8 ms·

One thing I miss about my old place in the city was the ridiculously expensive market on my block that carried all of the "real" cheese. The real stuff was so

One thing I miss about my old place in the city was the ridiculously expensive market on my block that carried all of the "real" cheese. The real stuff was so fantastic and flavorful that I usually used far less of it, which partially offset the cost. I also got a $20 jar of pasta sauce there once. I was embarrassed at how much I paid and didn't tell my wife. After her first taste, her reaction was "OMG, what is this? It's so good!". I took a taste and was blown away. Literally every taste just amazed me, so we kept getting it. I only recognized it by the label and never learned the brand, much to my chagrin (and my wallet's delight) when I moved away and never found it again.

wahnfrieden 4y ago
Pianogrillo?
- fatnoah 4y ago
  This was in the mid-2000's, so my memory is pretty fuzzy. I'll definitely check that brand out, though.
matthewmcg 4y ago
If you can get good canned tomatoes (I like the Flora brand San Marzano D.O.P, about $5.50 for a 28oz can), this is a great 20 minute recipe that will usually beat any pre-made sauce: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015987-classic-marinara-sauce https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015987-classic-marinara...
- orhmeh09 4y ago
  Here’s a version by the same chef without the paywall: https://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/marinara-sauce-2/ https://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/marinara-sauce-2/
- ace2358 4y ago
  Canned tomatoes? Yikes. If you’re trying to beat premise sauces at least get some local fresh tomatoes and have a go and making it from scratch. The acidic flavour of canned tomatoes is horrible in my opinion compared to fresh tomatoes.
  - djur 4y ago
    For the ~1 month I have access to local fresh tomatoes, I'm going to be eating them in fresh preparations like caprese salad, BLTs, etc. rather than using them on sauces. The remaining 11 months of the year, canned tomatoes are just fine.
    - np_tedious 4y ago
      I think this is a smart move. Your examples are cases where fresh tomatoes outperform canned. Sauces, not so much
  - rdtwo 4y ago
    Fresh tomatoes are Usally pretty bland 11 months of the year. So canned is the way to go because they are ripe when canned and retain most of the flavors
    - hackernewds 4y ago
      You seem to mean off-season where you're saying fresh.
      - rdtwo 4y ago
        They are red they look like tomatoes they just taste like nothing that’s what I mean. Those are available most of the time the other kind almost never
        beebeepka 4y ago
        I know what you mean. I get to eat really good tomatoes every few years, and just for a few days, then they are gone. The good stuff spoils pretty quickly, too. It's not just the price that makes them uncommon
        rdtwo 4y ago
        Grow your own or make friends with someone that does. I have more than I can give away during peak season
- wolverine876 4y ago
  Or as a compromise between time and taste, add crushed/chopped tomatoes to a bottled sauce.
- donthellbanme 4y ago
  Fresh is always better, even if you don't have acces to San Marazano tomatoes. This tomato sauce recipe goes out the the poor guys here. I imagine we are the minority here? 1. Tomatoes--any kind. You will buy them initially to use them for sandwiches, and maybe a salad, but will be left over with a bowl of soft tomatoes at tge end of the week. The rest left older will start to rot, so why not make tomato sauce. 2. In any pot, put in 1/4 cup of olive oil. 3. Put in handful of fresh onions in the hot oil. (You can use dehydrated onion. Many commercial kitchens do.) 4. Add a few teaspoons of fresh garlic, or dehydrated garlic. 5. Add couple of teaspoons of salt, and a pinch of honey, or sugar. I used pancake syrup last night because I ran out of anything sweet. (add a pinch of cayenne pepper, or black, if you like it spicy.) Using a potato masher smash it all down. Cook 40 minutes on low. You now have pasta sauce, or pizza sauce, for the week. Add butter when using it on pasta. You now have sauce for noodles. Add a few pats of butter for pasta. Your guests won't know, but will like your sauce. Belive me restaurants use a lot of butter, and salt. There's a happy medium. A 1/2 tbs of butter will not kill you. The vegan in the group can use vegetarian butter substitute. You want pizza? You need dough? 1. luke warm water added to a large bowl. Add the yeast. Amount doesn't matter. A few teaspoons usually. 2. add some sugar, honey, or whatever. Last night I used pancake syrup. 3. Add high gluten flour if you can find it. Add any flour will do if that's all you have. 4. In the bowl mix it like you dislike it. Add more flour if necessary. Add more water if too dry. Just do it. Pound that dough. After 20-30 minutes it should be the consistency of a male boob. (I have man boobs, and couldn't think of a politically correct example, but we have all all felt a fatty boob. It's just adipose tissue, and skin. Enough of my analogies you will never hear out of any cooks mouth.) 5. Cover that dough with a wet towel, saran wrap, or foil. Let it rise in a warm kitchen. Since most of us don't have the right kitchen temp, turn on the oven for a a minute, and turn off. You want the temp between 80-120 degrees. Put a pot holder on the rack and the bowl of dough goes on the rack. The pot holder acts as a gasket between the warm metal grates, and your bowl. 5. Let it rise for an hour. It's now ready to use for pizza dough, or freezing. You could punch it down again, and let it rise, but unless you have all the right quality ingredients, it dosen't matter. (you could add some oil oil to the dough.) I'm poor, and have been cooking for myself, and my mom for years. I was trained at Zesto's Cafe in the 80's by a owner who always accused me of stealing. I was unbelievably honest/ernest at the time. I didn't know how the wealthy lie, and cheat, daily. I guess because I was in high school, with long hair. I did know other employees whom were stealing, but never said anything. I'm no rat. Then, or now. Trust me tomato sauce, and pizza dough are easy to make. Making good bread is very, very hard though. So hard, I have heard French/Italian chefs gave up, and only buy from their baker. Something about the yeast in the air, and the right climate, along with the right stove.
fatnoah 4y ago
Wow, I didn't expect such a great discussion on tomatoes and sauces. I have a few things to check out. My own tomato story comes from another place in the city where I had a private roofdeck. It was basically full sun all day long. I planted 4 tomato plants, which were amazingly productive, and the tomatoes were so delicious that we ate them with lunch and dinner almost every day. My favorite summer snack became (and still is) a slice of fresh tomato topped with a slice of fresh mozzarella, lightly drizzled with a "green" olive oil, and garnished with fresh basil.

wahnfrieden 4y ago

Pianogrillo?

fatnoah 4y ago
This was in the mid-2000's, so my memory is pretty fuzzy. I'll definitely check that brand out, though.

matthewmcg 4y ago

If you can get good canned tomatoes (I like the Flora brand San Marzano D.O.P, about $5.50 for a 28oz can), this is a great 20 minute recipe that will usually beat any pre-made sauce: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015987-classic-marinara-sauce https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015987-classic-marinara...

orhmeh09 4y ago
Here’s a version by the same chef without the paywall: https://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/marinara-sauce-2/ https://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/marinara-sauce-2/
ace2358 4y ago
Canned tomatoes? Yikes. If you’re trying to beat premise sauces at least get some local fresh tomatoes and have a go and making it from scratch. The acidic flavour of canned tomatoes is horrible in my opinion compared to fresh tomatoes.
- djur 4y ago
  For the ~1 month I have access to local fresh tomatoes, I'm going to be eating them in fresh preparations like caprese salad, BLTs, etc. rather than using them on sauces. The remaining 11 months of the year, canned tomatoes are just fine.
  - np_tedious 4y ago
    I think this is a smart move. Your examples are cases where fresh tomatoes outperform canned. Sauces, not so much
- rdtwo 4y ago
  Fresh tomatoes are Usally pretty bland 11 months of the year. So canned is the way to go because they are ripe when canned and retain most of the flavors
  - hackernewds 4y ago
    You seem to mean off-season where you're saying fresh.
    - rdtwo 4y ago
      They are red they look like tomatoes they just taste like nothing that’s what I mean. Those are available most of the time the other kind almost never
      - beebeepka 4y ago
        I know what you mean. I get to eat really good tomatoes every few years, and just for a few days, then they are gone. The good stuff spoils pretty quickly, too. It's not just the price that makes them uncommon
        rdtwo 4y ago
        Grow your own or make friends with someone that does. I have more than I can give away during peak season
wolverine876 4y ago
Or as a compromise between time and taste, add crushed/chopped tomatoes to a bottled sauce.
donthellbanme 4y ago
Fresh is always better, even if you don't have acces to San Marazano tomatoes. This tomato sauce recipe goes out the the poor guys here. I imagine we are the minority here? 1. Tomatoes--any kind. You will buy them initially to use them for sandwiches, and maybe a salad, but will be left over with a bowl of soft tomatoes at tge end of the week. The rest left older will start to rot, so why not make tomato sauce. 2. In any pot, put in 1/4 cup of olive oil. 3. Put in handful of fresh onions in the hot oil. (You can use dehydrated onion. Many commercial kitchens do.) 4. Add a few teaspoons of fresh garlic, or dehydrated garlic. 5. Add couple of teaspoons of salt, and a pinch of honey, or sugar. I used pancake syrup last night because I ran out of anything sweet. (add a pinch of cayenne pepper, or black, if you like it spicy.) Using a potato masher smash it all down. Cook 40 minutes on low. You now have pasta sauce, or pizza sauce, for the week. Add butter when using it on pasta. You now have sauce for noodles. Add a few pats of butter for pasta. Your guests won't know, but will like your sauce. Belive me restaurants use a lot of butter, and salt. There's a happy medium. A 1/2 tbs of butter will not kill you. The vegan in the group can use vegetarian butter substitute. You want pizza? You need dough? 1. luke warm water added to a large bowl. Add the yeast. Amount doesn't matter. A few teaspoons usually. 2. add some sugar, honey, or whatever. Last night I used pancake syrup. 3. Add high gluten flour if you can find it. Add any flour will do if that's all you have. 4. In the bowl mix it like you dislike it. Add more flour if necessary. Add more water if too dry. Just do it. Pound that dough. After 20-30 minutes it should be the consistency of a male boob. (I have man boobs, and couldn't think of a politically correct example, but we have all all felt a fatty boob. It's just adipose tissue, and skin. Enough of my analogies you will never hear out of any cooks mouth.) 5. Cover that dough with a wet towel, saran wrap, or foil. Let it rise in a warm kitchen. Since most of us don't have the right kitchen temp, turn on the oven for a a minute, and turn off. You want the temp between 80-120 degrees. Put a pot holder on the rack and the bowl of dough goes on the rack. The pot holder acts as a gasket between the warm metal grates, and your bowl. 5. Let it rise for an hour. It's now ready to use for pizza dough, or freezing. You could punch it down again, and let it rise, but unless you have all the right quality ingredients, it dosen't matter. (you could add some oil oil to the dough.) I'm poor, and have been cooking for myself, and my mom for years. I was trained at Zesto's Cafe in the 80's by a owner who always accused me of stealing. I was unbelievably honest/ernest at the time. I didn't know how the wealthy lie, and cheat, daily. I guess because I was in high school, with long hair. I did know other employees whom were stealing, but never said anything. I'm no rat. Then, or now. Trust me tomato sauce, and pizza dough are easy to make. Making good bread is very, very hard though. So hard, I have heard French/Italian chefs gave up, and only buy from their baker. Something about the yeast in the air, and the right climate, along with the right stove.

fatnoah 4y ago

Wow, I didn't expect such a great discussion on tomatoes and sauces. I have a few things to check out. My own tomato story comes from another place in the city where I had a private roofdeck. It was basically full sun all day long. I planted 4 tomato plants, which were amazingly productive, and the tomatoes were so delicious that we ate them with lunch and dinner almost every day. My favorite summer snack became (and still is) a slice of fresh tomato topped with a slice of fresh mozzarella, lightly drizzled with a "green" olive oil, and garnished with fresh basil.