Old Style Pizza Sauce - Like Back In The Day, Youse Know?

How about an Old Style Pizza at home?
I mean with a real, (mostly) naturally sweet sauce.  You know from a Pizza Parlor "down the way" that has a giant pot of the sauce perfuming the neighborhood as you get closer to it?

You may not have had one since the 1970s, but this sauce is it.  It's exactly how I remember it.


No this pizza sauce is not Vegan.
It is not Vegetarian.

It can be made either way, but while good, it won't be quite the same.


I take a cue from Mom here, and I get a pound of Stew Beef and brown it in the pot before we start this sauce.  Then add the ingredients to the pot and reduce. 

I have not tried it with meatballs but the flavor will be similar.  Just brown the meatballs and let the sauce cook it.

You will end up with some Braciole once you scoop it out, and if you have some extra sharp Provolone and some Amoroso Rolls, you are now having one of my favorite sandwiches from childhood.  Kaiser or a Hard Roll will work, as will Linguica or a Cuban Roll.

The recipe has Anchovies in it. You can leave that out but I would strongly suggest preparing it as is.  You will want that "Umami Bomb".



Ingredients:

• 1 can San Marzano tomatoes (28 oz)
• Half 24 oz bottle tomato passata (or strained Roma tomatoes)
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Less then 1/8th red pepper flakes
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• Three anchovies rinsed and patted dry
• 1 Tsp salt

Ingredients at the end:

• 2 Tsp oregano
• Tsp basil
• 1 tsp sugar

Process:

• Process anchovies and can of tomato’s in food processor or blender until smooth.
• Add to pan with passata, salt, pepper and pepper flakes.
• Rinse out tomato can with minimal water and dump water into pan - the object is to get the tomatoes out of the can so you don't have to boil a LOT of water down in reduction.
• Reduce for hours low and slow simmer until thick and will cut with the wooden spoon in the pan.
• After you remove from heat, add oregano, basil and sugar and stir in.  
• Let cool and store.

What do you call a belt made of 100 dollar bills? A Waist of money.

Having done some rather edgy things on my various vehicles in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, I suppose that this is plausible.  I have never had that sort of an encounter with a Deer, but they are more common than stray dogs in parts of that area.



 Motor Bike Accident

While riding my motorbike, I swerved to avoid hitting a deer, lost control and landed in a ditch, severely banging my head.

Dazed and confused I crawled out of the ditch to the edge of the road when a shiny new convertible pulled up with a gorgeous woman who asked, "Are you okay?"

As I looked up, I noticed she was wearing a low-cut blouse with cleavage to die for..., "I'm okay I think," I replied as I pulled myself up to the side of the car to get a closer look."

She said, "Get in and I'll take you home, so I can clean and bandage that nasty scrape on your head."

"That's nice of you," I answered, "but I don't think my wife will like me doing that!"

"Oh, come now, I'm a nurse," she insisted. "I need to see if you have any more scrapes and then treat them properly."

Well, she was pretty and very persuasive. Being sort of shaken and weak, I agreed, but repeated, "I'm sure my wife won't like this."

We arrived at her place just a few miles away and, after a couple of cold beers and the bandaging, I thanked her and said, "I feel a lot better, but I know my wife is going to be upset so I'd better go now."

"Don't be silly!" she said with a smile. "Stay for a while. She won't know anything. By the way, where is she?"

"Still in the ditch with the motorbike, I guess."

If money doesn't grow on trees, why do banks have branches?

Since I am going to a high end restaurant tonight, if we can get reservations, I thought it might be worth a story.

Mai Kai, a one of a kind Polynesian Restaurant.  If I remember to take pics, I'll put them up here later.




  Man goes to a restaurant

The restaurant itself is super high-end, upper class. Waits for a while before he gets his table.

He waves for the waiter and asks for the specials. The waiter says, "We make the best steaks in town". The man is skeptical of the statement, and wants to test the outrageous claim and orders their "Steak".

"It is taking forever for the order to arrive but that is expected for the 'best steak in town'", thinks the man while he smirks.

But it does arrive all fancy, all buttered and saucy with some mashed potatoes and gravy on the side.

He is amazed at the quality of the steak and barely has any thoughts processing. He gobbles up the whole thing in less than 7 minutes and calls the waiter.

"I need to talk to the chef", he says.

The waiter talks to the chef and brings him to the table.

The man goes on and on about how good the steak was and the chef politely nods in acknowledgment.

"This is quite literally the best steak I've had in this town. Well done!"

The chef looks confused and says, "Medium rare".