This one's for you Joe

In my house baseball is of the highest importance. To us the Yankees are like one of those girlfriends that you always fight with, but you can never break up. Through all of the ups and downs over the past few years (and yes, I realize we haven't had nearly as many downs as other teams or fans) we always continue to love the Yankees like no other. Yesterday I was unbelievably sad to hear that Joe Torre did not accept the ridiculous contract that was offered to him by Mr. High and Mighty and the rest of the gang in the Yankee management. It is not that I think Joe was wrong, I understand his decision completely. The deal he was offered was disgraceful and rude. Nonetheless I am devastated to hear that Joe Torre will no longer be the manager of the New York Yankees. He was a classy man, and a great manager.

(Moment of silence)

Anyway, I was so upset that I needed to make some sort of comfort food. I thought of what I wanted, and it seemed like the most logical choice, pasta! I've grown up with great pasta being a very common part of my diet, and it is something I have loved since I was a baby. Though I was too upset to write this post yesterday, I figured that I would share my recipe for a great gravy, or tomato sauce, for all you pasta lovers out there.

If I have enough time I love to make this sauce with fresh tomatoes, but since I usually don't I tend to use Pomi strained tomatoes. You are welcomed to use any type of strained tomatoes if you don't have enough time to go with fresh, but I highly recommend Pomi if you can find it...

8-10 fresh Roma tomatoes, pureed or 2 26.5 oz containers of Pomi strained tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon red pepper (I like things spicy, if that's not for you add less red pepper.)
3 italian sausages, sweet or spicy, cut into 1" pieces
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine, drier wine is better

1) Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Once it's hot add the garlic
2) After cooking the garlic for about 2-3 minutes add the onion. Fry these together in the pot for about 5 minutes, or until the onion becomes slightly translucent.
3) Add the sausage and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked around the edges. Don't fully cook the sausage!
4) Add the tomatos and red wine. Turn heat down to low
5) After about 10 minutes add the basil, salt, pepper, sugar, and oregano. Let slow cook for about 30 minutes.

I normally don't use exact measurments when I make this sauce. This is a pretty accurate way to describe it, but be sure to taste this often and adjust to your liking! Serve it with grated parmesan if you like it.
Enjoy.