Marinara Sauce

[jglass]

I finally got to the store today.
I am going to try the first recipe for marinara sauce.
I really appreciate your being so kind.

[jglass]

Mama your marinara sauce smells divine.
Its simmering right now.

[Mama Mangia]

The best way to taste your sauce - any tomato-based sauce - is to do it like a true Italian!

Grab a loaf of unsliced crusty Italian bread and dunk it in the sauce and taste! Just break off a chunk and enjoy! (yes - BREAK - do not cut - and if you need to slice it - you hold it near the chest/heart and cut towards the heart. Now how many old Italians still do that??)

OMG - I can make a meal of that alone!


Did you ever see the movie "Fatso" with Dom DeLuise????? Watch it - you'll see! LOL

Mama

[jglass]

I have found my new favorite recipe for Marinara sauce.
I made Giada's last week Mama and yours beat hers all over the place.
I cant wait to try that top recipe again when I have fresh basil. This time I used dried.
My father in law told me today he has 27 tomato plants put out for me so far. I cant wait to try that third marinara recipe with some fresh tomatoes.
I tore off some of my roasted garlic french bread and it was heaven dipped in your sauce.
My husband who does everything by sound and smell fully appreciated the apartment being filled with the wonderful smell it produced while cooking.

We are looking forward to trying it over gnocchi tomorrow.

[Mama Mangia]

Wonderful! And thank you for the wonderful compliment. Now tell me - are you making your gnocchi or using store-bought? Potato, cheese or another flavor gnocchi???

Just being nosey!

Mama

BTW - I like my gnocchi with a thick, rich sauce - I use my marinara on a lighter type pasta. All just preference.

[jglass]

This is the gnocchi recipe I have been using. My husband loves it cooked in some homemade chicken broth with fresh thyme. If you have a recipe for gnocchi I would love to try it. I always make roasted garlic mashed potatoes so the gnocchi has even more flavor.

Gnocchi Recipe

2 cups mashed potatoes (cold)
1-1 1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion salt

In large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix into a soft dough.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 20 times.
Divide dough into fourths and roll each quarter into a 12 inch long rope.
Cut each rope into ½ inch pieces, and set on a floured surface.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Roll each piece of dough across the tines of a fork to get groves on it and drop it into the pot of water.
Cook gnocchi until it floats to the top.
Drain and serve.

[Mama Mangia]

Once again - mine is different - but everyone who eats them always ask for more! Extremely easy! Made for decades in my family this way -

boil potatoes until tender while still in skins; skin while hot and mash - yes we work with hot potatoes (be careful not to overcook the potatoes because they will absorb too much water requiring more flour than needed - those are the real tummy fillers - cripe they sink in your tummy and you feel 30 lbs heavier!)

add salt to taste (depending on the size of the batch you are making)

add enough flour to make a soft supple dough and knead

you can pass your taters through a rice mill if you want - I don't - mashed is fine

divide into portions - roll into 3/4-inch thick ropes; cut and finger roll (I can't be bothered with the fork thing - take too much time - press and roll with the thumb in a split second - especially when making hundreds and hundreds at a time!)

cook in salted, boiling water - here's the routine - boil the water, add the salt, wait for the water to boil again, add pasta and cook

although it is said that they are done when they float - don't believe them - flour is a raw product - cook until DONE!

drain

top with sauce of choice


if no time to boil taters - use ricotta cheese - I prefer homemade because there is no flavor that can compare to it

just substitute your ricotta cheese for the potatoes

much lighter - you can eat more cheese ones than tater ones before filling up - LOL

[jglass]

Thanks! I bought two containers of ricotta at the store the other day.
I will def try this.

[jglass]

Mama I just made some ricotta cheese gnocchi following your advice. You could tell they were lighter that the potato ones. Im boing some water with salt and heating some of your marinara. We are going to eat very well.

Thanks so much.
If you lived closer I would probably bug you to death.
You cook the kind of food my husband and I love.

[jglass]

My 87 year old neighbor, my husband and myself all agree that your ricotta gnocchi and your marinara sauce is one delish meal. It was so good I took my neighbor a plate lol.

I sprinkled the top with a little fresh parm cheese.
My husband ..Mr. hardly ever gives anything a 10 gave your recipes a 10+.