a killer sauce today too! It started out because
> when I made chorizo this weekend, I needed pork fat. So getting big fat
> pork chops and other bits just to get the fat off them, I then had these
> chops and bones left that couldn't go to waste, right? No, right!
> The sauce was a rich ragu, which was a tad too rich for a warm sunny day I
> thought, so I lightened it up with the addition of some creme fraiche.
> Wow. I can't describe how amazing that sauce became.....that one will be
> with me in my memory for a long time yet. <deep satisfied sigh>

LOL I admit to wishing often for creme fraiche or sour cream, but then one
couldn't eat it EVERY day. It would be nice to eat yours on the one day,
however.

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

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.

"meatnub" > wrote in message
...
> 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.

You will probably get more answers to that question than you expect, with a
lot of comments on whose is better or worse.

>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'll throw mine in. If you want quick, use one big can of crushed
tomatoes and one big can of concentrated crushed tomatoes. The
concentrated is thicker, and the sauce doesn't need to cook down as
long.

Throw in some red wine and chicken broth, maybe 1/4 of each.

Season with S&P, Italian seasoning, and simmer for a while.

I usually sautee onion, green pepper, and garlic in the pan before
adding everything else.

I usally make sauce from my canned garden tomatoes, but whe those run
out for the year, this is how I make my sauce.

> wrote:

> But I am curious - is there a way to make
> homemade pasta sauce that is better than premade jarred namebrand?

For me, almost any attempt at a sauce from canned/jarred/boxed
tomatoes and canned tomato paste, olive oil, fresh garlic, and dried
oregano comes out better than a jarred sauce, even a good one.

It has mainly to do, I think, with the garlic flavor being
better if it's been prepared recently. The tomato flavor
is about the same, canned or jarred.

It may also have something to do with what I've come to
be accustomed to.

Steve

>
>For me, almost any attempt at a sauce from canned/jarred/boxed
>tomatoes and canned tomato paste, olive oil, fresh garlic, and dried
>oregano comes out better than a jarred sauce, even a good one.


I agree there. And if they happen to be the variey that has high
fructose corn syrup as the second ingredient....GAG!

In article >,
wrote:

> >
> >For me, almost any attempt at a sauce from canned/jarred/boxed
> >tomatoes and canned tomato paste, olive oil, fresh garlic, and dried
> >oregano comes out better than a jarred sauce, even a good one.
>
>
> I agree there. And if they happen to be the variey that has high
> fructose corn syrup as the second ingredient....GAG!

I really don't care that much whether it's brown sugar, white sugar or
HFCS, I don't want pasta sauce as a dessert.

Also, depending on what you add, the salt can be a lot less also.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA