So… Two unusual events this quiet Sunday. One, I am not travelling for work tomorrow and two, we did not have company. My son wanted one of his perennial favorites – sausage and peppers. I took the opportunity to make a Focaccia with a new recipe. I seem to have misplaced my old favorite. This new one was easy enough but a hit fluffy and light for a focaccia. But good olive oil and fresh snipped and minced Rosemary from my little bitty herb plot made it aromatic and yummy, in fact we ate it all.
I also took advantage of the cloudy windy not too busy Sunday to do something I haven’t done in a long time – I made what New York Italian families call gravy; old fashioned long cooked meat sauce. It is for Monday pasta; another thing we rarely do – eat pasta, it will be a treat. I used a mix of ground pork and lean ground beef, lots of garlic and onions and sautéed a little organic tomato paste to deepen the flavor before adding all the tomato, parsley, salt, pepper, oregano, lots of minced fresh basil and just a pinch of sugar. Tomorrow when reheating I will add a little crushed red pepper and simmer another hour or so. Not anything most people haven’t made a million times, but familiar, comforting and rare these days unless you are in a restaurant. So pasta Monday it will be. No funny stories this week, just a quiet Sunday with fresh bread and a house full of the smell of garlic.
Next Sunday, a smoking barbecue bonanza. Sides not entirely determined, but I see some fried green tomatoes coming down the line.
