"Anthony's Sauce Talk, Italian Recipe Discussions" Copyright © 1998-2008 All rights reserved



Sauce Talk Continued...
Email discussions about Italian recipes. Answers to many questions can be found within these discussions...
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Anthony,
Thank you for sharing your spaghetti sauce with the world ... It is, without a doubt, the BEST sauce we have ever tasted and well worth the four hours it takes me to make it.

Rusty Browning!

Rusty,
Sorry for such long delay in response. I've been on a much needed vaca. So glad you enjoyed the sauce. It is a lot of effort, but as you found out, well worth it! Part of what makes the sauce taste so good is the love that one pours into the sauce. Happy Cooking!

Ciao,

~8-) Anthony


Hello Anthony,
I just wanted to tell you that I have been cooking Italian gravy and meals for the last thirty years. I would put my gravy up against anyone’s. I grew up in NJ and even there everyone came to our house for Italian Sunday dinners. Well, your recipe is my new Sunday gravy. It is wonderful. Thanks for sharing!

Donna C. Brunos


Donna,
WoW! What a compliment. I know what it's like to have the same sauce recipe for so long. You become quite bias and never really taste anything close you your own and what you grew up with. So for you to actually like mine better? Well, let's just say grandma would be proud :-) Happy Cooking!

Ciao,

~8-) Anthony


Hi Anthony,
Just found your site, can't wait to try your sauce, and the pictures are great! You should write a cookbook! In the sauce talk section, Charles, with a grandmother named Rose from Bari, wanted a cookie recipe. I think I have it.

6 Eggs
11/2 cups sugar
4 little scoops of solid crisco (maybe about 11/3 cups)
6 cups of flour
7 teaspoons of baking Powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
juice from 1 orange
juice from 1 lemon

In a bowl mix the eggs, juice of lemon and orange, sugar and vanilla.
In a large bowl put flour, crisco, and baking powder, start mixing it with your hands til crumbly, make a hole and add 1/2 of the mixture from the 1st bowl. Again start mixing with your hands and knead it until forms a ball (may need to add some more flour).
May want to refrigerate dough for awhile, before rolling. Can roll out dough and cut with cookie cutter, or can use cookie press, or can take pieces and roll in your hands and then make like a pretzel. Can glaze them on top, put sprinkles or jimmies, or mini chocolate chips. Bake 350 oven for 10-15 minutes...Great cookie to dunk in coffee. (mixing the batter is a bit messy). I have made them without the lemon and orange juice also. Good Luck, I haven't made them in 20 years..

Judy

Judy,
Thanks a bunch! This recipe looks yummy! :-) Tying to find Charles' email address now to send this to him. So what is the name of this cookie? Did not see an actual name anywhere. Oh, I love the measurements for Crisco. 4 little scoops.. ha ha!!! This is like what my grandmother writes down in her old recipes. My mom had one of my grandmothers recipes and in the recipe for one of her cookies the measurement for flour was "add some flour".. LOL! So I am left to experiment until I find that perfect taste that matches hers. Anyway, thanks so much for getting the recipe to me. I am curious about the name of this cookie though, it sounds like something my grandma used to make. Oh, yes by the way, I do have a vision for a cookbook one day, just working on more recipes first.

Ciao,

~8-) Anthony

Hi Anthony,
Happy New Year! I use to call the recipe Italian Cookie Knots, but I asked my Italian friend, and she said all she has on her recipe is Grandma's Cookies. Also, I know I had made them with 11/4 cups of vegetable oil (instead of the scoops of Crisco), and didn't put in the juice from lemon and orange juice, but that is not the real Italian way. I called them knots because I would roll pieces of dough between my hands, so it would be like a string and make a knot. So maybe you have to try both. They remind me of a Stella Dora type cookies, on the dry side, but great with coffee or tea. Good Luck.

Judy


Anthony, (Man Your Sauce Is "OFF THE CHAIN"!!)
I did your eggplant parmesan sauce "complete with pork chop" and meatball as described. It was "off the chain". Used all of the fresh ingredients (rubbed them too) and it was very good. Made the Italian ROUX and I an 100 percent Cajun born South of Interstate 10 in Louisiana.....that's Cajun and I know what a Roux is......... Also took the pork chops after cooking in the sauce for 3 hours, copped up on a cutting board, added ground chuck, onion, oregano and parsley and Bread Crumbs to make meatballs, fried in real butter and added to sauce for 2 more hours. Served Eggplant Parmesan with a side of meatball and sauce. Thanks for the great recipe....this one is a keeper.

Randy Guilbeaux ~ Houston, Texas

PS - My Mom is in several South Louisiana cookbooks (Annie Mae).....She Can Cook Too.

Randy,
So glad you liked the recipe. That Eggplant recipe is a good one for sure! :-) "Off the chain"... now there is a saying I have not heard yet. I like it :-) So your a Cajun boy huh? Cool! I lived in New Orleans "Algiers area" for 9 years, between ages 12-21. Just loved it! I still miss the good food! Anybody with "eaux" in there name I KNOW is from southern Louisiana. I spent a lot of time in Morgan city and New Iberia as well, had a girl friend there and well, that's a long story. Man! The thing you did with the pork chops. That's sound really good!!! Will have to try that! "Let em dun told you dat sounds good... ieeeeeee :-)" Well happy cooking.

Ciao,

~8-) Anthony


Dearest Anthony,
I wrote you at the start of the July 4th weekend with a few questions before beginning the sauce-making adventure. I was supposed to let you know how things went, and I apologize for not writing until now. I revisited the site (as I've done several times since July) just to see if you had updated the "sauce talk" portion. When I saw you had posted my email to you, the guilt was overwhelming. I had to write. Let me first say the only reason I haven't written is because I wasn't quite sure what words would be enough to express the gratitude I feel for you and this website. I made this sauce for the first time that weekend with the meatballs. I never knew I could make meatballs that good...no trouble at all! A flood of memories came back and have stayed with me since. I have made it with the braciole also which took entirely too long..but only because the butcher didn't follow directions and the meat was sliced too thin. I had to work to keep everything together. Then I cooked them in the sauce so long, it all fell apart anyway..but the taste was still amazing! I have made this recipe 4 times in total and will be preparing it again tomorrow. I have a lasagna to make next weekend. I like to make the sauce ahead so it can freeze for a few days at least and get an even better taste. I have served it to a few close friends and family members, and they ALL have raved about it! My mother took some home with her (though she says doesn't eat beef) since she loved it so. She said she couldn't believe it actually got better after she froze it! My grandfather (on the non-Italian side of the family) fussed all day long as I cooked because I wouldn't turn down the "damned Italian music!" I told him that it made my food happy, and he'd thank me in the end. After his first taste of sauce, even HE said "that's amore!"lol My husband was away when I made it the first time, and didn't seem too impressed when I was raving about it. When he got back and wanted spaghetti...I gave him some of my homemade sauce...and was so terribly disappointed when he announced that "it all tasted the same to him." The following week, he wanted spaghetti again, and I refused to put the work into this sauce for him to say the same thing. I used Emeril's Homestyle marinara...adding more basil, oregano, parsley and garlic...I thought it tasted great...as far as jarred sauces go. After dinner, he sheepishly admitted...maybe there WAS a difference and APOLOGIZED! He's been asking for "my" sauce ever since :) There is truly something special about this recipe. It seems that your nonna put so much love into it that it has somehow managed to spread through so many other families. It's emotional for me because each time I make it...I feel MY nonna's presence. She's always there to remind me "don't forget to stir the sauce." And I do...and it's good...and each time I make this, I will thank God for you...and for the wonderful memories the nonnas have left behind.

Salute, Angelinah!

Angelinah,
Sorry for so long to respond to your lovely email. I've been on vacation at the beach. Wish I were still there. I am now back in reality working my but off. Oh well, so it goes. It's nice to here from you again :-) I'm glad to heat the sauce and everything came out good for ya! Wonderful result you get from all that effort. It's so much work, but as you can see that is what makes it taste so good. All the hard labor and love poured into the food is what makes it all so special. Oooh, thin meat and cooked to long, bad combo.. Bummer :-(. LOL! Yes, the "damned Italian music!" does make the food happy and it helps the cook as well :-)..... And yes, grandma's love is still spreading. Share the love!

Ciao,

~8-) Anthony


Dear Anthony:
Your receipts are fantastic. You sound like a great cook plus you enjoy the moment. Can your wife cook as well? To the person who asked for pizza sauce. Its almost like Anthony's pasta sauce recipe.

For approx 2 pizzas:
28 oz tomatoe sauce...san marzianos are best but any good variety is great.
6 oz tomatoe paste
3 ozs water
If you like pieces of tomatoe in your pizza get a can of crushed tomatoes as an OPTION
3 cloves fresh garlic
1/4 cup oregano
1/4 cup parsley (fresh of course)
1/4 cup of olive oil (high quality)
pinch course pepper
dash of red wine
red pepper (optional according to taste)
BASIL LEAVES CAN BE ADDED FOR GARNISH
When finishing up the pizza always sprinkle a little olive oil over the top. It browns the crust and heightens the flavor. Bon appetite! Let me know how it turns out! DON'T FORGET THE ITALIAN OPERA MUSIC.!

~ Maeve

Maeve,
Yes, I have been blessed with a Sicilian wife who is a great cook! But I make the sauce ;-) Thanks for the recipe! :-)

~8-) Anthony

Hi Anthony,
Manitoba eh? Metis also?
I searched in vain for a real Italian sauce recipe till I found your page. Most Google links are to U.S. mainstream WASPish recipes that are totally whitewashed and bland. Your personal engaging approach is great, and helped me make my first authentic sauce. I deviated a bit -- I used fresh tomatoes, herbs, peppers from my garden, also used garlic/basil sausage instead of pork chops, and added peppers, mushrooms. I hope that's OK. Will be working further on recipes from your site, as you can see from the pic, lots more tomatoes coming in. This is my best year ever!! Again, great to find your site and your personal/Italian take on sharing recipes. Sorry, I couldn't get your Italian music link to work, so had to substitute Jimmy Cliff reggae. Love your work, keep it up. I'm not sending a picture of myself, I'm just another guy... you're right, women don't seem to be participating in your forum... but they never were the best cooks anyway (just grandmothers)!

PS I think the old Italian woman next door is jealous, after smelling those meatballs searing!!

 ~ Mike Patterson Ph.D.h!

Mike,
Hi. Thanks for the pic. I'm glad you liked my personal approach. To me, this makes sense and I wish more people would write this way. More step by step and detailed, especially with recipes. Most recipes leave out so many subtle details and when it comes to Italian cooking, oh man, are there a lot of little details to know. Fresh tomatoes are always nice to throw into the sauce. Spaghetti sauce is a very forgiving recipe. You can add all kinds of stuff to it and still have it come out very nice. Garlic/Basil sausage? Yum! That sounds lovely, have not had those before. You may want to try the music download again. It works fine, however there are those rare times when I have to reboot my server and you could have tried during one of those times.

Keep on cooking! :-)

~8-) Anthony


Anthony, Thank you so much for your recipes.
I made the sauce et. al. quite a while ago and it was excellent. Your newer site (and picture of lasagna) has inspired me to make the lasagna next week. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~ Sincerely, Robin Bell in Virginiah!

Robin,
Nice to see you visiting the old neighborhood :-) Yes, there has been changes and many additions for sure! :-) Have fun with the Lasagna! Best I have had, but then I'm a little bias, nobody makes it better than my grandma, nobody ;-)

Happy cooking. Ciao,

~8-) Anthony

Hi Anthony, me again...
I also put the picture of lasagna as my screen saver. It looks fantastic and I am searching for a good one. I'll let you know after i make it. (last time i made the sauce I set off the smoke alarm in the apt. when I made the rolled steak!) thought I'd share this dressing recipe as a thank you. it is very good (was better day 2, i have never eaten a salad so fast!) got it from copy cat recipe requests. w/ egg not good for too long though.

Olive Garden Italian Salad Dressing (Source: Olive Garden Restaurants, Phoenix, Arizona)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup corn syrup
2 1/2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
2 tablespoons dry pectin
2 tablespoons egg, beaten
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
Pinch of dried oregano
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients with medium speed of electric mixer or in a blender on low speed for 30 seconds. Chill at least 1 hour. Serve over mixed greens or use as a marinade. Makes 8 servings. ~ EnJoY!

~ Robin!


Hello Anthony,
I found your recipe on the web for sauce and it is very similar to my Grandma's also a Rose, she was from Bari. I am going to try the Lasagna for the first time this weekend on company--8 adults, 4 women and 4 men. Would one 13x9 pan provide me with enough servings? Also I am in a wheelchair and it is difficult for me to entertain so would it be ok to assemble the lasagna the day before and bake immediately before dinner the next day? Also wondered if you have a recipe for a simple biscuit like cookie with a sugar glaze on top. My grandma made them routinely and would often send a large bag home with us, they are great dunked in coffee- they do not contain nuts. The recipe was rather simple, flour, baking powder, Crisco (or butter?) sugar, eggs, vanilla and milk but I just can't re-create it exactly-she never measured anything. I know she made a well in the dry ingredients and added the wet ingredients, rolled out the dough and cut with cookie cutters Sometimes she topped them with colored jimmies other times a thin sugar glaze. Any ideas?

~ Charles

Charles,
So sorry I'm late on this email. Been out of town and swamped with work! I hope the lasagna came out ok? Was it a success? The lasagna should be just perfect (using 13x9 pan) for 8 people, especially with 4 of them being women seeing that they normally don't eat as much as the guys do. I don't recommend assembling the day before, although it can be done. I have done this before and it came out just fine). It's nice when everything is fresh when possible. Sorry, I don't have a recipe for the cookie you mentioned. Sound yummy though :-) Well, happy cooking! Ciao,

~8-) Anthony.

Hey Charles, check it out! This email below is for you:

Hi Anthony,
Just found your site, can't wait to try your sauce, and the pictures are great! You should write a cookbook! In the sauce talk section, Charles, with a grandmother named Rose from Bari, wanted a cookie receipe. I think I have it!

6 Eggs
11/2 cups sugar
4 little scoops of solid crisco (maybe about 11/3 cups)
6 cups of flour
7 teaspoons of baking Powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
juice from 1 orange
juice from 1 lemon

In a bowl mix the eggs, juice of lemon and orange, sugar and vanilla.
In a large bowl put flour, crisco, and baking powder, start mixing it with your hands til crumbly, make a hole and add 1/2 of the mixture from the 1st bowl. Again start mixing with your hands and knead it until forms a ball (may need to add some more flour).
May want to refrigerate dough for awhile, before rolling. Can roll out dough and cut with cookie cutter, or can use cookie press, or can take pieces and roll in your hands and then make like a pretzel. Can glaze them on top, put sprinkles or jimmies, or mini chocolate chips. Bake 350 oven for 10-15 minutes...Great cookie to dunk in coffee. (mixing the batter is a bit messy). I have made them without the lemon and orange juice also. Good Luck, I haven't made them in 20 years.

Judy


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