When I was in my early 20’s, I shared a two story apartment with my friend, Jake. We had a perfect agreement; he would pay the bills and I would buy the groceries, cook & clean. I thought it was working out great until I realized that my idea of cleaning and his idea of “dirtying” were on opposite ends of the spectrum. Let’s just say that his bathroom floor closely resembled the untamed tresses of Don King on a bad hair day! I feared I’d have to use a lawnmower to get through it! I have since become a much tidier housekeeper…
It was during this time that I discovered just how much I loved to cook. I was not very good at it but I enjoyed it and picked it up pretty quickly. One crisp Autumn Sunday morning, I decided to try my hand at real Italian “gravy”. I figured Jake would be home for dinner that afternoon; I could let it simmer yet it would be ready when he came home. The one thing that I did know about making a good sauce was that you had to put pork in the pot and let it cook for a long time. Since it was my first time and I wanted it to be perfect, I went to the butcher and bought about a dozen of the leanest center cut pork chops I had ever seen… not an ounce of fat on them and boy were they expensive! I browned them in the oven then threw them into the pot with the rest of the ingredients. It was just about 2pm; I put the flame on simmer and decided to dive into Jake’s bathroom… how hard could it be to clean? A gag-filled 3 hours later it was spit-shined and I was happy. The smell of tomato sauce wafted through the apartment; it was 5pm… Jake would be home any minute. The table was set; I opened a bottle of Chardonnay, poured a glass and turned on a movie. 6pm… no Jake… another glass of wine. 8:30pm… still no Jake… another glass of wine. Two movies and 2 bottles of Chardonnay later, it was time for bed. I stirred the sauce, made sure the top was secure, turned it off and left a note for Jake to help himself to it and the loaf of Italian bread on the counter to sop it up with. At around 1am I heard Jake fumble for his keys, come into the apartment & shut the door behind him. I was certain that after he ate he would put the now cooled sauce into the fridge… I slept like a baby that night; dreaming of a quaint villa on a beautiful Italian hillside (that part’s not true… but it sounded good!)
When I went into the kitchen the next morning for my coffee I noticed that the pot was still on the stove; uncovered, the loaf of bread was gone except for what was on the floor, there was an empty 2 liter bottle of soda in the sink and the backsplash of the counter was drizzled in red. When I started to ladle the leftovers into a container I kept coming up with bones; no meat attached; just bones. I was THRILLED!!! My Italian gravy came out perfect… the meat was so tender that it fell off of the bones! I couldn’t wait to hear what my roomy had to say about how delicious it was!!!
I was quite disheartened when he told me (honestly but not to hurt my feelings) what had REALLY happened and that they were the worst pork chops he had ever eaten! He had come home after being over-served in one of the local pubs and he was famished. He ate every bit of meat off of every single bone then threw the bones back in the pot so I wouldn’t notice!!! He said that the meat was so dry & shriveled up that it took him the entire bottle of soda just to wash it down and had he been sober… he never would have touched it! Cooking tip – FOR TENDER SLOW COOKED MEAT, ALWAYS USE A CHEAP CUT OF MEAT THAT HAS LOTS OF FAT RUNNING THROUGH IT LIKE PORK BUTT!
I do laugh about it with him sometimes today… but only because I can confidently say that I now make the best damned Italian gravy this side of Palermo; always loaded with Pecorino Romano cheese, spicy meatballs, tender sausage and pork butt that melts in your mouth!
Gusto Dell'Amore (Taste the Love!)
I am about as "un-gourmet" as they come but I'm a foodie at heart and I love to entertain. Light a candle, pour a glass of wine and let me share some stories with you that will make you laugh & cry; along with some easy entertaining tips and recipes that will give you just a little taste of my life...
May your lives be filled with flavor!
- Toni Lynn
- Boston, MA, United States
- With each story, there's a memory; with each memory, there's a scent; with each scent, there's wonderful food... and with wonderful food, there's always a story.
Toni, hahaha, you know you have to send to "cheese" don't you. Must try this recipe.
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