As I continue to rehabilitate myself from my respiratory infection, I’m staying indoors as much as possible.  This of course means eating in, as well.  If you’ve read some of the previous blog posts you know I have begun making my own soup rather than eating from a can.  As unbelievably tasty as my chicken soup is (to me) I’ve had my fill of soup for a while.  As hunger took over this afternoon, I had a craving for pasta.  Alas, I had no pasta sauce.  So what’s a guy to do?  He makes his own, of course.

A year or so ago, I made a tasty batch of sauce which included vodka as a key ingredient.  Sadly, I have no vodka (how is THAT possible?!?) and the recipe was lost in the move.  So, since I had nothing else planned for the afternoon, I decided to try my hand at making my own recipe up as I went along.

Much like my recent chicken soup efforts, my first attempt at pasta sauce turned out to be a great success!  At least to me it did, but then again I’m still pretty medicated.  Also like my soup recipe, I didn’t measure anything so the ingredient list below only shows the items themselves, and not amounts, with a few exceptions as you’ll see.

Ladies and gentlemen, I submit for your consideration: Pasta Sauce a la Enrique.

• White Onion (chopped)
• Celery (chopped)
• Portabella Mushrooms (sliced)
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Powder
• Black Pepper
• Parsley
• Basil
• Oregano
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Andouille Sausage (5 oz)
• Ground Beef (8 oz)
• Diced Tomato (14.5 oz can)
• Tomato Paste (12 oz)
• Flour
• Port

1. Sauté onions, celery, and mushrooms in olive oil with a few dashes of garlic powder and black pepper.
2. Once carmelized, add ground beef and sausage.  Brown, then add a small amount of flour.
3. Stir in parsley, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes.
4. Add port wine (maybe half cup to cup?) and allow to reduce.
5. Add canned tomato and tomato paste and stir well.
6. Allow to simmer over low heat for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

It smelled so good that it was very difficult to wait an hour, but luckily I took little tastes every time I stopped to stir.  Something tells me I’ll be making this again in the near future.  I hope you enjoy it as well!