Scott and I decided to try to make "Grandma's Sauce", again. We made a sauce last month for his family. They liked it, but I thought it could be better. It was thin, and not as full-flavored as Grandma's. The turkey meatballs were great. When I asked Grandma for some tips she asked what kind of meat I used. I'm a little squeamish around meat and chose nice, lean, boneless pork and beef. Grandma said, "you gotta use bones". Ewwh.
Alas, I was determined to do it. I bought bone-in pork chops and ribs. I bought some gargantuan beef bone for soup, I'm going to have nightmares about that thing. I bought the meatloaf mixture - pork and beef for the meatballs. I bought beef tips for stew. This is more meat than I've bought in the last few months!
The meat browning took a hour, I need a bigger pot and had to brown in batches. There was beautiful caramelization. Scott made meatballs. I thought we had the right ingredients. I added tomato puree, which might in hindsight be too thick. Fresh basil to top it off. A low, slow cooking; I even found my old heat diffuser.
It looked like sauce, tasted like sauce, but wasn't right. John and Rose helped enjoy the meal. While we all like the sauce, it was not Grandma's. Too tomatoey and a trifle too thick.
John asked if I had a recipe. Yes indeed I do. It is not, as it turns out, complete. I've cooked with Grandma, but she adds a little of this and that. She adjusts her sauce to the type of tomato down to the size of the pot. That's passion or dedication or what cooking is like after 94 years. A modern masterpiece if you ask me.
