Say that 10 times fast!

Homemade spaghetti sauce is so easy and cheap there’s no excuse to not make it.  I really love the flavor sausage adds to a sauce, but sometimes do turkey or a mixture of turkey & hamburger meat.  But, 9 times out of 10 you’ll find ground sausage in my sauce.  The secret to a good spaghetti sauce is to not use too high of a heat, low and slow allows all of the flavors to meld together.  If you can make your sauce either the day before or the morning of that’s the best.  The main trick, or tip, of cooking is to taste throughout cooking and to pause and smell the seasoning above what you are cooking before adding that ingredient (it helps your taste buds to get an idea of what’s cooking, and helps you recognize if that spice is needed and how much) – I think this trick is especially true with spaghetti sauces.  Spaghetti sauces are really simple and don’t require too many spices – the best part about spaghetti sauces is that you can add many different vegetables and meats to create a dozen different sauces, but the seasonings pretty much always remain the same.  For my spaghetti sauce this time I used a roll of sage sausage and only salt, sugar, and red chili flakes.  Read on for the ingredients!

You will need (serves about 6):

- roll of sage sausage

- 29 oz can of tomato sauce

- 3 to 4 stalks of celery, chopped finely

- 3/4 red onion, chopped finely

- about 2 teaspoons of sugar (you don’t want the sauce to be sweet, you just want to take away that acid taste)

- about 2 teaspoons of salt (add less, then if the sauce needs it add more – I never measure my seasonings so it’s hard to put an amount down!), plus more for the noodle water

- about 4 teaspoons red chili flakes (again, put less in to start and add more if needed)

- about 1/4 cup of red wine (whatever you’ll be drinking that night!)

- 1 box of spaghetti noodles

This is what you do:

1. In a large skillet (large enough to hold the sauce) over medium-high heat cook the sage sausage.  After it has cooked most of the way gently push to one side of the skillet and wipe out the oil with a paper towel, do this several times.

2. Add the onion and celery and cook for about 3 minutes – you don’t want to take the crunch out of either.

3.  Turn down the heat to low, and add the tomato sauce and red wine.  Let this simmer with the sage, onions and celery for about 5 minutes.

4.  After the sauce has simmered for a few minutes add the seasonings.  Let everything simmer together for at least 5 additional minutes.  Add more seasonings if necessary.

if you can, let the sauce cook for several hours on low heat, stirring every 10 or so minutes.  if you are more pressed for time, let the sauce simmer for at least 20 minutes before starting the noodle water.

5. Pour water into a large pot, add salt to the water and let boil.  Add the noodles and cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes at sea level or closer to 13-14 minutes at elevation.

6. Drain the noodles, scoop noodles into bowls and then scoop a decent portion of the sauce over the noodles.  Serve with a fresh salad or other green vegetable.