Homemade pasta sauces, your favorites

ehBeth, I get the Fine Cooking newsletter but haven't officially joined the site - I seem to remember the reason was re money, and still would be the reason. I do like the newsletter a lot, and enjoy their free recipes.

OK then!

Calling this a "sauce" may be stretching things a bit, but I really like it!

This is a tried & true (& quite delicious) solution for when I'm really too stuffed to cook but must cook something for dinner.:

I cook up a batch of (exceptionally good for "bought") locally produced & frozen stuffed (with perhaps with cheese, ricotta & spinach or pumpkin & almonds) pasta shapes, like tortelloni, etc .... (I generally have a few different packets of these in the freezer, on standby.)

When those are almost ready, I gently fry/saute a generous handful of chopped chives from the garden in a fairly generous dollop of butter, adding a little salt, cracked pepper & some chilli flakes. This is then tossed through the hot, drained pasta. I love it!

I've seen similar recipes where sage is used in a similar way to the chives, but not being a big fan of sage (apart from in the garden, where it looks lovely in flower!), I prefer the chives. If chives are unavailable, I resort to the youngish green parts of spring onions. Works well, too.

On bought pasta sauces ... well, I've given up on them. Not that I was ever "into" them, exactly .... They just don't taste right! I want to taste the ingredients, not just salt & tomato paste & perhaps, preservatives. The only bought pasta sauces I use (when I do, which is not all that often) are those that are made locally (generally by small local Italian traders) & are made & sold on the premises, fresh. The sort of sauce you'd make at home, yourself, if you had the time.

We do agree, msolga, on the bought sauces, even to the local purveyor being a possible exception. Alas, I haven't found that here in sandland yet. I do admit to buying some Bertolli sauce recently, because it was on sale and I like the jar. I've put it in soup, so who knows what it tasted like on it's own.

Your chives butter salt pepper chili flakes thing is just the kind of thing I like too...

I messed up with the soup I made tonight, no onions my lady, and not enough flavor. Will have to doctor it tomorrow. Anyway, point is, your tortelloni and sauce description is a comfort to read.

Osso, without Bertolli and Buitoni, I would be insane already....

Thats how Kansas says Italian, and I don't do my own three cheese tortellini...

I can't remember if Bertolli is a company of Paul Bertolli, and if so, he's a good chef.. not that that always follows that a good chef's products are good. But it means I should try it..

I buy packaged tortellini here too - but I was happier about the ones back in north north, made by a couple of local purveyors, along with different ravioli... and all wonderful, easily available in my local grocery stores there, though not the chain ones. Now I suffer ravioli envy.

Hell, who does, Rockhead?

Certainly not me!

Sometimes, you know, I feel so grateful & appreciative about living in a country of immigrants ... some of whom go into small businesses selling good food! Often very cheaply. And I'm surrounded by them! Lucky me!

Osso, I miss Chicago as well....

Oh, right, I bet they have good stores there...

Not sure who you're talking to here, osso. But if it's to me: yes.
Not just Italian, but middle eastern, Greek, Vietnamese, etc, etc, etc ...
If you look around, you'll find!

OssoB - the CooksTalk forums are free. Always have been. There is a new area of the site which has a cost - it's basically fancy software (don't let them know that's what I think of it).