Spaghetti Sauce

Finding, choosing, and experimenting with new recipes has been fun and will continue to be fun for quite some time, but somehow nothing says comfort food like one of mom's tried and true home-cooked favorites.  Friday was a practically perfect autumn day: partly cloudy, 50-60 degrees, light breeze.  And the urge to spend just about all day in the kitchen was practically irresistible.  Every autumn, homemade spaghetti sauce is one of the first things I crave.  Since neither my mom nor I can stand to have the stove going all day during the humid summer, by the time September rolls around, it's been awhile...

The Recipe:
1 cup minced yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/4 cup olive oil or other cooking oil
1 (2 pound 3 ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes (do not drain)
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 cup finely grated Romano cheese (optional) (Diva Note: I did not include the cheese in cooking the sauce as I believe the cheese is best served on top of the finished product!)

Saute onion and garlic in oil in a large, heavy saucepan over moderate heat 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Add remaining ingredients, except cheese, cover, and simmer one hour, stirring occasionally. 

Press sauce through a sieve or puree, a little at a time, in an electric blender at low speed. (Diva Note: For this step, I was able to puree the sauce using my brand new, handy dandy Cuisinart SmartStick hand blender.  And thank goodness.  Those other ideas sound complicated.  And messy.)

Reheat to simmering, add cheese if you wish, and serve hot with any pasta!

Oh and look - the hand blender comes apart and the part that gets messy is dishwasher safe.  Hallelujah!

(Diva Note: You'll notice this recipe makes no mention of adding any meat.  Since there really aren't many pasta sauces worth having without meat, I always add a pound of ground something, in this case ground turkey breast.  Brown the meat of your choice in a separate pan and add it after the pureeing step and about two hours before serving.  Enjoy the smells as it simmers away all afternoon!)

The Verdict:
As we all know, any recipe of mom's is never half as good when someone other than mom makes it.  But I made a pretty darn good substitute if I do say so myself.  Hubby is Italian, and he approved, so that must say something...  I'm looking forward to making it again and probably doubling the recipe.  It freezes perfectly for those cold winter nights that require some measure of comfort but don't quite inspire cooking fever like autumn does.

Magnifico!