Little Gram

Looking For A Great Italian Sauce Recipe?

Sunday gravy never tasted so good.

Sunday gravy never tasted so good.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients
1 large onion, sliced and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3-cup olive oil
1 28-ounce can tomato puree
1 18-ounce can tomato paste
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1-teaspoon basil
1-teaspoon oregano
1-teaspoon salt
1/4-teaspoon crushed anise (or 1/2-teaspoon whole)
2.5 tomato puree cans of water (see note)

Sauté onions and garlic in oil in a large pot. Cook until golden. Add rest of ingredients. After sauce starts to boil, lower heat to a simmer. At this time add a pinch of baking soda which will cause sauce to foam. Remove foam with a spoon. Cover pot and let cook for 2 to 2.5 hours. Recipe can be doubled and then frozen for future use. One half-hour BEFORE sauce is finished cooking -add meats such as meatballs, pork or Italian sausage for flavor.*  If using ground beef, cook separately and drain off fat and then add to cooking sauce.

NOTE: More water may be needed if sauce becomes too thick.

*Years ago, I came to the conclusion that cooking meatballs in sauce sucks the flavor out of them resulting in a bland tasting meatball. However, cook them independent from the sauce and you'll taste something so good you'll fall out of your chair. If you want a flavored sauce add seasoned (salt, pepper, onion powder) ground beef, chicken, pork, sausage, or beef tips.

Looking for a great Italian meatball recipe?

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Little Gram's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

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The Greatest of all Cookies

I love cookies. I adore everything about them—their shapes, smells, and tastes. I've enjoyed a variety of cookies: store-bought, festive Christmas cookies, really BIG cookies, and ones I've baked myself. Yet, none compare to my Little Gram’s Chocolate Chip Cookies—the greatest of them all.

These cookies combine chocolate chips, crushed peanuts, brown sugar, shortening, flour, baking soda, and four eggs. Mixed together, they're shaped into about 60 raw cookies and baked at 400 degrees for thirteen minutes. This simple recipe yields the perfect chocolate chip cookie. They're so good, they could practically be their own food group.

To enjoy these circular blobs of perfection, I follow the “Ritual of the Perfect Cookie.” First, I grab a large glass of milk. Then, I take the red, slightly dented tin filled with cookies and gently remove the lid to reveal the treasures inside. I search for the perfect cookie to start with—one about an inch in diameter, dotted with chocolate chips and peanut chunks. Smiling, I dip it in the milk and then enjoy it whole. I continue this ritual, savoring as many cookies as I can.

Eating these cookies, I encounter sensations beyond my wildest dreams. Delicious waves sweep through me, igniting a burst of energy unlike any other. After just one cookie, I feel invincible, with perfect health, vision, and even spelling. I am mentally and physically enhanced, in harmony with the world.

It may sound like I'm exaggerating, and perhaps I am, just a tad. But truly, my Little Gram's cookies are the best I’ve ever had. One crucial ingredient I hadn't mentioned yet, which is the most important, is love. My great grandma’s love shapes the cookies, infusing them with taste, character, and making Little Gram’s Chocolate Chip Cookies the unparalleled champion of all cookies.

Little Gram’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 eggs

1 lb of pre-sifted flour (3 1/3 cups)

½ lb of light brown sugar (3½ cups when loose and 2¼ cups when packed)

1 cup of chopped salted cocktail peanuts

6 oz. of chocolate chips

½ lb of shortening

¼ tsp of baking soda

½ tsp of baking powder

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  1. Begin by creaming the shortening in a large mixing bowl.

  2. Slowly incorporate the sugar until the mixture is creamy.

  3. Add the eggs two at a time, mixing well after each addition until the mixture is light and fluffy.

  4. Gradually mix in the flour along with the baking soda and baking powder. If the dough becomes too thick for the electric beaters, continue to add and mix the ingredients by hand.

  5. Once all the flour is incorporated, fold in the peanuts and chocolate chips.

  6. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up.

  7. Preheat your oven to 400°F (204°C).

  8. Form the dough into teaspoon-sized balls and place them on a cookie sheet, either by rolling them in your hands or dropping them with a spoon.

  9. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown.

  10. This recipe will make approximately 60 cookies.

"There is a story in our family that says when my mother first made these she used peanuts in place of walnuts as called for in the typical chocolate chip cookies because peanuts were cheaper. I don't know if that is a true story but it does give these cookies a unique taste. My sister Anna and I have made them for years. But I've made changes to the original recipe so you can really say this is my own recipe. Even though I have problems with my hands, try to make them for my grandson Stephen whenever he comes home from New York. His brother Paul loves them, too."