I have a confession to make.
I’m a bit of a reality TV junkie.
Generally, I watch food-related reality shows, but every now and then, another one will squeak through. I watched the entirety of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills available on Hulu not terribly long after I moved to California, because why wouldn’t I?
Incidentally, the only reason I turned that on was because my friend Sarah and I had just finished all of the available America’s Next Top Model episodes, and I wanted something trashy. And then I got hooked.
Once I ran out of Beverly Hills episodes ($40,000 on a 4-year-old’s birthday party? Really, Taylor?), I moved on to The Real Housewives of New Jersey, because I was still on the hunt for trashy, and it would seem I’ve found it.
One of the housewives, Teresa Giudice, who you may recognize from all the tabloid covers seeing as to how she’s in prison right now for many varieties of fraud and tax evasion, has written several Italian cookbooks. And you guys? They’re not bad. I swear, I sat down and read this one like a regular book because it had so much interesting stuff about herbs and pasta and the like.
This sauce isn’t fancy, and may not even be considered “Italian” by many, but man, it’s good. I enjoy making my own pasta sauce in lieu of that from a can, just because it sounds cool. (“Pasta for dinner? Sure. Let me whip up some sauce!”) Serve it with your favorite pasta or gnocchi.
Basic Tomato Sauce (aka The Quickie)
From Skinny Italian: Eat It and Enjoy It
Makes 3 1/2 cups
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 28-oz. can Italian plum tomatoes (imported!), broken up, with their juices
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1-2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional, if you like it spicy)
Salt and pepper to taste
Add the oil to a large saucepan and warm over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, their juices, and the tomato paste and stir well. Heat until just at a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add all the spices. Stir. Simmer to blend the flavors, about 10 minutes.
____________________
