One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to cook more at home. My mother went to great pains to ensure that I know how to sautee, simmer and chiffonade, and I should probably be using these skills.
While searching for recipes that are perfect for apartment dwellers like myself, I came across a website called Smitten Kitchen. And let me say, the web mistress over there is a domestic goddess. How she produces such food in a kitchen the size of my closet is a subject of wonder and awe for the many friends that I have referred to her site.
Since this Valentine’s Day is going to be a snowy one for those of us in the Mid-Atlantic, it might be best if we opt to stay in for dinner. And if you’re planning to be trapped in doors, there is no better recipe for a delicious, romantic, easy dinner than this one. Bon Appetit.
Spaghetti Sauce with Butter and Onions
Serves 4 as a main course; makes enough sauce to lightly coat most of a pound of spaghetti
2 cans whole peeled tomatoes
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste
Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan (it fit just right in a 3-quart) over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon.
Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste (you might find, as I did, that your tomatoes came salted and that you didn’t need to add more) and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.
Serve with spaghetti, with or without grated parmesan cheese. Oh, and if there is any sauce left over, you’re going to want bread. Unless of course, you want to lick the still hot sauce pan, but I don’t recommend it.
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