Whole milk is the only way to go for most cheeses. Raw is preferable to me. Long as I know where it comes from.
I do like to take the long way home with the red sauce and just simmer the whole cuts of meat until the fall apart. Takes some time, though.
Thumbs up for the whole milk mozzarella.
I’d eat that! Much longer cook time though.
I think quality beef makes a huge difference. I only rarely buy it but my FIL brought us some of a cow share grazed on his land and corn finished.
I’m with you there. When I make this, each of the three meats are all within 20 miles of my home. I find it important to have bone in all three. IMHO meat gets its flavor from three places: bone, fat and you. The corn finish makes the fat that much better.
It makes it less “beefy” and more buttery. I actually prefer grass-fed beef without corn finish - it tastes much more like beef. Our recent trip to Italy was a good reminder that a lot of beef there (much is full grass fed) tastes for us much better than what we can get here in the US
Looks very good!
Thanks. The grilled eggplant provided a smoky flavor not everyone in the household enjoyed.
Then I prefer “buttery” beef. What we get in the US varies greatly, with much coming from Argentina and Canada. We grow amazing beef in the US. Italy, I would think, they’d baby any beefers since they can’t raise many of them. Why I always felt veal was the deal there. Don’t have the space we do. Enjoy the grass; I like the corn finish. My particular favorite is pastured Scottish Highlander finished with corn; grown in west central WI.
You haven’t been to Italy ? They have quite a lot of beef there which has great quality.
I don’t doubt it. I’d also love to try horse meat. Just saying, we’ve got good beef here, too, and you don’t need to pay much for it. I have a pure organic grass fed guy by me. I just like the corn finish. I just know that, when Italians come here, they tend to indulge heavily in our beef. 'Least in my experience. My dad used to work with Italians that’d come for 3 week stints to work with him, and those guys would hit a steak place 6 nights out of 10. The kids I’ve hosted couldn’t get enough cheeseburgers.
No, I haven’t been to Italy. My SIL is from Abruzzo, though, and she enjoys beef from here. I doubt they have tubes of nasty beef paste called " ground beef" though.
That’s actually an interesting topic as beef (or meat in general) tends to be often (much) cheaper in Europe compared to the US. There is an ongoing discussion for example in Germany if meat is too cheap (especially in the context of global warming as beef farming is a significant contributor to the climate change). I have seen for example beef in Germany for half of the price compared to US (at same or even better quality as in my experience there is less cafo meat)
A delicious travesty. A partial jar of HEB tomato/Alfredo sauce amped up with sautéed onion and red bell pepper, some sliced green olives stuffed with pimientos, a splash of dry vermouth, capers, some crushed red pepper flakes, and the last hot dog, diced, tossed with pappardelle and topped with a little Parmigiana Reggiano. Cleaned out the fridge and enjoyed the concoction, a lot. The wine pairing was martinis. The dessert was reduced fat java chip ice cream cones.
Phew. For a second there I thought you were going to make a martini 
I so didn’t see that last one coming! It actually makes me like you more. 
He did, that’s the wine pairing. Loved that.
I’ve never made a Sunday Gravy. I have too many meatballs, and tons of fresh tomatoes, so I’m going to make a Saturday gravy today.
I looked at the 2 Sunday Gravy recipes linked above, these ones:
this one has more dried herbs
this one has carrot to add sweetness (my fresh tomatoes are always sweet)
as well as these 2, today.
this one is simple with respect to herbs . meat, onion, garlic, tomatoes, red wine, and fresh basik
this one is even simpler: meat, onions, garlic, fresh basil, pepper, no wine.
https://www.thekitchn.com/sunday-sauce-recipe-23320640
Does anyone have another favourite Sunday Gravy recipe?
There are a few links and recipes upthread
Might be fun to reference the Godfather or Sooranos “recipes”:
My Italian mother and her relatives never put carrots in tomato sauce. They just sautéed chopped yellow onions in good olive oil, added plenty of minced fresh garlic (I remove the germ) dried oregano, dried basil, sliced fresh basil, more fresh basil at the end. Simmered a long time on low, stirring now and then. House smells great.
You’ll use fresh tomatoes? They always used canned and added one small can of tomato paste + water in that can. Add some crushed red pepper flakes when you sauté the garlic. S & P to taste. I always add some sugar, too.
If you’re up for a project, have you ever made Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese? Sublime.
