Spaghetti with meat sauce:
Spike advocated cooking spaghetti sauce for days on a very low simmer, to blend all the flavors. We made a batch of sauce with ground beef and pork neck bones once and it came out splendid. However, even though the sauce was done, Spike insisted on turning on the heat, to keep it simmering. I would turn off the heat. This went on for a while. Somehow, Spike won out and the sauce kept simmering. Unfortunately, the meat in the sauce disintegrated and the bones turned out as soft as the meat had been. As a result, we had to dump it.
Spaghetti with meat sauce serves 8 Ingredients :
1 tbsp olive oil 1 carrot, grated
2 lbs pork neck bones 1/8 tsp cinnamon
6 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp dried thyme
1 large onion, minced 1 tbsp dried basil
2-six oz cans tomato paste 1 tsp salt
1 cup water 1 clove
2-28 oz cans tomato puree 2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano pinch of sugar
1 stalk celery, minced 1 tbsp dried parsley
1 cup dry red wine 1 lb Italian sausage
½ tsp fresh ground pepper 1 lb meatballs
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven and add the pork neck bones. Brown on all sides; add minced garlic and onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and water and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except for the sausage and meatballs, and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 5 hours. Remove the pork bones, strip remaining meat from bones and add back to the sauce. Add sausage and simmer for 30 minutes. Make the meatballs, add to the sauce, and simmer for 1 more hour. Remove sauce from stove and place in the refrigerator to cool. Reheat the next day and serve over spaghetti cooked as directed on the box.
Meatballs:
1 lb ground round steak ½ cup bread crumbs
1 tsp dried basil 1 egg, beaten
fresh ground pepper 1 tbsp olive oil
In a large bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients and form the mixture into approximately 12 meatballs. Heat oil in an iron skillet over medium heat and brown the meatballs on all sides. They are now ready to drop into the sauce.
