Not the first time I’ve written about Italian Sunday Gravy, the seminal slow-cooked tomato sauce filled with various cuts of meat. Shortly before leaving for the US, we visited a Swedish-Thai couple we know and prepared Italian Sunday Gravy for them and several other friends.
A plate full of meats – sausages, ribs, and loin – are seared to get some color into the pot. Then onions are sauteed, tomato sauce is caramelized, canned tomatoes are added, and then the meat is placed back in the sauce and the whole thing bakes in the oven for three hours.
Meanwhile, I made some homemade pasta using Thomas Keller’s French Laundry pasta dough recipe. Since we were at friends’ house and I didn’t want to carry my KitchenAid mixer (which has a pasta rolling attachment) I just used a cutting board and rolling pin. A little more rustic, but it still turned out okay.
Letting the sheets of pasta dry for a few minutes before cutting them. This way, the individual pieces of pasta cut more easily.
The hand-cut pasta – I didn’t have a ruler or straight edge handy so these are cut with all sorts of varying width. Very rustic, indeed! My technique (or lack thereof) would shame Italian grandmothers.
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water just as the sauce is finished. Fresh pasta cooks much more quickly than dried pasta so one needs to pay close attention.
Once the meat is tender, you pull it out of the sauce and serve it on a platter.
The remaining sauce is served directly from the pan and spooned over your pasta. Lots and lots of flavor in there!
A side dish of cabbage, fennel and radish cole slaw with a sesame dressing. Makes a nice accompaniment to the heavy Sunday gravy.
For dessert, one of our hosts cooked raspberry almond bars. These were fantastic. All in all, not only did we have a very fun time visiting with our friends, but the cooking was fun, too.
christao408 
That looks so incredibly good! I love Tomato Gravy when it is done like that! I think your pasta looks great!
That looks delicious!
There is nothing like homemade pasta – that stuff in some of the restaurants are terrible. Love the fig bar!
indeed a heavy meal, but delicious….I love your hand made fresh pasta!
hey cool post.food looks good.
All looks so delicious. Pasta looks beautiful too.
mm… you’re making me hungry! i have never had the patience (or equipment) to make pasta noodles… guess i should try it at some point.
oh wow… that looks delicious! I love homemade, slow cooked food. it feeds the soul =]
Nothing like mixed meat and pasta with tomato sauce and parmezan cheese 🙂
Yum! I think you did it the right way – food, friends and fun! Cooking as a group event makes everything taste better!
wow im super impressed! i feel like the pasta made from that recipe is generally inconsistent because it’s so eggy but yours looks so beautiful. the sauce also looks great… HUNGRY!
I’m going to have to remember this one. I have a soup recipe that’s similar, that starts with a plateful of meats and sausages, but a sauce for pasta wouldn’t have occurred to me.
Mmmmm, that all looks so delicious. I miss that style of cooking sooooo much.
Looks delish, however “rustic” the pasta’s cut!
OMG. i’m salivating right now.
Had to ask my hubby for a napkin due to my drooling over this delish meal.
@seedsower – @Grannys_Place – @nerdyveggiegirl – Many thanks for the recommendation!@Grannys_Place – @rudyhou – Need to wrap the computer in saran wrap, right? Protects the keyboard from food porn drool! Ha ha…@n_e_i_l – The origins of the recipe (which I follow more or less from memory) are a Cooks Illustrated article. Since it is behind a paywall, you can find the recipe here instead.@iskrak – Interesting feedback. I’ve never had that problem with the recipe and have found it to be super-forgiving.@murisopsis – I’m lucky in that I’ve found a few groups of friends who really enjoy cooking and so we will cook together. It really is the best way to enjoy food, I think. Of course you end up eating so much more because it turns into a few hours of nibbling before the food is served!@kunhuo42 – If you have a rolling pin and a wooden cutting board (or even a counter with some parchment paper), you have all the equipment you need to make pasta. No need for a pasta machine or mixer attachment, although they are fun to use.@Fatcat723 – @epiginoskete – @awoolham – @agmhkg – Thanks for your compliments on the pasta. This is something I have only a little experience with, so sometimes it is like I’m feeling my way through the darkness. Eventually, though, my technique will improve – and with it, my confidence!@secade – @KnightInCROATIANarmor – @ata_grandma – @callmebabyangelcrazy8890 – Glad you were all able to enjoy the food virtually – wish you could have tasted it, too! Thanks for the comments.