Back on the Sauce

I did something this weekend that I haven't done in quite some time.

I cooked a fresh pot of sauce.

It just felt right today - lazy Sunday, big sports day, a bit chilly outside. The perfect combo for a pot of sauce with meatballs and sausage.

Growing up, Sunday meals almost always included something with homemade tomato sauce (but, like many Italian households, we sometimes called it "gravy"). And every month or so, my parents cooked up a big pot of sauce to be used that evening, but primarily frozen for meals throughout the following few weeks.

During my senior year at college, I had an off-campus apartment with two friends, and we were off meal plan for both semesters. I remember having my mother write up the sauce recipe and fax it to the radio station where I worked (they didn't have email yet). I still have that same exact fax, and although I know the bulk of the recipe, I pulled it out today just to be sure I was all set.

I used to make sauce all the time when I lived in NJ, and when I had roommates in the South End before moving into Southie (where we resurrected big meal Sundays and my roommate Mike and I had an undeclared yet understood ongoing culinary competition).

I think I moved away from the sauce during my many attempts to restrict carbs. After my trip last week, however, I learned that you just can't truly take the macaroni out of the Italians.