Mindylynns Kitchen

My mother’s family is primarily of Italian descent, and food was a big part of my childhood.  Grandpa ran a restraunt and everyone considered themselves a self employed food critic.  It’s no wonder that as an adult I equate love and caring with food.  Shortly after my husband and I set up our own household I contacted my mother for a family recipe for marinara or meat sauce.  Amazingly to me at the time, my mom told me that I already knew the recipe…add meat to a can of prego, toss some seasonings in, and simmer….WHAT!!!  I suppose that fits into my mom’s frame of mind; She loves Sandra Lee’s semi-hommade mind set.  Let me say my mom’s pasta sauce rocks,  She’s a great cook.  But, that being said, it’s not my favorite approach to cooking.  I think that most dishes can be simply prepared and cooked and deliver great results while still be created from scratch.  I also think that “recipes” should be easy to adapt to different ingredients, portions and servings.  Which usually means that the recipes I create are guidelines rather than hard and fast rules.  Remember in cooking you can usually do whatever you want…it’s in baking that you really need to follow the rules.  I suppose that’s why I LOVE cooking I can break all the rules I want.  I exasperated my mom growing up…she tried to tell me that there was only one way to do something.  She was wrong. 

Ingredients:
6 Italian sausages (removed from the casings)
1 large yellow onion halved and sliced
1/2 cup of red wine
1 package/can of STRAINED tomatoes
1 cup of roasted garlic puree
1/8 cup of parmasean cheese
1 TBSP balsalmic Vinegar
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions:
In a stainless steel pot, brown and chop sausage, pieces should be small bite sizes.  When meat is browned add onions and cook until the onions are completely soft and carmalized. Deglaze the pan with wine and add tomatoes and garlic.  Simmer for atleast 30 minutes or as long as you want (longer is usually better with sauces and soups). 10 minutes before ready to serve add vinegar, cheese and season to taste with salt & pepper.  Serve over noodles tossed with olive oil.  Yummmy.