Little Gram

Looking For A Great Italian Sauce Recipe?

Sunday gravy never tasted so good.

Sunday gravy never tasted so good.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients
1 large onion, sliced and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3-cup olive oil
1 28-ounce can tomato purée
1 18-ounce (or 3 6-ounce) can tomato paste
1-lb stewing beef
1-lb pork spare ribs
1-teaspoon basil
1-teaspoon oregano
1-teaspoon salt
48 oz of water (2 puree cans) (see note)

Instructions

  1. Fry the Meat* - Warm the olive oil in a large stew pot over medium-high heat. Sear the stewing beef until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside in a bowl.  Sear the spare ribs until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside with the beef. (If your pot is large enough, both meats can be browned at the same time in a single layer.)

  2. Sauté Onions & Garlic - Add the onions and garlic to the pot. - Reduce heat to low and cook until onions soften and begin to lose their shape, about 5 minutes.

  3. Incorporate Tomato Paste - Add the tomato paste. Mash and stir thoroughly into the onion and garlic mixture. Add a 2 cups of warm water and stir. Cover the pot with the lid slightly askew and cook for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent the paste from burning.

  4. Add Tomato Purée and Water - Pour in the tomato purée and 1½ cans of warm water. Stir to combine. Return the fried stewing beef and pork spare ribs to the pot. Stir in the basil, oregano, and salt. Increase the heat and bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer.

  5. Simmer the Sauce - Increase heat and bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Add a pinch of baking soda—it will cause the sauce to foam. Skim off the foam with a spoon.  Cover and simmer for 2 to 2½ hours, stirring occasionally.

  6. Add Meats (Optional) - – About 30 minutes before the sauce is finished, you may add additional meats such as meatballs**, chicken, Italian sausage, or other favorites. If using ground beef, cook it separately, drain off the excess fat, and then add it to the sauce.

Notes

  • Add more water if the sauce becomes too thick.

  • This recipe can be doubled and freezes well for future use.

  • *Italians fry meat, they never brown.

    **Years ago, I came to the conclusion that cooking meatballs in the sauce sucks the flavor
    right out of them, leaving you with a bland-tasting meatball. But cook them separately—and you’ll end up with something so good, it might just knock you out of your chair.

Looking for a great Italian meatball recipe?

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Little Gram's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

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The Greatest of all Cookies

I love cookies. I adore everything about them—their shapes, smells, and tastes. I've enjoyed a variety of cookies: store-bought, festive Christmas cookies, really BIG cookies, and ones I've baked myself. Yet, none compare to my Little Gram’s Chocolate Chip Cookies—the greatest of them all.

These cookies combine chocolate chips, crushed peanuts, brown sugar, shortening, flour, baking soda, and four eggs. Mixed together, they're shaped into about 60 raw cookies and baked at 400 degrees for thirteen minutes. This simple recipe yields the perfect chocolate chip cookie. They're so good, they could practically be their own food group.

To enjoy these circular blobs of perfection, I follow the “Ritual of the Perfect Cookie.” First, I grab a large glass of milk. Then, I take the red, slightly dented tin filled with cookies and gently remove the lid to reveal the treasures inside. I search for the perfect cookie to start with—one about an inch in diameter, dotted with chocolate chips and peanut chunks. Smiling, I dip it in the milk and then enjoy it whole. I continue this ritual, savoring as many cookies as I can.

Eating these cookies, I encounter sensations beyond my wildest dreams. Delicious waves sweep through me, igniting a burst of energy unlike any other. After just one cookie, I feel invincible, with perfect health, vision, and even spelling. I am mentally and physically enhanced, in harmony with the world.

It may sound like I'm exaggerating, and perhaps I am, just a tad. But truly, my Little Gram's cookies are the best I’ve ever had. One crucial ingredient I hadn't mentioned yet, which is the most important, is love. My great grandma’s love shapes the cookies, infusing them with taste, character, and making Little Gram’s Chocolate Chip Cookies the unparalleled champion of all cookies.

Little Gram’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 eggs

1 lb of pre-sifted flour (3 1/3 cups)

½ lb of light brown sugar (3½ cups when loose and 2¼ cups when packed)

1 cup of chopped salted cocktail peanuts

6 oz. of chocolate chips

½ lb of shortening

¼ tsp of baking soda

½ tsp of baking powder

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  1. Begin by creaming the shortening in a large mixing bowl.

  2. Slowly incorporate the sugar until the mixture is creamy.

  3. Add the eggs two at a time, mixing well after each addition until the mixture is light and fluffy.

  4. Gradually mix in the flour along with the baking soda and baking powder. If the dough becomes too thick for the electric beaters, continue to add and mix the ingredients by hand.

  5. Once all the flour is incorporated, fold in the peanuts and chocolate chips.

  6. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up.

  7. Preheat your oven to 400°F (204°C).

  8. Form the dough into teaspoon-sized balls and place them on a cookie sheet, either by rolling them in your hands or dropping them with a spoon.

  9. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown.

  10. This recipe will make approximately 60 cookies.

"There is a story in our family that says when my mother first made these she used peanuts in place of walnuts as called for in the typical chocolate chip cookies because peanuts were cheaper. I don't know if that is a true story but it does give these cookies a unique taste. My sister Anna and I have made them for years. But I've made changes to the original recipe so you can really say this is my own recipe. Even though I have problems with my hands, try to make them for my grandson Stephen whenever he comes home from New York. His brother Paul loves them, too."