Okay, so now that you can master a basic marinara sauce, we are going to build on our foundation. My family members have been accused of holding back when sharing recipes, simply because people forget that one cooks with love, from the gut, by using the senses. Perhaps the same cannot be said for the chemistry of baking, but when preparing a savory dish, usually one can rely on one’s own preferences.

Consider the typical Italian Sunday dinner. The recipes below provide for only the pasta course, served with the meats that were cooked in the gravy (you say “tomato sauce” I say “THE GRAVY”).

Grandma Dearie would say that a good cook uses fresh, quality ingredients. If you do this, diners can salt their own food. The herbs will properly season the food. Over the years, I came to the realization that my French side used cheaper cuts of meats, cooked the hell out of them, and covered them in rich, heavy, wine laden sauces (I am quite sure I will hear about this generalization, but as I grew up trying to master the cooking from both sides, this is how it seemed). Grandma was from Naples – Neapolitan – and of course, she thought she cooked better than our friends and neighbors, “the Barese” or the Sigiliana.” And vice versa.

To me, even as a child, the Italian side seemed to focus more on a few fresh, quality ingredients; preferably home-grown herbs and vegetables, choice cuts of meat, and homemade or good quality semolina pasta. Of course, as I experimented, poured cookbooks, and devoured cooking shows, I learned to add a healthier, modern touch for my growing family. Like my sister the chef, I married the Mediterranean cooking we had learned at home with foods I enjoyed on my travels. Garlic and olive oil – any good flavorful oil, meats in casings, and bread and pasta of some sort, seemed to pop up in many ethnic recipes.

Cooking for me has been a life journey. Learning new recipes, savoring a dish in a restaurant and trying to recreate it at home, incorporating traditional recipes from my childhood with new seasonings and ingredients taught me to celebrate life through food from my travels and experiences.

Something I learned from Grandma Dearie is that you measure by eye, season by taste or smell, and time by appearance. Use your senses; use your heart, when cooking what I consider to be peasant Italian, but what most people now find in finer dining establishments (watch for my zucchini squash flower appetizers).

We will focus first on the meats that go into The Gravy. But first, refer to the Basic Mariana Sauce (from the post, Consider the Sauce) and prepare it. Let it simmer in a large Dutch oven while we prepare the meats that will be added into the pool – er, pot.

The Basic Marinara Sauce-to-Gravy (refresher course)

Virgin Olive oil to coat your large Dutch oven (with a lid)

3 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped or minced

3-4 leaves fresh basil

Dry or fresh Italian herbs (optional)

2 cans premium quality plum tomatoes (remember, you want to smell sunshine, like the scent of a fresh picked tomato on a hot summer’s day)

2 small cans tomato sauce (not paste, according to my Napolitana Grandma!) NOTE: This ingredient isn’t in your marinara recipe.

Over high-medium heat, brown garlic and herbs in olive oil coating the bottom of the pan; add your tomatoes and tomato sauce; lower to simmer on a back burner while you cook your meats.

To give The Gravy its rich, meaty depth, we next have to assemble our meats that take longest to cook. Remember, Gramps would have all the meats ready on plates in the fridge for Grandma to use as she was ready. The meats will then simmer in the tomato sauce on low for 2-3 hours, minimum, until the meats are fork tender and the sauce is thick and rich with some of the meats that have begun to dissolve, transforming the sauce into: The Gravy!

Bracciole (beef rolls): 1. Thin cut beef slices, usually labeled in the supermarket meat cases as “for bracciole” (often round steak). Grandma Dearie would take a mallet and bang it out flat and tender, whether it needed it or not. 3-4 rollups can be halved or sliced for your guests, as there will be plenty of other meats to sample.

2. Italian flavored breadcrumbs, 1-2 cups, depending upon how many rolls you wish to make.

3.  Pignoli (pine nuts), these are quite dear (expensive) as my grandfather would say — he also nicknamed Grandma Dearie  — so you decide on ¼- ½ cup

4. Fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped, remove most of the stems, about ½ cup (Be careful at the grocery store! Don’t grab cilantro by mistake!)

5. Garlic, chopped, 2-3 cloves (My mom likes a little food with her garlic, so again, your preference)

6. Grated “parmesan” cheese (Buy a nice one from the deli case, and make sure it is cheese and doesn’t contain fillers): Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano, Locatelli Romano, Parmigiano Reggiano (God, my spellchecker hates me right now!) will all work. You can even buy it in block form and grate as needed.

7. Olive Oil – just splurge on a gallon, would you, and refill decorative bottles to keep on your counter, in your pantry, on your table so you don’t run out EVER!

8. Toothpicks, plain — not dyed (or thread if you are out of toothpicks, but NEVER mint flavored dental floss!)

Toss together all ingredients except the oil, beef, and toothpicks (duh). Do you feel compelled to salt and pepper your filling? Go ahead, but remember, salt can be added by the diner, and cheese adds saltiness. Some cooks add slices of prosciutto, chopped onion, etc., but less is more, and all of this will add flavor to your Gravy!

Have ready on medium a heated frying pan coated with olive oil.

Assemble: Lay a thin slice of beef on a piece of wax paper. Sprinkle a generous Tablespoon or two of your breadcrumb mixture. Roll up to resemble small logs, about 2×4”. Use 2-3 toothpicks to hold together, or wrap and tie with string or thread. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

Meatballs: 1 lb. ground chuck, — Many cooks use some sort of mixture of beef, pork, & veal – (1/3 of each works) – we don’t.

1. 1 c. Italian flavored breadcrumbs
2. Garlic, 1-2 cloves chopped fine
3. Fresh chopped parsley ½ c. (déjà vu all over again, right?)
4. Dash dried oregano or Italian herbs (if you have fresh, but of course, use them!)
5. 1 egg (Add a drop or two of milk as you combine if mixture seems too dry. The trick is to have more meat than anything else, so you may want to cut back on breadcrumbs or parsley. Too moist, and they will fall apart in the sauce. Tricky, yes, but keep your balls firm – oh dear.)
6. Pignoli ¼ c. (I know! They are dear!)
7. Combine all ingredients, roll into 3” smaller-than-base-balls (my daughter’s first looked like baseballs, but that’s okay, her fiancé is a pitcher), set on wax paper-lined plate in fridge

Italian sausage (can be bought with or without fennel, which my mom despises) ½ hot, ½ regular, so maybe ½ to 1 per diner

1-2 pork loin chops or ribs, bone in

1 small Chuck filet for more flavor! More power! Any of these meats can be omitted according to individual taste. READY!?!?

Brown bracciole on all sides in the heated frying pan that was coated in olive oil (remember?)

Remove to a platter

Brown meatballs (sometimes I roil these on a foil lined cookie pan, but watch closely and turn to brown all sides)

Remove to the platter

Brown sausages, hot and/or mild

Remove to platter

Brown your pieces of pork and beef. Add to the platter.

Stir your pot of sauce to be sure it is not sticking on the bottom. This is why a good heavy pot or Dutch oven is necessary. Slowly add your meats to the pot in this order: bracciole, pork and beef pieces, sausages, and meatballs, layered ever-so-gently on the top. Cover, and simmer on low for 2-3 hours.

If you leave the gravy simmering while you go to church, go surfing, work out, or however you spend your Sunday mornings, be sure someone is home to stir from the bottom or lower the heat. Nothing tastes worse than blackened tomato sauce, and there’s a lot of money I that pool. Not sure if the gravy is done? Slice into the piece of chuck. Does it fall apart? Are the meatballs firm and is the gravy now thickened by all that protein? It’s ready.

Boil a large covered pot of water. Salt optional. Drop of olive oil is optional, too. Remove the lid. Stir your pasta into the rapidly boiling water. Cook according to taste or package directions. Remember, fresh pasta is already soft and requires about the half the time as boxed dry pasta. Drain well. Move to a large pasta serving bowl. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.

Remove meats from the gravy and arrange on a platter. Pour the remainder of the gravy over your cooked pasta, (reserving a bit). Toss together. Top with a scoop of sauce and grated cheese for presentation. If desired, serve the remainder of the gravy in a gravy boat. Serve with additional cheese, crushed red pepper flakes for those who like diablo (spicy). Add a hot loaf of crusty Italian bread and a salad and this could be enough for the average person’s dinner.

Unless you’re part Italian. Then this is a course served after the Antipasto, the Stracietella, and before the roast with oven browned potatoes and a veg. But if you insert a slice or two of apple at this point, to help you digest as Grandma Dearie would say, then you have room for Ricotta Cheesecake and cappuccino. Mangia bene!