Blog - Proud Italian Cook

SUNDAY SUPPER

Last Sunday was a rainy day in Chicago, actually it rained all weekend so I decided to make homemade sauce with meatballs and sausage. The day before, my Hubby and I, went to our local Italian store to replenish my cans of San Marzano Tomatoes, and to get some fresh sausage. Although they are pretty pricey San Marzano Tomatoes are the BEST! There absolutely is no bitter taste to these tomatoes, none at all! My favorite brand is called Gia Russo, they make a great sauce!! They are worth every penny! You must try them, if you haven’t already. Throw a little fresh Basil in there’ and WOW! You can’t get any better than that!!!! Oh yeah, The aroma is out of this world!!! You can find my favorite sauces in my ebook, Italian Sauces My way, here’s the link.

Ah… Sweet Basil !!

Is there any thing better than the smell of fresh Basil ?? With an abundance of it growing in my back yard I feel guilty not using it every day. So I try to incorporate it into many of my weekly meals. Caprese salad is a staple,and fresh tomato sauce is just not the same without it. Fresh Basil was the star in a rice salad I made the other day, without it , the whole thing would have been Blah. I even make a bouquet of it and place it in a vase on my counter in my kitchen so I can smell it and savour whats left of summer. My next project is to make pesto, I believe I have perfected it, keeping it green is the key! I can’t wait to hand some out to family! It will be a sad day, when again, I have to start paying for my basil through fall and winter here in Chicago.You may ask “why don’t you dry it or freeze it?” the answer is I have.
It’s just not the same!