whew. That’s quite the mouthful.
Last weekend Charlie and I planned to cook his dad’s spaghetti sauce recipe and have a romantic Italian dinner for two.
á la Lady and the Tramp.
Okay, so honestly the first thing I thought of when Charlie talked about cooking a spaghetti dinner was this scene in Lady in the Tramp. Can you blame a girl!? Back in the day this scene made my 8-year-old heat melt to a puddle on the floor. Okay, if I’m still being honest, it still makes my heart melt.
Also, I’ve seen Lady in the Tramp approximately 239480203 times. It was one of Taylor’s absolute favorite’s growing up.
Okay, back to reality. I was super excited about cooking this recipe for several reasons. One, Charlie said it was delicious and I love delicious food. Two, as we’ve already established, spaghetti is weirdly romantic. Three, a man in the kitchen is insanely sexy.
I had a great time cooking with Charlie. He taught me how to properly use a knife, and I taught him that the palm of one’s hand is an extremely accurate measuring spoon. Also, the spaghetti sauce really WAS as good as he said it was. It comes together super quickly too.
Dad’s Quick but Delicious Spaghetti Sauce
For a vegetarian version, just leave the meat out and substitute Kalamata olives, red or green peppers, mushrooms, or other vegetables
Ingredients
One 15 oz can of chopped tomatoes, with the liquid 470 ml
One 8 oz can of tomato sauce 240 ml
One 6 oz can of tomato paste 180 ml
(NO garlic or seasoning in the above, just plain!)
1 lb or a bit less of very lean hamburger (or ground turkey) ½ kg or less
2 teaspoons olive oil 10 ml
One medium to large yellow onion
2 large cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil 5 ml
1 teaspoon dried oregano 5 ml
1 large bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 oz dry red wine (essential!) 180 ml
Instructions
1. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Saute together in the oil until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the meat and saute and fully cooked. Drain off any fat or oil that you can capture.
3. Add all the other ingredients, stir together.
4. Simmer for 30-‐40 minutes…or even just 20 minutes, if you are in hurry.
What’s the most romantic date you’ve ever had?
XOXO,
Jamie
I wonder if I could substitute soy crumbles or tvp for the beef…? I bet it would still be good!!
Yeah for sure! The sauce would be great with tofu in it as well.
STILL one of Taylor’s favorites!
Haha. We should watch it sometime! There’s a VCR player in the basement.