Korianna Limoges

Professor Miller

English 110

10/04/17

French Spaghetti Sauce

 

The taste of my grandmother’s spaghetti sauce is like no other.  There is something so familiar and comforting about it that every time I eat it I feel like I am truly at home.  No, my grandmother is not Italian, she is French.  I know that sounds crazy like, “How can a French grandmother make a good spaghetti sauce?” but it is true.  There are things in life I believe should never be questioned.  Like the old phrase says, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Another part of her being French is that I do not call my grandmother anything but “meme.”  I do not think she would even consider going by anything else because in her family grandmothers were always called meme.  My meme is a traditional Roman Catholic lady who grew up learning how to cook homemade meals her whole life.  Although, this does not mean my mom is also an amazing cook.  My mother is, in fact, the opposite.  I love her to pieces but my meme’s cooking compared to my mom’s is drastically different.  Therefore, it was always such a nice treat when all my cousins and I would have the chance to go over and she would make all her grandchildren spaghetti.  All my cousins are around the same age, most of us just being one year apart from one another.  However, the downside to this is that they are all boys and I am the only girl of the grandkids.  That means survival.  If I did not listen right away when my meme said, “Spaghetti’s ready!” I would not get spaghetti.  Yes, I did learn that the hard way.  When reflecting on all these memories I sincerely believe my meme is the heart of the family because she brings all of us together with her famous family dish of spaghetti.

The real star of this dish is definitely the sauce.  The sauce is so tasty and scrumptious that it does not matter what noodles are made to go with it.  In fact, it really does not matter at all what one eats with it because it is just that good.  You do not catch anyone adding salt, pepper, or any other kind of seasoning to the sauce.  Even my own brother who likes to put salt on literally everything before trying it does not mess with it.  Whenever I eat my meme’s dish it feels like I just did something good and I am being rewarded.  There is something about the taste and the people that I eat it with that really makes the experience that much more precious. The warm sweetness of the sauce is simple yet captivating, sort of like a sunset.  It sounds ridiculous but sunsets do not try hard.  They are the same every time, yet every time they are still just as spectacular.  To experience this dish is to be able to let go of everything that is happening around you and to be able to enjoy the great taste and family that you are with.  The sauce is also very thick in texture.  The heartiness of it is so filling and satisfying that it makes it the ultimate comfort food.  If you are not a meat eater this is not for you.  It is not like a spaghetti sauce where you can avoid meatballs, it is like a meat sauce that has bigger pieces of meat in it.  It is probably 87% meat.  Growing up in Vermont, it is not a weird thing to have very high in protein meals.  After all the cows outnumber the people in Vermont.

I think the key component of how this recipe is made is that it takes so long.  It is kind of awful that it takes forever but it has always been worth it.  My meme also always taste tests her food to make sure it is just the way she wants it before ever serving it.  As her grandchildren got older she also realized how much more she would have to make.  I can still picture her making this dish because I grew up watching her do it.  She would always start by putting her oversized apron over her head and tying it.  It is only oversized because my meme is a very small woman.  After this, she would wash her hands and dry them off.  First, she would start with seasoning and cooking the meat and then move onto the boiling the water.  Once this first part was done she would take her glasses off and clear them from the steam of the boiling water.  Then she would start to assemble the sauce by using a food processor.  Tomatoes, tomato sauce, paste, and soup would all go in first.  Then red pepper and pureed onions would go in next.  Once this was done it would be time to cook the sauce.  This is the part that I would hate the most because to cook the sauce it would take four hours.  Basically, the time it takes for the sauce to cook is the time it takes me to go back to my home in Vermont from college.  To make matters worse, if we wanted spaghetti during the summer we would have to wait 5-6 hours!  This is because my grandparents live up at our campground in Canada during the summer.  Meaning that my meme would rather cook the sauce in her crockpot.  In a crockpot, the sauce needs another hour or hour and a half to cook.  It is the absolute worst.  However, my grandmother always tells me, “The longer it takes the better it tastes.”

Looking back upon all the memories that surround my meme’s dish brings me incredible happiness.  I can not think of anything being more uniting then being brought together by a meal.  The connections that were created and events that have happened because of my meme’s spaghetti will never be forgotten.  Whether it is with your sports team, friends, or family, there is something so great about sharing a meal with people who you care about; especially if the food is fantastic.  For this reason, I believe my meme is the heart of our family because she connects all of us and without her things would not be the same.  Memories would not have been made like they have if it were not for my meme and of course we would not get to enjoy her amazing spaghetti sauce.

Memere’s Spaghetti Sauce~

2 pounds of ground beef

1 medium size onion

2 large cans of tomatoes (whole, sliced or diced)

2 large cans of tomato sauce

1 large can tomato paste

1 can tomato soup (un-constituted)

Red pepper – to taste

Italian seasoning mix – to taste

Salt

Black pepper

1 tbsp sugar

2 whole bay leaves

Salt and pepper ground beef as desired mix and separate out 1 pound of ground beef roll into meatballs, if desired, place large enough skillet to brown meatballs and remainder of ground beef.  Once browned, remove excess fat drippings and place in dutch oven.

Using a blender or food processor puree onion, tomatoes, tomato sauce, paste, soup and red pepper. Note, depending on the size of blender this may need to be done in a couple of batches.  Once blended, pour over the ground beef stirring to mix together.   Add the sugar and  bay leaves, gently mix in.

Simmer on medium to low avoiding the sauce from boiling  over 2-4 hours.  It can also be simmered in the oven at 325 degrees 3-4 hours or in the crockpot for up to 4-6 hours on high.  The sauce should be stirred periodically. 

Enjoy over spaghetti or preferred pasta. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Sauce, once cool, can be easily frozen in containers or ziplock bags.