On Sunday evening my wife tried to take credit for my spaghetti sauce.
On Saturday we made a quick trip to Kansas City so my wife and our 14-year-old daughter, Emma, could do whatever it is they do when we are in Kansas City. While they were doing whatever it is that they do, I drove to City Market.
I told my wife that while I was there I might stop by Carollo’s Grocery and pick up some Italian sausage.
I dropped off my wife and Emma and then I headed north to the City Market. Because it was early afternoon by the time I got to the market, and it wasn’t as busy as normal, I was able to find a parking space less than a mile away. The City Market tends to get busy on Saturdays.
I love the City Market. Walking through the open air market is like walking through the United Nations only with fewer limousines and less arguing. I made my way toward Carollo’s and fought the urge to pick up one of the grilled sausage sandwiches the guys were serving up on the big outdoor grill in front of the store. When I stepped into Carollo’s, I stopped in front of the deli counter and just stared at the array of meats and cheeses. Then I wandered to the back of the store and scanned the olive oils and the pasta sauce ingredients. I wound up buying a few cans of Italian tomatoes, some tomato paste, a bottle of Chianti, some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and, of course, a couple pounds of Carollo’s Italian sausage. After I left Carollo’s, I stopped at the Bloom Baking Co. and picked up a couple of loaves of fresh Italian bread.
On Sunday afternoon, while I watched the Atlanta Falcons score roughly 87 touchdowns (In fact, as I type this, the Falcons just scored two more!), I started working on a pot of spaghetti sauce.
I diced garlic, green peppers, onions and mushrooms and sautéed them in olive oil. While the vegetables cooked I put the Italian tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste into a large stock pot. Then I added some oregano, parsley, basil, garlic powder, tossed in a couple of bay leaves and added about half a cup of red wine. When the vegetables were done I poured them into the sauce and let the whole thing come to a boil and then turned the fire down so the mixture could simmer.
While I did that, the Falcons scored 10 touchdowns!
While the sauce simmered, using a recipe given to me by Sally Saparito, the owner of Josie’s Ristorante in Scammon Kan., I mixed the Italian sausage with some ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and a few spices and rolled out about 20 or 30 meatballs. Opting for a healthy approach, I baked the meatballs in the oven rather than frying them in olive oil, and when they were done I drained them and added them to the sauce.
While the meatballs baked, the Falcons scored 15 more touchdowns!
About an hour later my wife walked into the kitchen and told me the spaghetti sauce smelled great. Then, remembering a trick that Aaron Owen, the chef at Caldone’s Restaurant showed us, my wife added some Parmesan cheese so it would melt into the sauce.
The Falcons scored four touchdowns while the cheese melted!
At about 7 p.m., I boiled some water and added the spaghetti noodles. When they were done I drained them, placed them on plates and topped them with sauce and meatballs. My wife twirled some noodles and sauce on her folk and took a bite.
“Yum,” my wife said. “That Parmesan cheese I added really makes the sauce.”
I looked at my wife and said a bad word.
And the Falcons scored three more touchdowns!
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