Happy Holidays from Morgan & Co.

Season’s Greetings! I suggest you use this time to spend time with your loved ones, reflect, recharge and maybe do a good deed or two for others.

I am sending you something very personal this Christmas. Here is my grandmother’s pasta sauce and meatballs recipe. My grandmother’s name is Honey (I take credit for naming her) and she resides in Birmingham, AL, my hometown. We call the sauce “sugo”, pronounced “suca” by the family. I have a baked ziti recipe as well – maybe I will send that next year! I look forward to talking with you in 2021! Merry Christmas from the Barrancos!

Meatballs

1 lb. ground chuck

1 c bread crumbs (I prefer Italian style)

? grated fresh parmesan cheese

2 eggs

Garlic powder, oregano, basil, Italian seasoning, parsley flakes, salt and pepper

Grated white onion

Mix all ingredients and shape into balls – bake in oven at 400 until golden brown

Eggs

Yes, we hard boil about eight eggs. Peel and set aside – you will drop in sauce when once it is ready to go and it will cook in sauce the entire time – life changing.

Sugo (pronounced “suca”)

1 can tomato paste

1 can tomato sauce

1 jar of your favorite store bought sauce (it just extends the sauce a bit)

1 purple onion

3 cloves garlic

Same spices as meatballs

2 tsp light brown sugar

Stew meat

In a large pot, blend tomato paste, sauce and store bought sauce. Add 3 quarts of water, spices, sugar, salt and pepper. Put stove on high. Meanwhile, dice purple onion and garlic, saute in frying pan until transparent, then add to pot. Brown stew meat in same pan, then add to pot as well. Add baked meatballs once the sauce is boiling so they don’t stick. Add eggs as well. Continue to boil on medium heat for about 3 hours – you may need to add some water as you go. Stir occasionally, reduce heat to low in last 30 min.

Boil pasta – I tend to like angel hair… just follow directions on package.

After pasta is done, take about a half a cup of the sugo and add to entire pot of pasta, mix it in… gives is a reddish/orange tint. Plate your pasta, add sugo, a couple of meatballs and some stew meat, sprinkle with parmesan. Second helping is a little pasta, a meatball and an egg – sprinkle with parmesan.

NOTE – I don’t usually measure spices, just kind of eyeball it. I like to make the sugo at night and then eat it the next day – so much better on day 2 and 3.

Mangia!