Clemenza Shows Michael
How to Make Sunday Sauce "GRAVY"
For a Bunch of Mobsters
Of all the fine traditions of the Italian-American enclave in the United State, the Sunday afternoon ritual of making and Eating a Sunday Sauce is Italian-America’s most Time-Honored. Mamma, Grandma (Nonna) will make her Celebrated Sunday Sauce. What is it? Well there are a number of variations on the theme. Most Sunday Sauces are made with Italian Sausages, Braciole, and Meatballs. Some people make their versions with; Beef Neck, while others make their Gravy (Sunday Sauce) with just Sausage and Meatballs. Some may throw some Chicken Thighs into this mix. Sunday Sauces can be made with any combination of these aforementioned meats.
The meats are slowly simmered
for several hours with tomato, and minced onions and garlic.
I generally like to make my Sunday Sauce with Saus-ages, Meatballs, and Pork Ribs. Other
times I’ll make it with Sausage, Ribs, and Braciole. An old tradition in some families is that
mother or Grandma would start the Sauce early on a Sunday morning, get it sim-mering
away
for a couple hours on top of the stove, then put it in the oven for a
couple hours while everyone goes to
Church. When you get back home, the sauce would be ready. Ready to be devoured
that is.
that is.
We would usually
start our Sunday meal with the most traditional Italian-American-Antipasto
of roast
peppers, Salami, Olives, and Provolone. After that, it’s on to the Main Event, Maccheroni and Sunday Sauce. Something so
Blissfully Pleasurable and Sub-lime, that it is
almost “Sinful.”
When a meal
centered around a Sunday Sauce is
announced, one can have visions of Blissful Ecstasyat thoughts of Eating Pasta laden with Italian Sausages, Savory Meatballs,
and Succulent Pork Ribs. All this has been slowly simmered
to culinary perfection. Yes just the thoughts
can enrapture one into a Delightful Frenzy of the
Most Blissful Feelings of smelling, seeing, and consuming Sausages, Meat-balls and Gravy. Yes a Sunday Sauce can and does
have such effects on one’s mind, body, and soul. And, I do not want to sound prejudice, but this
is pure fact, it is the Male of the Italian-American species who Love The
Sunday Sauce in all its form, far more
than the female sex. True! Meatballs too. And Italian-American men and boys Love and
hold oh-so-dare, their Meatballs, Sunday
Sauce, Sausage & Peppers, and
Meatball Parm Sandwiches.
The Sunday
Sauce that my mother would makewas with Sausages, Meatballs, and Beef Braciole. My memories
are vivid watching my mother stuffing the Braciole with garlic, parsley, Pecorino, and Pignoli Nuts, then tying
the bundles with butchers cord to hold the Braciole together as they slowly simmered in the Gravy.
Another fond memory was helping my
mother
roll and shape the Meatballs.
As for me, my
Sunday Sauce will vary dependingon my mood. One thing I Love to do when makingmy sauce is to add Pork Spareribs to the “Gravy.” “Gravy” by the way is what many
people in the New York area call Sunday
Sauce, particularly in Brooklyn. Not many people
make there Sunday Sauce with
the Pork Ribs, but to me they are phenomenal, and anyone
who tries them, they are immediately hook-ed. As I think back, none of the ladies in our
family put Pork Spare Ribs into their Gravy.
I guess I read or heard about
some people
doing it, and I believe it was about 14 years ago or so that I Started adding theRibs into my Sunday Sauce. I haven’t looked back ever since. I
Love them, as does everyone whom I serve them to.
Whenever I make my sauce with Pork Ribs, my
friends go nuts for them. Many are
surprised, as they might never have had Ribs in a Sunday
Gravy before. They didn’t know
that you
could use Pork Spareribs.
The ribs are traditional with some but not
all. It is quite a shame for those who
don’t add the ribs as they give the
sauce a quite wonderful flavor, and the Ribs themselves, “Yumm.”
The Ribs that simmer long and slow
and are very tender,” They lit-erally
Melt-in-Your-Mouth.
Whenever I make the sauce, and I’m dishing it out to friends and family, I always make sure that I have my fare share
of the Ribs. Pork Ribs cooked in this
manner, simmering in the sauce are oh so suc-culent and tasty, they are Beyond-Belief-Tasty.
These Sunday Sauce
Ribs are, “Out-of-this-World” and friends, one-by-one, go nuts for them.
I
remember the time I first met my friend John
Cataneo. We were having a dinner party with Ada, Jimmy, Pat and
Gina Parrotta, Ronny “C,” Bobby Shack. Jimmy had invited John and his wife Maria.
I had never met
either of them before. John and Maria had eaten
already and were not
hungry so Johnny told me just to give
him a small portion when I was dishing the Gravy out.
I guess it was so good, Johnny shyly came back
and asked if he could have a couple more ribs.
“No problem Johnny. Enjoy!”
And what to serve
with the Sunday Sauce you ask? Any short
Maccheroni such as Rigatoni, Ziti, or Gnocchi are best.
The rituals of cooking, serving, and eating
Sunday Sauce is a time honored one. It is
a
quite a beautiful thing, same as making Mole in Mexico or Cassoulet in France. They are all wonderful things of Beauty.
They take time and effort to make, and are made and served
with Love. These dishes bring together friends and family,
and for Italian-Americans, the Sunday Sauce is The King of all dishes.
If you utter the term Sunday Sauce to any number
of millions of Italian-Americans, they
start
salivating at the simple mention of its name. The wheels start turning in their heads,
with thoughts
of how tasty it is and all the different components; the Meatballs, Sausages, Braciole, maybe Ribs, Beef Neck, or Pig Skin Braciole, the Pasta, and the Gravy itself.
They think about sitting
at the table
with friends and or family, people they
love.
They’ll ponder the
Antipasti, wondering what it might be; Mixed Salumi, Baked Clams,
Grilled Calamari? And with
the meal, there will surely be Wine, Italian Wine, maybe a good Chianti or Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. With Uncle Frank and Uncle Tony, the wine
was usually Carlo Rossi Paisano or Gallo Hearty Burgundy, two solid Italian-American
winemakers.
They think about the warmth in the air, of loved ones, Sinatra, Dino, the Sunday Sauce.“It’s
a beautiful thing!!!” If you’ve never done it, “Try it!” If you haven’t cooked one
for some time, plan a get-together with friends and family, soon. Sunday Sauce, It brings people
togeth-er, in a most Delightful way, and
as the Big Boys would say, “It’s a Beautiful Thing.”
Daniel Bellino Zwicke
Excerpted from Daniel Bellino's forthcoming book "La Tavola" Broadway Ffith Press, NY NY
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