Eat It

Shoot. Only day four of NaBloPoMo and I feel like I've got nothing to say. So instead of the usual ramblings, here is my very own recipe for delicious winter-warming tomato sauce, which I created and enjoyed with some meatballs, cheap wine, and good friends on Sunday. My intent was to replicate the Spicy Hot Tomato Oil that is the hallmark of Syracuse, NY restaurant Pastabilities (pictured below). I'm still working on nailing it, but it's a pretty good imitation, in my humble opinion. The measurements are inexact to say the least, I just kind of wing it.

I haven't blogged too much about it, but cooking is a big part of my life, and a really good way to cheer up any early-onset winter blues. Here are 15 recipes from Apartment Therapy's blog The Kitchn, all designed for autumn evenings. Vegetarians be warned, they're meat-based... and look amazing.

Moxie's Spicy Hot Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
Crushed tomatoes - 2 cans
6 cloves Garlic
2 cups Olive Oil
A Lot of Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 a chopped onion
A Bay Leaf
Dried Oregano
Cumin
Salt
Sugar
Breadcrumbs
*Sriracha sauce! Spicy!

Mince up some garlic - a lot! Put a ton of olive oil in a big pan, nice and hot, and throw in the garlic and a lot of crushed red pepper. A lot! A whole lot. Cook the garlic w/ the pepper until it's nice and browned, more brown that you normally would for cooking. You want it to be a nice medium brown toasted color. Add a 1/2 onion finely chopped and sautee for a little while.

Throw in 2 big cans of the most authentic-Italian looking crushed tomatoes you can find. Add some dried oregano, and a bay leaf. Add some cumin if you have it. Let it sit and gently simmer for a while.

Add plenty of salt, don't be shy! Also add a good amount sugar - start with two tablespoons and keep adding until the flavor starts out with a bang, before the herb flavors kick in. Add some breadcrumbs to thicken the sauce up a bit if it's too soupy.

Throw in just a little bit of Sriracha! Top it off with some fresh basil when you serve it, and your friends will think you are devastatingly fancy.