Monday, March 21, 2011

Red Gold Spicy Tomato Sauce...and a Winner!

Today is the first official day of spring! Although, here in South Florida, we've been experiencing our spring since about January, and we'll be going into full blown summer, by May...go figure! This it the tropical climate that we are accustomed to. Such a wonderful weekend we had, how about that bright and beautiful full moon that only comes around every 18 to 20 years? (witnessed it and took photos)...Sunday was such a relaxing day, did not have barely anything in my fridge to cook for lunch, for my family in my little beach condo, but I always have canned tomatoes on hand, and pasta...the little ones love the mezze penne, and the spaghetti. I also found some Italian sausage in the freezer which I defrosted, so lunch did not take long. A little bit too spicy, but my little grandson eats everything, and did not mind the spicy sauce. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and got to witness the gorgeous moon that was 14% larger, and 30% brighter than your average full moon...that's what I call "romance in the air...or is it "Love is in the Air?"...remember that song from the eighties?


I still had two can of the Red Gold diced tomatoes left over from my giveaway winning, one was a regular 100% Natural diced, and the second was the Red Gold petite diced with green chilies, hot...and I do mean "hot" as in spicy hot. I also had on hand my trusty Hunt's fire roasted diced tomatoes, which I started out with.
The sauce turned out incredible, but with all these diced tomatoes in their natural juices, it called for a thickening source in which case, I used about 2 teaspoons of Hunt's tomato paste, mixed in 1/2 cup of water to add to the sauce. With, or without meat, you can make this wonderful sauce. If you can't find Red Gold tomatoes in your grocery supermarket, well, you can use your favorite brand of diced tomatoes, but you will need at least 3 cans of about 14.5, or 15 ounces.



You can start with cutting about 1 lb. of Italian, or any
other sausage of your choice into about 3 inch pieces, and saute the sausage first, in 1 Tbsp. of vegetable oil.
When it's about halfway browned, add 1 sliced onion, and 3 cloves of garlic sliced. (If you are making it vegetarian)...just saute the onion and garlic by themselves, until slightly browned, and wilted. Add 3 cans of 15 ounce diced tomatoes of your choice, and 2 teaspoons of tomato paste, mixed in 1/2 cup of water. Add salt and pepper, which is optional, since the tomato with the chili pepper is quite hot. Also, you can add fresh, or dried basil, and at this point, add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, right into the sauce. The reason for this method, is, so it can bring out the glossy texture, and the true delicate flavor of the oil.

I cooked this magnificent sauce in my large cast iron skillet...this is the true vivid color, and texture after about 35 minutes. You can cook it with, or without the sausage...also, you can substitute the sausage with chicken pieces, and follow the same method of cooking. If you are making this sauce vegetarian style, just omit the sausage or any other meats, and just cook the sauce...either way, this to me, is the best sauce...ever, that you can make with the beautiful diced tomatoes! Yumm...enjoy!


...and the Winner is!

Well, looks like the comments got stuck at #30...so it wasn't difficult for me to generate the random.org number. and the winner came to #28, which is Mateja @Indulging Life.
Congratulations Mateja, you won the fabulous giveaway book, I hope you will enjoy it! I will contact you about the shipping address.


 Saturday night was such a fabulous event, watching the basketball awards given out, at the UPWARD event, from the open stadium right by the Intracoastal Waterway. This was my sweet granddaughter's 4th year of playing in the team, and she absolutely loves it. She is such a great team player, loves to get those shots in the basket. (she is also very tall for her age, 9...nearly 5') I took this photo at 7:00PM...still light out.
The famous pink building, which is the Phipps building in West Palm Beach...a sight to "behold" when the sun is setting, with the true pink color, glistening, as the sun is going down.

Proud granddaughter, admiring her basketball trophy award!
A beautiful and pleasant weather for an outdoor award event!








26 comments:

Priya said...

Feel like finishing that whole plate, fantastic spread..

Congrats to the winner..

Michael Toa said...

Yes, I did see the moon. It was beautiful.
It's been bright and sunny and nice here in Sunderland. I love this dish. I love pasta full stop. I really like the chunky texture of the sauce. A winner for me. :)

Patty said...

Beautiful pasta and fabulous photos!!!

honey82 said...

Che bontà quella pasta Cara,complimenti!!!!;-)
Un abbraccio a presto:-*

mangiabella said...

I did get to see the moon but I didn't get to really gaze at it like I wanted too....sigh....was such a full week on this end! This pasta looks so incredible I could eat it right off the screen (maybe that's the pregnancy talking LOL) and the spicier the better in my book!!! your granddaughter is tall....I'm only 5 feet tall haha!!! blessings to you and your family bella

Mateja ^_^ said...

Yeya I'm a winner!!!!!! Thank you Elisabeth and I decided- I'm moving to Florida ASAP, what means when my son finishes high school (4 more years), but your beautiful photos of Florida will cheer me up on my count down! Your pasta plate looks amazing, bright, and mouth watering! Thank you for sharing and can hardly wait to put my hands on the book :):):):D

Velva said...

The moon was awesome. You could see it coming alive in the afternoon and by nightfall, it was stunning. Your sauce is stunning too.

Enjoyed the photos too.

velva

Sandra said...

I love how you made this..just love those bright beautiful colors..bringing a smile on my face!
I also like you photos and your proud granddaughter is so beautiful just like her mama:)

Swathi said...

Beautiful colored dishes Love your clicks too.

Pacheco Patty said...

My grand kids eat everything, I'm so lucky. They would love your spicy tomato sauce and it's exactly the kind of pasta sauce I like too. Your photos are making me anxious to have some drier and warmer weather, it's coming soon;-)

Angie's Recipes said...

Congratulations Mateja!
The sauce looks so great! I love this kind of pasta, saucy and delicious.

Bianka said...

nagyon guszta

Carolyn said...

Your sauce looks wonderful! I am wildly jealous of your weather at the moment, all those outdoor evening activities are a long way off for us.

Biren said...

I sure would love some of that pasta. It looks delicious!

Thank you for sharing all those lovely pictures! I missed the moon as it was raining that evening here in Minnesota. Will have to catch the next one (if I remember in 18 years)! ;)

Sorry I've not been visiting. Life is a little too busy sometimes....

My Kitchen in the Rockies said...

Can't wait for our more pleasant outdoor weather to arrive.
This is a qiuck and easy diner, very often on my menu for a hectic night as well.

Pegasuslegend said...

Beautiful picts and pasta!

Spoon and Chopsticks said...

That's a mouth-watering plate. Thanks for sharing all those beautiful photos.

The Mistress of Spices said...

What a gorgeous sauce, no wonder your grandson ate it! How fortunate that he eats spicy food at such a young age. P.S. I want to move to Florida too, your photos are lovely!

Rosemary said...

Great pantry feast after a beautiful day . . . looks like home!

~Ron said...

Greetings from Southern California

I am your newest follower.
I invite you to visit my blog and follow me.

God Bless You :-)

Reeni said...

Your pasta looks wonderful! I love my cast iron pan! What beautiful pictures - congrats to your granddaughter!

kitchenmorph said...

i missed the supermoon!!!!!!!!!! i feel terrible...we were so caught up in our outgoing logistics, me not reading paper, i missed and thomas told me only the next day :( our apt overlooks the sea and it's poetic to watch the moon shedding its happiness on the sea...i missed it all
i'll take comfort in your lovely looking pasta!!

Quay Po Cooks said...

Congrats to your granddaughter. Love your pasta, look yummy!

Kathy said...

Elizabeth, Your dish looks fantastic…I think I will have to make it for dinner this week. I am a pastaholic!! I love your photos of sunny, warm Florida. We just got 7 inches of snow dumped on us, one day after we got 5 inches! By the way that was the second day of spring!

Magic of Spice said...

This sauce is magnificent to say the least! And congrats to your lovely granddaughter, she is tall and maybe will be a 6 footer like me :) Hey we need company, lol :) Beautiful photos my friend and the moon was glorious wasn't it, a sight to be hold :)

cajunlicious said...

Found your blog through a mutual blogger. This looks so yummy!