Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: tomato sauce

Showing posts with label tomato sauce. Show all posts

Sunday, August 31, 2025

Nonna's Crab Sauce by Ang Pompano

ANG POMPANO: Have you ever seen the movie Nonna's? It might be because I worked in family-owned restaurants since I was young, but that film really hit home. My kids practically grew up in my father-in-law’s restaurant. We had the playpen tucked in the corner, and the nursery school snacks we packed from the kitchen made them instant celebrities with their teachers.

The premise of Nonna's is a simple one. Vince Vaughn plays a guy whose beloved grandmother and mother have passed away. To feel closer to them, he decides to recreate his nonna's legendary tomato sauce. With zero restaurant experience, he opens a place anyway and starts interviewing Italian grandmothers, all in the hopes of finding one who can make tomato sauce just like hers.

Maybe it was fate that I'd fall for this movie. In my upcoming book, Diet of Death, my character Quincy Lazzaro is mentored by an Italian nonna, Mary Ticarelli. It felt like a sign.

I won't give away the ending, but if you're the kind of person who sees food and thinks of family and love, this movie will leave you with a smile on your face. And really, doesn't that describe most of us?

There are countless ways to make tomato sauce, each with its own personality. (If you're from New York you may call it gravy, but around here gravy goes on turkey!)

At this time of year, when crabs are in season in Connecticut, the sauce that makes me happiest is Crab Sauce. It takes me right back to my childhood, to days spent with my dad, a simple string, a piece of chicken, and a net.

In that spirit, here is my family's recipe for Crab Sauce. Enjoy!

Nonna’s Crab Sauce

Ingredients

6 hard shell crabs (you can buy them frozen but you can’t beat the taste if you catch them or buy them fresh from the fish market.)

1 clove of garlic (or more is you like garlic)

1/4 cup of olive oil

1 bottle of clam juice

2 cans of crushed Italian plum tomatoes

water

pepper to taste (I don’t use salt because crabs can be salty)

3 or four leaves of fresh basil (whole or in pieces)

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

Steps

In a saucepan, brown the garlic in the olive oil. When the garlic is browned remove it to a small plate.

Sauté the crabs in the oil, brown them well for about 10 minutes on medium high heat

Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, and clam juice.

Return garlic to the sauce

Cover and simmer on a low to medium flame for 2 hours stirring occasionally to make sure it’s not sticking on the bottom. If it is, lower the heat.

Serve over thin linguine macaroni, or lobster ravioli.

If you try the recipe let me know how you like it. I'd love to hear from you. Thanks, Ang

Ang Pompano is a mystery author, editor, publisher and blogger. He writes the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency, and the Reluctant Food Columnist series, both published by Level Best Books. In addition to his writing, Ang is a co-founder of Crime Spell Books and serves as co-editor of the Best New England Crime Stories anthology. He blogs about food on Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Annette, an artist, and their two rescue dogs.

When It’s Time for Leaving by Ang Pompano

Al DeLucia walked away from the police—and his past. But when his long-lost father leaves him a detective agency in Savannah, Al finds himself trapped between family secrets and a murder on the agency’s dock. Partnered with Maxine Brophy, a fierce detective who doesn’t trust him, Al is pulled into a deadly search through Savannah and the Okefenokee Swamp—where the truth about the case, and his father, may cost him everything.

Blood Ties and Deadly Lies by Ang Pompano

Al DeLucia returns to Sachem Creek expecting a kayak race and a chance to confront his childhood bully, Abe Cromwell. Instead, he finds a dead lawyer, a web of deceit, and Abe claiming they’re brothers by DNA. Reluctantly joined by Maxine Brophy, his formidable partner and girlfriend, Al dives into a murder investigation that exposes land swindles, hidden maps, and buried family secrets. In a town where the past won’t stay buried, Al must face truths that could upend everything.

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Saturday, January 20, 2024

Spaghetti and Meatballs

It seems as if it's pasta month on Mystery Lovers Kitchen! Here is another recipe to enjoy--old-fashioned spaghetti and meatballs. I've made plenty of meatballs before--Swedish meatballs, Greek meatballs, meatballs Stroganoff, but I don't recall ever making meatballs and spaghetti! This recipe is adapted from the Damn Delicious web site. I cut the recipe in half because there were only two of us and even then I had plenty leftover for another meal. I made a few alterations out of necessity--I only had ground beef so that is what I used. I didn't have any parsley or fresh basil either but I forged ahead and it was delicious! Don't be tempted to leave out the fennel seeds--you'd be surprised at how much flavor they impart. And you can add more or less red pepper flakes according to your taste. It was a bit spicy (hubby can't tolerate too much heat) so next time I might dial it back a bit although I enjoyed it the way it was.

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

⅓ cup Panko

⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

½ cup milk

1 large egg

1 small shallot, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound ground pork

for the sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

⅓ cup dry red wine

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I used whole tomatoes and crushed them with my hands. Try to find San Marzano tomatoes if you can.)

1 (15-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon sugar

½ cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1 pound spaghetti

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Prepare your baking sheet by lining with foil or parchment paper and spraying with cooking spray. Set aside while the you make the meatballs and the oven preheats.

Combine Parmesan, Panko, parsley, milk, egg, shallot and garlic and season with 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper (or to taste.) Let sit for 10 minutes.

Add beef and ground pork to bowl and mix thoroughly.

Form into meatballs, approximately 1 inch to 1 ½ inches. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake until browned, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce:

Heat olive oil and sauté onions until translucent. Add garlic, Italian seasonings, fennel and crushed red pepper. Sauté until fragrant—about one minute.

Stir in wine and deglaze pan, scraping up any browned bits. Add tomatoes, sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for approximately 20 minutes until sauce thickens.

Stir in meatballs, cover and simmer approximately 30 minutes. Stir in basil and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over cooked pasta.

** Remember the sauce waits for the pasta, not the other way around. Begin to cook pasta when sauce is very nearly done.

The Open Book Series

When murder taints writer-in-residence Penelope Parish’s charming British bookshop, she must follow the clues to catch a killer before tempers boil over.

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Family fireworks lead to murder in the new Cranberry Cove Mystery from USA Today bestselling author Peg Cochran!

The Fourth of July always means endless celebrations in Cranberry Cove, and this year Monica and Greg have the added pleasure of spending it with Monica’s college roommate, Kelly Cargill. When they join Kelly and her family to watch the fireworks, it’s all very exciting—until the elderly matriarch of the family dies on the spot. Then evidence comes to light that she was poisoned, and Monica promises to do what she can to catch the culprit.

Just about everyone in Kelly’s family wanted to get their hands on what was sure to be a sizable inheritance. But Monica also discovers that one of them was trying to hide a messy love affair the older woman had discovered, and that the victim’s caretaker may have wanted revenge for enduring years of mistreatment. And just as more secrets surface and the clues begin to fall into place, Monica realizes that as she’s closing in on the killer, the killer is closing in on her . . .

Includes a mouthwatering cookie recipe!

Cranberry Cove #10 coming Summer 2024!

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My article on the Enduring Appeal of Cozy Mysteries

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Saturday, January 29, 2022

Baked Eggplant #Recipe @PegCochran

We love eggplant Parmigiano and eggplant rollatini but both are quite a lot of work, not to mention calories! This baked eggplant dish gives you a lot of the flavor with less work and fewer calories! You can serve it with marinara sauce or a sauce of your choosing. I used this recipe to make a simple and quick tomato sauce. This recipe appeared on thekitchen.com.

1 medium globe or Italian eggplant (about 1 pound)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

1 ounce freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or seasoning of your choice

freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup fresh parsley

Marinara sauce

Place a large cookie sheet in the oven and heat oven to 425 degrees.

Slice eggplant into ½ inch rounds. Place in a colander in the sink or over a bowl and salt liberally. Let sit for 30 to 40 minutes to remove excess water from the eggplant.

Combine Panko, Parmesan and seasoning and place on a plate. Place flour and beaten eggs on separate plates.

Dry eggplant slices thoroughly with paper towels.

Dip eggplant slices in flour, followed by the egg and finally dredge in the Panko.

Remove heated cookie sheet from oven (be careful!) and add olive oil. Spread to cover entire pan. Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer.

Bake eggplant for 20 minutes then flip and bake 10 to 20 minutes more or until crisp and browned.

Serve with marinara sauce and sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired.

COMING MARCH 1 - PRE-ORDER NOW!

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A murder in her quaint British bookshop drops American Gothic novelist Penelope Parish into her deadliest caper yet.

Penelope Parish is ready to close the book on her amateur sleuthing—from now on, The Open Book’s writer-in-residence will be sticking to villains of the fictional variety while she puts the final touches on her new novel. But when an author is murdered inside the bookshop, all of Upper Chumley-on-Stoke goes on high alert.

Now it’s up to Pen and the quirky citizens of Chumley to stop a killer and protect the charming British town she’s begun to call home.

Book #1

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Tuesday, August 10, 2021

How to Make Fresh Garden Tomato Sauce and Survive Depression by author Cleo Coyle #Vegetarian

From Cleo Coyle: During the Great Depression, my father's father kept his large family fed by working a small farm from which they sold produce. Every spring, my dad helped his father plant 2,000 tomato plants for their family. Years later, when my dad had a family of his own, he continued that tradition, raising more than 100 tomato plants in back of our suburban home for us every summer, without fail.

My late father, Tony Alfonsi,
with his Italian-born mother (my
grandmother) Grazia. My dad was a

tough guy with a tender heart.
He served in the Army Air Corps
and worked for years in a Pittsburgh
area steel mill. (You can see the mill's
smokestacks in the background.)
Garden tomatoes helped his family

survive the Great Depression.

Fresh garden tomato sauce was always part of that yield. Below is the recipe I now make in my home. The amazing smell of the sauce cooking brings me right back to my childhood and memories of my beloved dad.

The nutrition in freshly cooked tomatoes is a mood lifter, and this process, shared with friends or family, will uplift your spirits, as well.

May you cook it with love and make lifelong memories of your own.

🍅 Cleo
(aka Alice Alfonsi)

8 pounds of fresh tomatoes will

cook down to about 1 to 1-1/2 quarts

(4-6 cups) of sauce.

Cleo Coyle writes two
bestselling mystery

series with her husband.
To learn more, click here.

🍅 A Recipe Note from Cleo

If you've never made your own spaghetti sauce from fresh tomatoes, you are missing one of life's most satisfying culinary pleasures. It's a wonderful project for families with kids, for couples, or for any curious cook who's never had the experience. The very smell of that sauce cooking will make you swoon. And the taste is so bright and fresh. It's like nothing else on earth.

What kind of tomatoes

should you use?

While Roma (aka Italian plum) tomatoes are traditionally used for sauce, you can use practically any tomato for this recipe or even mix the varieties. Use your nose to judge the tomato's quality. (Some grocery store tomatoes have no smell. Do you know what I mean? Pass those by and look for tomatoes that smell like tomatoes!)

Whether you grow your own, pass a farm stand with big baskets, or simply see a sale at your grocery, you can make this sauce out of practically any tomatoes you find, just make sure they're ripe (not rotten, mind you, but beautifully ripe), and carry a nice tomato scent. The more your ripe tomatoes smell like they were picked from an earthy garden, the fresher and brighter your sauce will taste!

To download this recipe
in a PDF document that you can
print, save, or share, click here

or on the image below..

Click here to download
Cleo's recipe in PDF form.

🍅 Cleo Coyle's
Fresh Garden
Tomato Sauce

Makes about 1 to 1-1/2 quarts of sauce
(depending on your thickness preference)

INGREDIENTS

8 pounds ripe tomatoes (What kind? See my recipe note, above.)

1 onion (I use red, but any kind will do.)

4 cloves garlic

5 tablespoons butter (The secret ingredient for a smooth, sweet sauce.)

How to Prep Tomatoes for Cooking

Peeling and de-seeding tomatoes will remove bitterness and unwanted textures from your sauce, bringing it to a higher level of taste, so it’s truly worth the trouble. It's easy to do and once learned the skill can be used it in a lifetime of cooking.

In the video below, you will see

how to perform this simple process...

-----------------------------------

---------------------------------------

Cleo's Step-by-Step Photos

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Peel tomatoes to improve sauce texture: Remove stems and shallowly core as shown in my photo. Slice a small X at the bottom of each tomato.

Place a few tomatoes at a time into a pot of simmering (or boiling) water. After 30 seconds (for small tomatoes) or 1 minute (for larger), no more. Remove immediately and drop in a bowl of very cold water to stop the cooking.

Using your fingers, gently peel the skin off the tomatoes. If you have any trouble with peeling a tomato, simply place it back in the boiling water for another 15 seconds or so and repeat the process. (Just be careful not to cook the tomatoes too much or you'll end up with a hand of mush.)

TIP: You can save the skins to make a

delicious condiment "sun-dried tomato flakes,"

great on sandwiches and salads,

click here for that recipe.

Click the photo for the recipe.

2 – De-seed tomatoes to cut bitterness: Cut the peeled tomatoes in half. Make sure you cut it as shown, crosswise, along its equator. Using a small spoon, gently dig out the seeds and discard. You will not get every single seed out, and that's okay, just get as many as you can and you'll improve the sauce flavor.

3 – Hand-squash your tomatoes: This is the fun part (kids love it). Place a large pot on the stove. Using clean hands, roughly crush each peeled and seeded tomato over the pot and toss inside.

4 – Cook your tomatoes: Cook down the tomatoes over medium-high heat for about 30 or so minutes. To prevent scorching, stir the sauce every so often. Use a large spoon; and, as you stir, smash the tomatoes, crushing them up as they cook.

5 - Easy add-ins (onions and garlic): To preserve the fresh garden flavor of this sauce, I do not use spices. I simply add 2 roughly chopped medium onions and 4 cloves of smashed garlic.

Note: I roughly chop the onions and garlic at this stage because, at the end of the cooking process, I use a hand blender to smooth any remaining big chunks. If you prefer, you can do the work now, and finely chop these veggies or put them through the food processor. Then they will cook into the sauce, mostly dissolving by the end.

Stir in the onion and garlic, and then...

6 - Add the butter (the secret ingredient): As the butter cooks into the sauce, it cuts some of the acid in the tomatoes, leaving you with a sweet, smooth, bright-tasting tomato sauce that is out of this world.

Continue cooking the sauce down for another 20 to 30 minutes. You are watching for the excess liquid to evaporate, the onions to wilt and begin to dissolve and the sauce to thicken up...

7 - Buzz with a hand blender: To finish, use an immersion (hand) blender to smooth out any remaining chunks before serving. If you don't have a hand blender, you can use a food processor, food mill, or standing blender.

8 - Too thick? Add water, stock, or wine: If you happen to boil the sauce down too far, and it's too thick for your taste, you can correct it by adding water or a little vegetable (or beef) stock, or even wine. Continue cooking the sauce until you get the consistency (thinness or thickness) that you prefer.