Sunday Gravy....

When I was young typically Sunday dinner consisted of macaroni and gravy. My mom would have gravy cooking on the stove from early in the morning filled with sweet Italian sausage, meatballs, pork and if we were lucky, Braciole (pounded piece of beef filled with breadcrumbs, garlic, fresh parsley and grated romano cheese then rolled, tied and cooked in the gravy). I remember I used to love dunking fresh slices of scali bread in the gravy and sampling it through out the morning.

Typically, we would sit down to eat at 2:30 or 3 on a Sunday and feast on Ravioli in the gravy and then enjoy the gravy meat as a second dish with a tossed green salad. To me this was normal and then we moved to Winthrop, where gravy was called sauce and macaroni was called pasta.

Even though we have been in Winthrop for years, it's still gravy to us and I wanted to share my recipe (I hope I do grandma and nana proud) for Sunday gravy....

Ingredients

6 Italian sausage (3 sweet and 3 hot)
4 pieces boneless pork
1 flank steak (1 1/2 pound), pounded, sprinkled with breadcrumb, grated romano, chopped garlic, chopped flat leaf parsley, salt and pepper. Roll flank and tie it with butcher twine.
12 meatballs (use your favorite recipe because mine I keep secret)
2 garlic cloves, left whole
3 cans whole plum tomatoes, pureed in a food processor or ground through a food mill
2 cans of tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine
3 cups water
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. In batches sear the meat. You are looking to just get color on the meat as it will cook in the gravy. Typically, I sear my meatballs in another pan. When all the meat is done, set it aside and add a little more oil to the pan (make sure the oil you used to sear the meat is not burnt as it will hurt the taste of the gravy if it is) and add the garlic cloves. When the oil is hot begin to put in the tomato, be careful it might splatter. Add a little salt and pepper to the tomato and let cook about five minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix in, then put in the wine and the water. Bring this to a simmer and then add all the meat. Let it simmer for at least 2 hours, turning it occasionally ensuring the bottom is not burning. Remember you want it to simmer and not boil, it's not a race to get it done in a half hour, gravy takes some time to develop flavor. I keep mine on the stove for close to 3 hours and just let it get thick and delicious. The end result should be a thick gravy, with no acidity left to the tomatoes. Sometimes I eat a bowl of gravy with a spoon and some bread that's how much I love it! Serve it with your favorite pasta, mine is Fusilli which is a long corkscrew like pasta and it is the perfect pasta to go with your Sunday Gravy. Enjoy!