Anyone for cannoli?

We sure do love to talk about tomato sauce here, don't we? I mean, we love anything but the canned stuff, and jarred Ragu. Make it yourself; it's easy! Would Clemenza lie?

Peter Clemenza was a mafia soldier in Don Corleone's army, and his duties were many and varied in "The Godfather." He taught Michael Corleone how to shoot, and drop, a gun, he remembered to bring home the cannolis so his wife didn't kill him, and when the gangs were going to the mattresses (preparing for warfare) he showed Michael how to cook pasta sauce for twenty guys. All good skills to have, in his line of work.

Never break a promise to your wife

So how many times have you heard someone offer you an authentic homemade Italian dinner, with a promise that it's gonna be good because "I follow Clemenza's recipe!"?

Maybe you saw the movie in the theater, where it's hard to take notes, and maybe you saw it on home video, where someone is always walking off with the pencil you leave by the TV, but anyway, here it is, in honor of "The Godfather" 's 50th anniversary.

"You never know, you might have to cook for 20 guys someday."

I believe it was watching the movie over and over again that convinced me, the WASP of all time, that I could try a Sicilian favorite. And even though I have never had to cook for 20 armed and angry people, I have cooked for six or seven peevish ones (names withheld).

You can use this sauce as gravy over pasta or you can use it as the red part of a lasagna.

"You see, you start out with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic."

Get the EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) hot in the frying pan, but not smoking hot. Saute some garlic along with a fresh sweet onion 'til all is golden brown

"Then you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste, you fry it; you make sure it doesn't stick. You get it to a boil . . ."

Clemenza uses two large cans of tomatoes (spend a little extra and get San Marzanos) and two cans of tomato paste (it is all the same, no matter how much more they want for the name brand over the cheap Aldi can. There is somewhere in Italy a huge processing plant for tomato paste; they produce giant storage tanks of it, and all cans of all brands come from there.

By "frying" it, Clemenza means to let it simmer just below the point where giant globs leap out of the pan and onto your white shirt, but let it bubble awhile, and then cut the heat way down to "simmer." I leave the lid on so that the condensate goes right back into the pan. Let it simmer while you go watch your show.

" . . . You shove in all your sausage and your meatballs."

Fry the meats a little first before letting them swim in the sauce, what I do. You could always fry them along with the garlic and onions at the beginning and then fish them out of the pan until this step. However you do it, this is where the meatballs and sausage go for a swim awhile while you watch the news.

 "Add a little bit o' wine, and a little bit of sugar, and that's my trick."

Add some wine (cheap Chianti) at this point, then stir, and stick a spoon in it and see how sweet it is. Some like it sweeter than others. If you want to sweeten it, add some of that honey that Aunt Heloise brought you back from Coral Gables instead of the coconut patties you were hoping for.

I saw a Hallmark movie about an Italian restaurant and they were all acting like it's a sin against God to break your spaghetti in half before you boil it. I hereby say it's ok to do that if you want to. I checked with Clemenza and he said it's ok, and he will bring dessert.