Pasta Sauce- A basic guide

     I know pasta sauce can sound a little daunting on the DIY front. Don't fret; I was also once afraid, but now I make endless combinations. I have also discovered a cheater's formula that basically looks like this:

28oz of your choice of canned tomato product + 1 large onion + 3 cloves of garlic + wine or chicken broth + seasonings of choice. Multiply this by pounds of pasta.

Yes. It is that easy. On the tomato front you can use canned tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, or any combination of these (if you're feeling fancy). 

    On the onion front, I just like to dice mine up fairly fine and start my sauce by cooking the onion and garlic in some olive oil (and butter if you're feeling naughty). If you're feeling adventurous, roasted garlic is an awesome option!

     Wine: Alright, wine can be tricky. Personally I stick with whites when cooking lighter dishes involving chicken or fish, and I also sometimes use it when it is all I have on hand (guilty). White can also be nicer in something like pizza sauce (same thing as pasta sauce) where the flavor shouldn't be as prominent. Reds are great for heavy dishes involving lots of beef or sausage. Think merlot, zinfandel, or chianti when putting red wine in pasta sauce. I tend to prefer my wines in my sauces more on the dry end of the spectrum. All will offer a great full-bodied flavor to your dish. Chicken broth adds some flavor when you have nothing else on hand. When adding the wine (or broth), make sure to bring sauce to a boil and let the wine reduce to about half. You can do this after cooking the onion, or after adding tomatoes. It doesn't really matter. 

     Seasonings: Start with your basic italian seasoning, salt and pepper. If you want to get fancy, sub fresh thyme, rosemary, basil, parsley, and oregano. I'm terrible about using measurements, and everyone has different taste. My advice: taste frequently. Use a big wooden spoon and channel your inner italian grand-mother. Don't even dream of rinsing the spoon before putting it back in the pot. We are old-fashioned here. 

 Extra tips and tricks:

• For a wonderfully smooth sauce, just put it through a blender. It's okay. I won't tell.
• Simmering longer is better. If you have time to kill, simmering for an hour or more will do beautiful things. I suggest a minimum of 25 minutes. 
• When cooking pasta alla vodka, more cream is typically the answer if it doesn't taste right. 
• Actually, butter or cream is typically the answer when you feel a pasta sauce is lacking something
• Always scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. I repeat, always. 
• If you can handle a little zing, crushed red pepper flakes make sauce marvelous. Don't think i've ever made sauce without it.