Recipe of the Day

It is far easier not to make your own marinara sauce for weeknight spaghetti, but so very worthwhile to

take the time to do it.  To make your own is a bit like eating time (not thyme), because, as you taste the ingredients, you know that it was you who planned and prepared each of them.  Although

this batch, a simple recipe from Giadas Family Dinners, was made with a nice selection of whole canned tomatoes, you could see how the next step in eating time would be to first pick your

own vine ripened garden tomatoes and quickly pulling them inside to use as the base of the sauce, then adding from there what it is you like in a good Italian-style taste.  For this batch, I pureed two oversized cans of whole plum tomatoes along with a batch of fresh basil (from the small herb

garden?), and set aside while sautéing diced onions and garlic in plenty of olive oil.  This batch didn't call for it, but I wanted to incorporate hamburger, just not in meatballs necessarily.  I peppered the pound of meat with some salt and Italian seasonings and simply cut the meat into long and imperfectly shaped slabs to cook – instead of meatballs, these were literally squares.  I poured the blended tomato puree into the pan with the sautéed onions and let that simmer for as long as necessary for the sauce to thicken and to take on the desired taste.  On the side, at the same time, I wanted to make a French

recipe for mushroom toast; sautéing quartered parts of mixed mushrooms, including standard button and mini portabellas, while broiling slices of French bread.  When the slices came out toasted, I rubbed cut garlic along the surface instead of garlic powder, for that subtle taste.  After I mixed a bit of cream into the mushroom pan, reduced it, and added a drop of lemon for zest, I poured that over the toasts, which absorbed the cream, but platformed the soft and aromatic mushrooms, a perfect compliment to the homemade marinara.  Next step, for next time: make your own linguine pasta – a true taste of time itself.