Okay folks round three - me versus marinara sauce

[HEyHEY]

I'm gonna start the shit right now..I even bought some chilli peppers to add a bit of zip...updates will come. Advice greatly apprieciatted.

[JVS]

1. Be careful

I think you might be becoming the captain Ahab of Italian cuisine.

[HEyHEY]

3. yarrr!

There is much work to do before I be ready to eat me supper yaar!

[JVS]

9. Don't be forgettin the Rum me harty! Or I'll keelhaul ye!

Arrrrggghhh.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. Have you made it well before?

First of all if you want to add a bit of kick to the sauce but not make it inedible, remove the seeds from the chili peppers...what kind are they? Color? Size?

Are we using fresh tomatoes or canned?

Are you makiing a large pot or a small amount of sauce?

[DuctapeFatwa]

6. The SEEDS are what give it FLAVOR!!!??!!

Inedible by WHO? The Olson Twins?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

11. They can make it too hot

I enjoy all kinds of hot peppers but the seeds are the heat..the flaovr is in the meat of the pepper

[DuctapeFatwa]

14. Anti capiscinism is what is wrong with this country

There are two kinds of people in the world, those who eat raw jalapenos with pnut butter and jelly, and those who prefer their food to be bland and tasteless.

[HEyHEY]

7. Red Hot chilli peppers

Um...I was just gonna cut them super fine and throw them in....no it hasn't been well before. One time was good tasting but not thick..second time thick but no taste...three's a charm?:scared:

[DuctapeFatwa]

12. Yes, cut them up and throw them in, and add more garlic

when you think you have added enough garlic, start over and add the same amount again.

[rfranklin]

36. You are making Fra Diavolo sauce, not Marinara...

In Italian, fra diavolo refers to peppery dishes. It means literally, brother devil and refers to a Sicilian Robin Hood, Michele Pezza (1771-1806), who disguised himself as a Franciscan friar and so was called 'Fra Diavolo'.

[DuctapeFatwa]

4. Put vinegar and coca cola in it

It is the secret of more things than you would ever suspect.

[efhmc]

5. Cook, here, NO peppers.

Lots of basil but no pepper.

[HEyHEY]

8. Not even a couple?

How come?

[efhmc]

26. The pepper will overpower all the other flavors. Use

garlic and basil, which are strong and yet subtle but no hot peppers. If you must have them, add after the sauce is cooked and only in a small dish for yourself. The absolutely best sauce I ever had was in Venezuela where they have a large Italian population. It had a light smokey flavor, was slightly garlicky, smooth and not acidic. No heat at all. YUM.

[efhmc]

30. No sugar. Good ripe tomatoes will never need sugar. I can always tell

sauce that has sugar and it is never balanced right.

[corarose]

10. Add garlic and basil

At the end add the basil.

[HEyHEY]

13. Here's my ingredients thus far

A bushell of basil and one of parsley
Roma tomatoes..vine ripened..some reg tomatoes too
garlic (you better believe I have lots)
Onion
Green onion
Green peppers
CHilli peppers (red Hot)
mushrooms
black pepper
bay leaves
oregano

most of it is form the garden out back

[corarose]

16. Add a tiny bit of Sugar

Sounds nuts right but it balances out the acid in the tomatoes.

[HEyHEY]

19. I heard cinnimon too

???

[corarose]

28. Very tiny amount

People won't be able to guess what makes it so interesting but they will love it.

[Sophree]

21. Yes, and sugar!

I put sugar in my marinara, too, corarose. Yum.

[DuctapeFatwa]

17. Don't put more than 1 and a half bay leaves

Don't put in mushrooms and green onions till near the end.

Let your mushrooms wait for the end in some balsamic vinegar with a splash of olive oil and a bunch of garlic, of which you do not have enough. Go get more.

Define "chili pepper."

[HEyHEY]

22. well, I 'm not a chilli expert

They just said "red hot chilli peppers" red ones, about four inches long. I have three whole garlics!!!

[DuctapeFatwa]

29. You need jalapenos. And more garlic.

I think you are talking about those "finger peppers" they sell in the supermarket. They won't make your eyes water or your nose run.

Look for big jalapenos with little shallow cracks along the sides.

[HEyHEY]

31. Before I commit to that know this

I was brought up on Irish cookin'....no joke bbq potato chips can do me in.

[DuctapeFatwa]

32. Until a cure is found, then, take the seeds out of your gabacho chiles

I'm terribly sorry about your condition, I didn't know.

[HEyHEY]

33. I'm trying to work on it

One day I will eat spicy chicken wings at the bar....one day.

[DuctapeFatwa]

34. LOL well until that day, do whatever the "no pepper" people tell you

It will still taste good, people can do like that person said and add peppers to it at the table, but be careful when you cut them up, wear gloves so you don't get the juice on your hands.

[Sophree]

15. If you're still making it

Red wine
Cilantro

Both make marinara sauce taste amazing!

[HEyHEY]

18. DANG

I was looking at the cilantro..but didn't get it..I haven't begun yet this thread took off so I'm gonna stick around for a couple minutes and take advice.

[Sophree]

25. Next time, then.

Let it simmer on low for a while, too. Don't know if you knew that already.

Also, some people prefer beer to red wine, so that'll work, too.

[JVS]

20. TOO MANY COOKS SPOILS THE BROTH

so pick a couple pointers and run with them. Don't do everything that everyone says.

[HEyHEY]

24. BUT!!

I already dumped in a pint of rum like you said! ;-)

[JVS]

27. it might not taste good, but it'll make you happy

[deek]

41. ummm

Wasnt the rum to drink WHILE you're cooking?? If you're not going to be drinking wine while you're cooking, the sauce will never be right.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

23. If you want the merest hint of sweetness...

Do not use sugar. Take one carrot. Peel. Throw carrot in food processor and process to fine pieces. Throw in sauce. This will give you just the correct note of sweetness in the sauce, without making it taste like candy.

[HEyHEY]

35. Okay

I have the oldies station on satelite on, it's a sunny day..the food is simmering and all is well.

[KoKo]

37. I always made my own sauce for "Eggplant Parmesan" and "Lasagna" but

in the last month I've bought Ragu's "7 Herb Tomato Sauce" and it has a great taste....stands up to the high temps and fast cooking times that both those dishes require.....and it saves me alot of time.

If you are "in a pinch" and can't take the time to "do your own" sauce your way! Check out the Ragu "7 Herb." It may change and they may add more surgar or take out some great ingredients....to cheapen it.......but, as I said.......in a pinch..it's a good sauce as of today!

[Kenneth ken]

38. try this

about a dozen different marainara sauce recipes here; the 2nd one uses crushed red peppers & cayenne pepper. Most use canned tomatoes, but not all.


I've never made any of them

[roguevalley]

39. you are adorable.

make it to the fire level you want. Keep an extinguiser handy tho.

[Rabrrrrrr]

40. and remember, water is NOT an extinguisher

MILK and BREAD **are** fire extinguishers. Water will only move the heat around the entirety of your mouth. Milk will "dissolve" it so that it goes down in the swallow, and bread will absorb the heat.

beer also works nicely.

[Rhiannon12866]

42. I don't know if you ever watch The Food Network, but I get all kinds

of helpful tips from watching them. I usually turn on the TV in the kitchen and leave it on while I am cooking. Food 911 is a favorite of mine. Tyler Florence arrives at someone's kitchen to save the day when they have proven themselves absolutely clueless at making a certain basic dish. This man can cook anything. You can find a recipe for anything you can imagine on this website. The marinara sauce episode stuck in my mind. Good luck!:-)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_10044,00.html