Patti:
Here is a good Sauce . Use the second part for Spaghetti

Pizza Sauce and Spaghetti Sauce ( Gravy )
I used Pizza Sauce which is crushed Tomatoes and Puree, with Basil.
You can use canned tomatoes but make sure they are Italian or a deep red color. Some choices are Contadina , Red Pack , HuntÂs , All Red, = Tutto Rosso.
A lot of others are sort of orange, red color.
.
Try 1 large can of crushed tomatoes and 1 can of tomatoe Puree.
You have to spice to your own taste. I use only Powdered Spices now.
And get the same results.
Start with 3/4 teaspoon of garlic pwd.
(add more later to taste)
1 tablespn. of onion powder. 1 teasp. Salt.
3 teasp. Sugar ( add more if it tastes too acidy ).
An Italian pinch of pwd.cloves.
3/4 teasp. Oregano ( or to taste ) it is strong.
1 teaspoon of Parsley,
1/2 teasp. basil.
1/4 teasp. black pepper.
½ teaspoon + of ( Chicken flavored Soup Base )
Large handful of Parmasan Cheese, after cooking about 1/2 hour. Add water if it is too thick.

Continue for Spaghetti Sauce

This recipe can be used for Spagetti Sauce ( maybe you would want to cut down on the Oregano ) also just add a can of Tomatoe Paste and water to thin a little , if it is too thick it will burn easily. It will thicken as it cooks.
½ cup of fine chopped Onion.
And 3 bay leaves . Don't forget the Chicken flavored Soup Base. Add uncooked Meatballs, Sausage and Chicken Thighs, when you start cooking. (cook at least 1 ½ to 2 hours ) Take the chicken out when it is done. ( About 1 hour ) Add the Parmasan Cheese after the sauce is cooked & stir
ALSO !!! season to your own taste. Add more or less of what you like.

Lou

Off the top of my head I would like a vodka sauce for the shrooms, an evoo herb parm reggi toss for the cheese and tomato and a creamy turkey sausage maybe with sage for the butternut squash but that's just me and just a thought in between segments of family movie night!

[and in waaaay rich flavors mood after bbq of filet mignon with bernaise, corn, and mashed tatoes - it was only 46 and sunny today but can you tell I'm ready for a new season of food??]

We make the following sauce for spaghetti, ravioli, and tortellini: (so it's T&T)

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
3 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce
3 cans (8 oz) water
1 can (12 oz) tomato paste
garlic powder and onion powder
basil and oregano to taste

In a pressure cooker:
After browning the ground beef, sprinkle lightly with the garlic and onion powders. Stir. Add the tomato sauce, water, and tomato paste. Add basil and oregano to taste - I use about 1 tsp of each. Stir well. Put the lid on the pressure cooker. Bring to pressure and let the rocker do its thing for 10 minutes. Reduce pressure quickly under running water. Serve over any Italian pasta that you like.

This was my Italian grandma's recipe that Mom configured for pressure cooker. I think she also added rosemary and a little bit of Italian seasoning, but my husband didn't like the "twigs", so I removed them.

DonnaR/CA

i am going to second sands ideas for the first two but for the butternut, i like a sage and butter sauce for butternut gnocchi so i think it would be perfect for the ravs. melt some butter let it just begin to brown, throw in some sage leaves (or mince if you wish to keep it in the sauce), a good squeeze from a lemon and a healthy dose of parmigiano cheese and you are good to go.

are your rav homemade? your party sounds fun.
enjoy!

maryanne

Maryanne I am a big fan of brown butter sage gnocchi too! I love that idea for the butternut ravs, I mentioned sage as well in my third sauce idea too. I only though the turkey sausage with fennel might pick up on the butternut.

I love that we all have this brainstorming venue that only makes us think better as cooks!

If you're doing a buffet scenario Patti and you're not sure how tuned anyones palettes are you could do the evoo herb parm reggi toss and have a cup of chopped olives by it and do the brown butter sage on the butternut and offer a bowl of sliced turkey sausage by it as well maybe. None of the aforementioned sauces are hard at all and 2 of the 3 could be made ahead [vodka and evoo herb cheese] so you could really make the prep pretty easy.

And if you are going with predone ravs do go for the fresh herbs in the sauces it would really make an impact IMHO.

Thanks for your ideas. I usually do the sage/butter for the butternut. YUM...

But I will try the others mentioned for the mushroom and cheese/tomato ravioli's.

Thanks so much....

I totally agree on the brown butter/sage for the butternut squash. My husband makes a chestnut ravioli with brown butter/sage and it's to die for!

I make a butternut squash soup on occasion and I drizzle browned butter just over the soup as I serve it. It's a perfect match.