Sunday Gravy

It's mob week on AMC!! In honor of this event, I'm making a mob inspired dinner.

"I'm going to make John a dinner he can't refuse."

Sadly, throughout the course of my life, I've been deprived of the joy that is the classic mobster flick. True story. No wise-guy here. (Wise-girls don't exist, I believe. And I find the mobster view on women rather disturbing...) The first in the daily line up for mob week was, of course, The Godfather. I'd never seen this movie before, not even parts of it. John was mortified! We've been marathoning mob shows all week.

Anyway, while watching The Godfather there was a scene, during part of a 'war' between the rival mob families, where the character Peter Clemenza is showing the young Michael Corleone how to feed a large group of men. Goes like this: Clemenza - 'Heh, come over here, kid, learn something. You never know, you might have to cook for twenty guys someday. You see, you start out with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic. Then you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste, you fry it; ya make sure it doesn't stick. You get it to a boil; you shove in all your sausage and your meatballs; heh?... And a little bit o' wine. An' a little bit o' sugar, and that's my trick.' Um, yum. I want some!
 

Turns out, this recipe is also a favorite of the Soprano's. After doing a bit of research, I stumbled across a recipe very similar to Clemenza's dish on food.com, under 'Soprano's recipes', called Sunday Gravy. Nearly the same, but the recipe on food.com omitted the wine and sugar. Because I believe that more food should include wine, (mostly so I can drink it while cooking), I decided to make my Sunday Gravy closer to Clemenza's, plus a few extra additions, like onions, peppers and fresh herbs from my garden. (Must needs add some sort of vegetable. So I can feel less guilty.)

I paired my Gravy with Angel Hair pasta. Before serving the pasta, make sure to 'pink it up' - place the pasta in a bowl, then add a little of the gravy sauce to it, and stir it all up. Then serve the gravy on the side, along with grated Parmesan. Have some crusty bread and a salad with it.

 

By the end, my gravy turned out quite differently from what Clemenza made, and the Soprano's recommend. I halved it and added fresh tomatoes and plenty of fresh herbs, browned my sausage and meatballs at the same time, and generally did whatever I wanted to with it. I adjust everything to taste. Turned out absolutely delicious, we ate until stuffed!

Sunday Gravy freezes very well, so don't be afraid to make plenty of it by doubling the recipe.

print recipe

Sunday Gravy

by Adapted from food.com August-2-2012

For when you need to cook for twenty guys. Or just two.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 TBS Olive Oil
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 medium whole Onion
• 1/2 (6 oz) can Tomato Paste
• 2 Whole Chopped Roma Tomatoes
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans Canned Diced Tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried Italian Seasoning
•  Two big glugs of red wine 2 TBS sugar

• MEATBALLS
• 1/2 lbs ground chuck (85% lean, 15% fat)
• 1 slice white bread
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 1/4 tsp salt
• to taste cracked pepper
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 TBS olive oil (for frying)
• SAUSAGE
• 1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage
• 1 banana pepper
• 1/2 green pepper

Instructions

1. Heat oil in very large Dutch oven.2. Add garlic, onions, and peppers and saute until soft. Do not brown.3. Add fresh tomatoes, diced tomatoes plus juice, spices, 2 TBS sugar, wine and tomato paste and stir to combine. 4. Stir and bring to boil, then lower heat to low. Cover and simmer.5. Meanwhile, combine all meatball ingredients, except for flour and oil, forming into balls about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.6. Dredge meatballs in flour. Allow to rest a minute before placing in pan to fry.7. Fry meatballs in oil in skillet a few at a time until browned on all sides. It is not necessary to cook through, they will finish cooking in sauce. Add fried meatballs from skillet directly into simmering sauce.8. Stir and bring sauce back to a simmer. Cover.9. Place sausage in a separate pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil about 5 minutes to remove some of the fat. Then brown boiled sausage in same skillet used to fry meatballs.10. Place browned sausage in simmering sauce.11. Bring sauce back to a simmer. Cover and continue simmering for 2 hours over low heat, stirring occasionally. 12. Cook pasta until al dente.13. Remove meatballs and sausage from pot and place on separate serving dish.14. Place a bit of sauce into cooked pasta. Serve.

Details

Prep time: 45 mins Cook time: 3 hour Total time: 3 hour 45 mins Yield: 4 servings