I had gnocchi with a Bolognese sauce at a restaurant last year and since then I've tried several times to recreate it (the sauce - I haven't tackled gnocchi yet). I've come close - but not quite.

Last week I tried Marcella Hazan's recipe from her Essentials of Classic Cooking. It was very good, but the process was time consuming. A weekend, not weeknight dish to make, though the leftovers were terrific.

Our family is more accustomed to a more tomato-ey saucier sauce. I use my Mom's recipe which was adapted from her sister's Italian MIL. It's a recipe that wasn't written down but learned by watching and tasting. I'm certain it's evolved significantly depending on available ingredients & personal taste.

That used to be the one-and-only sauce. But over the past decade we mix it up from the simplest tomato version when fresh ones are in season, to more complex sauces with seafood, meat and a variety of vegetables.

Marcella was my pasta and sauce teacher. Those two little books were bedside for years... years ago.

Like amck, my sauces are varied depending on the season and my garden. In the fall, usually the first crappy weekend, i make a giant batch of bolognese and at the same time it becomes a pot of chili and a garden lasagna that is packed and frozen for three different fall meals. The recipe is similar to your family favorite.

During the summer harvest we like a fresher sauce. Not unlike a fresh salsa that one would have with chips. With just about any herb in the garden. A nice bed for grilled seafood, any meat or chicken.

DH is the pasta maker, taught by Marcella years ago. He makes a wide noodle for heavier tomato sauces and thinner cut noodles for lighter sauces. We also use the 'pasta joy' brand rice noodles often for quick meals.

I'm making a couple different pasta salads for the weekend...my first gardening day...it is finally spring!.... We have two that we like from our local grocery and i'll just use what i have in the fridge/freezer. I have some smoked tomatillos in the freezer from last year and a few cherry toms left. Making a salsa style sauce with roasted red pepper, onion, garlic, olives maybe. The 'olive leaf' pasta might be anchovies, garlic fresh rosemary, (leftover from the easter lamb). I've got goat cheese, parm, mozzarella. Oil packet artichoke hearts maybe? I'l just make something up as i don't want to cook this weekend with so much gardening to do.

And my weekend gets a bit complicated...with the leftover pasta salads i'll make an egg fritatta sunday. A bit like mac-n-cheese. In a small cast iron skillet i cook a bit of bacon or prosciutto, (have both in the freezer...), add pasta, a few whipped eggs and top with parm and cubed mozzarella...but that covers sunday morning brunch.

I also like the non tomato sauces like carbonara. I like to add peas and asparagus to the basic recipe. I often just use non-fat greek yogurt instead of cream since i always have the yogurt. DH likes a simple anchovies, garlic, chopped spinach, or escarole, and parm or feta or gorgonzola.

And al vongole, the classic clam pasta dish.

(just flipping through the Marcella books now)

This looks good. Carbonara with corn and chilies...http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2011/10/pasta-carbonara-with-corn-and-chiles/

A good pic heavy tutorial...could add any fresh veggie to that.

Hate to say it, because of the calorie content, but my absolute favorite pasta sauce is lemon cream on linguine.

2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. light cream

So good, it's worthy of a dinner party, a luxury pasta dish. There are a lot of different recipes for lemon cream pasta sauce but most call for heavy cream. I use light cream. Can add garlic, wine…Peas….

I love them all. But my favorite is vodka sauce. Talk about decadent! It's so full of butter. It's really good on penne with spicy sausage slices. Mmm.

I make a "spaghetti" sauce based on the recipe our from Italy Italian friend shared, but with lots of purpose bought vegetables in it. It is a meaty red sauce, but not specifically Bolognese. The way she did it was just with whatever needed using up. For it to taste "right" to me, there has to be green bell pepper and at least one chili pepper. Also zucchini and carrots. Besides the onions, garlic, etc., in the base recipe. The rest is a matter of what's on hand. It's good on any kind of pasta, but perhaps better on other shapes than spaghetti because I make it chunkier than it's supposed to be. Gemelli or fusilli go better. ;) It's also an excellent base for lasagna.

The rest are improvised. A favorite is a peppery, marsala wine, cheese sauce, made from ends. Best with radiatore or tight fusilli. Something that holds a lot of sauce.

A simple, fresh pomodoro, is great on spaghettii, as is arrabiatta.

For dry pasta, I'm very fond of DeBoles whole wheat with Jerusalem artichoke flour (best spaghetti ever), or Tolerant black bean penne. I used to prefer old mold artisan pasta, but they don't have nearly the flavor of these. Fresh pasta is nice, but one doesn't always want the eggs.

Great sauces, everyone!

I forgot carbonara. SWMBO makes that too. I guess I make clam (vongole) pasta sauce sometimes, I'm permitted to do that.

So, I'm spending Saturday with some friends at their beach cabin. I'm told that I'll be expected to do something with chicken. How about a chicken based sauce?. Any ideas?. Maybe something al freddo-ish?

It's spring and it got to be nearly 70 here today, so I'm in a spring mood. I'd go off in a different direction, like prima vera or pesto, something fresh and green.

Have fun at the beach!

Annie

Chicken based sauce? Gravy? Wine reduction? Something else using stock? Or sauce for chicken? Alfredo is butter and parmesan, S&P. A lot of Americans add cream because they like their pasta goopy. My own opinion is that chicken gets lost in that much fat.

I'm with Annie. Something fresh and green, unless you meant sauce made from chicken. A white wine reduction would be nice...

My go-to red sauce is always what I call marinara, w/ fresh bay leaves (we have a tree). I often make meatballs & simmer them in the sauce.

This recipe is almost identical to my own; I usually add tomato paste & always lots of chopped flat parsley:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/marinara-sauce-recipe.html

I make a big batch of 'sketti sauce, and freeze in portions for two. I use a zip lok bag (no fancy machine here), and fill with about a cup for the two of us, burp the air and lay flat to freeze.

Recipe: 2 or three pounds ground beef/turkey, then saute two or three ribs celery, a good sized onion, a bell pepper or two, depending on size. Chopped garlic, up to a half a head. Add Costco-sized can of tomato puree, a couple of cans of chopped ripe tomatoes, and then lots of spices. Oregano, basil, rosemary, red pepper flakes, S&P, bay leaf. Maybe something else. Cook for a long time. Maybe add a can of tomato paste and some water. Add more herbs.

It's a day-long job, and everything is adjusted as I go along. Be generous with the herbs/seasonings.

All the recipes/ideas posted so far, sound delish!

I stumbled across this marinara recipe a couple of years ago and it's my go to now. It's the sauce part of a chicken parmesan recipe (but I've never made it complete w/ chicken :) really awesome with fresh summer basil.

Link below (to credit recipe author)...

Marinara Sauce

1/4 C olive oil

6 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 C fresh basil leaves, loosely packed

2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes

1/2 C white wine

salt & pepper to taste

2 t sugar

1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on

medium high heat. Add the garlic cloves and stir

and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the

fresh basil and cook 1-2 minutes. Add the canned

tomatoes and crush a bit with a potato masher.

Add the wine, salt, and sugar. Simmer for 20-30

minutes then add the crushed red papper flakes

and about 10 turns of freshly ground pepper.

Let simmer on low until needed.

Rita May recipes blog

In the height of fresh tomato season, I love this uncooked tomato sauce on spaghetti:

Pasta with Fresh Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Sauce
Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (about 3), seeded and chopped (I prefer the equivalent cherry tomatoes, halved - sometimes I mix red, yellow, orange varieties).
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, chopped coarsely
1/2 pound mozzarella, grated (not finely)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I use less)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti (or other pasta if you prefer)

Directions

In
a large bowl combine the tomatoes, garlic, basil, mozzarella, oil,
vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and let the sauce stand, covered at
room temperature for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. Just before
serving, in a kettle of boiling salted water cook the pasta until it is
al dente, drain it well, and add to the sauce while still very hot, to melt the cheese. Toss the pasta well with
the sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

when I make a sauce with a given name, then I try and make it authentic - never cream in carbonara, never spaghetti with Bolognese, but we all have our favourite meat and tomato sauce and I love some fromage frais with my "carbonara" sauce.....There are as many pasta sauces as people!

you don't have to make fresh pasta with egg -

3 cups flour, 1 cup water, 2 tbls olive oil.

One more. This would be good with chicken, but I'd make more sauce.

15-Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta

Creamy,
thick, and rich with lots of garlic flavor and a hint of lemon. The avocado works wonderfully in this
recipe to create a sauce so creamy and thick, you will think there is
cream hiding in there.

Creamy Avocado sauce for pasta

• 9 ounces (255 g) uncooked pasta (use gluten-free, if desired)
• 1 to 2 small cloves garlic, to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 ripe medium avocado, pitted
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon (1 to 2 mL) fine-grain sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Lemon zest, for serving

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.
2. While the pasta cooks, make the sauce: In a food processor, combine the garlic and basil and pulse to mince.
3. Add
   the lemon juice, oil, avocado flesh, and 1 tablespoon (15 mL) water
   and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed. If
   the sauce is too thick, add another 1 tablespoon (15 mL) water. Season
   with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Drain
   the pasta and place it back in the pot. Add the avocado sauce and stir
   until combined. You can gently rewarm the pasta if it has cooled
   slightly, or simply serve it at room temperature.
5. Top with lemon zest, pepper, and fresh basil leaves, if desired.

Tips: Because avocados oxidize quickly after you slice them,
this sauce is best served immediately. If you do have leftover sauce,
transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 day.
For a grain-free version, serve this avocado sauce with spiralized or julienned zucchini or on a bed of spaghetti squash.

recipe source

Squid ink sauce is very unique.

Truffle sauce is very expensive.

I make my own black garlic sauce.

dcarch

Long ago I started making an Italian gravy with a 7-bone beef chuck roast instead of ground beef. It has great flavor; my DH thinks it's much better than using ground meat of any type.

A good dollop of roasted garlic as well as fresh garlic adds depth. The usual chopped veggies, and homemade stock. The latter makes a BIG difference.

I was always intrigued by vintage cookbooks that used chicken livers in Italian meat sauces. A few years ago, I found another one in the book In Tuscany by France's Mayes, tried it, and really liked it. (Bracketed comments are mine.)

FIORELLA'S RAGU DI FUNGHI PORCINI
This recipe begins with odori, the earthy mix of root vegetables and parsleythat is at the heart of many Tuscan dishes.

Serves 6 to 8

Odori:
1 carrot, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1 onion, minced
A handful of parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbs. EV olive oil

2 Italian sausages, casings removed [14 oz.]
3/4 pound ground veal
2 chicken livers, cut in small pieces
Salt
Pinch of red pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red wine [I used chianti]
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 Tbs. tomato paste
6 to 7 fresh chopped tomatoes or one 28-ounce can tomatoes

Sauté the odori ingredients in the olive oil [medium heat] to make the odori. Add the sausage, veal, liver, salt, red pepper and garlic. Sauté until brown, [medium-high heat] stirring often. When the mixture begins to stick to the pan, add the wine and stir [occasionally] until it evaporates. Meanwhile, put the dried mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes. Remove them from the water [straining and reserving it], chop, and add them to the meat, stirring well. Add the tomato paste and the tomatoes. When the sauce has come to a boil, add the water from the dried mushrooms, well filtered. Simmer slowly for about 40 minutes. Serve with fresh-cooked, al dente tagliatelle or fettuccine. [I used fettuccini but would also be good on mafalda. It's too chunky for thin pasta like spaghetti.]

I make different sauces depending on the time of year. In summer, my favorite is based on fresh tomatoes. In winter, I often use creamed vegetable soups with less liquid added as a sauce, especially roasted garlic soup. In springtime, we eat a lot of veal and I often make a sauce based on Veal Marengo.

I, too, often use Marcella Hazan as at least a starting point. I do the Bolognese sauce in the crockpot though and make a big batch for freezing. I do enjoy her recipe for carbonara. I will have to try Tib's lemon cream sauce. I think that with some chicken and asparagus would be lovely for a chilly spring night.

Most of the time at our house though, pasta is what we eat when I need something quick and need to improvise with what is in the house.

tish, I'm trying to find the original recipe I used. It called for heavy cream, no egg yolk. I found the heavy cream to be a bit too heavy. Maybe thin it with light cream. But there was a direction I can't recall: Melt the butter, stir in the cream and lemon juice and zest…and then I can't remember if you take it off the heat and cover it or what. Aargh. I haven't made it in a while, but I think I swooned on the first bite. But then, I love lemon, and I love lemon and cream.

I'll keep looking to see if I can find the recipe for what that direction was. Otherwise, just blend it all in and pour it over the pasta, parm on top if wanted.

I just received Marcella Hazan's EoCIC cookbook and am enjoying working through it. I also quite enjoy Biba Caggiano's cookbooks for Northern Italian cuisine. Their classic Bolognese are quite similar, with very little tomato. But, they do take hours.

I'm often preparing simple sauces with olive oil, ripe diced tomato or halfed cherry tomatoes, white wine, good chicken broth, garlic, S&P and fresh basil. I may or may not do additions: Chicken and asparagus go well with this. This and a salad are a quick weeknight meal.

I make Carbonara using the classic recipe that is just eggs, pecorino (and some parmesean), guanciale (or slivers of zucchini + garlic for the vegetarian version), cooking water, pepper -- and prefer it with rigatoni. Sometimes garlic finds its way into the mix -- good cheese, freshly grated, is the key.

I would also explore Arrabiata and Puttanesca... and hit the farmers market for basil to make fresh pesto (tip -- use a mortar) .

Another favorite sauce of mine I generally cannot spell and should learn to pronounce, starts with an but is made with bacon, onion, tomato, and red pepper flakes for the adults. Traditionally, it is served with bucatini which finding is rather hit or miss for me.

Tish, you may be thinking of Bucatini all'Amatriciana. I have no trouble finding bucatini in the regular market, but I do not like it - it reminds me too much of elbow macaroni, which is one of the few pastas that I do not like at all. Bucatini is not as bad, but I prefer different pastas, and I have no desire to be traditional when I am cooking, as I am only the tiniest bit Italian - from my Italian-Swiss great-great grandmother, who died centuries ago, although I still have relatives in Switzerland that are descended from her family.

I frequently make chicken with pasta, but I most often make it with wide Dutch egg noodles and a velouté sauce with mushrooms and a bit of wine. It's more like something my German Alsatian grandmother would make than anything Italian, I think. My other grandmother was French (on my father's side), and her cooking style was somewhat similar, although she died when I was fairly young.

When I make a marinara sauce, I like to put artichokes in it - that is my favorite version, and I tend to make marinara more often when I have fresh basil in the yard, like I do now. My basil plant from last year started putting out new growth last month, and some of it is large enough to harvest. I did buy a new basil plant yesterday, along with new oregano. I did not find the thyme plant I wanted (although I have seeds), and I did not find dried thyme in the grocery store yesterday either.

Almost anything can be a pasta sauce, and I choose whatever is fresh, especially what I find at the Farmers' Market and in my yard. I'm trying to stick with whole wheat pasta (which I prefer for its flavor), but when I make fresh pasta, I use only about 1/3 WW flour, along with 1/3 semolina flour. My pasta extrusion machine came with a cookbook that has different sauce recipes for each type of pasta, and all of them are fairly simple.

Lars

Lars, yes, that is the one I was thinking of. One of the advantages of bucatini for me is that I live over 6500 feet above sea level so the hollow center means it cooks quicker. Something on the thicker side like orecchiette can take a rather long time to cook, but it too is one of my favorite shapes, as I like the way it holds little bits.

I almost always improvise my sauces, using basic sauce principles of reducing and or thickening and simmering, depending on what's fresh or what needs to be used up. The only thing I can add is I grew yellow paste tomatoes last year and they make awesome sauce. The kind I made with them was just the lightly cooked fresh sauce, and I also froze some. I couldn't bring myself to can it and add the lemon juice that is needed. I'm going to make more this year, it froze great! Well worth growing the yellow tomatoes for it. I also like nut and bean sauces and butternut squash sauce.

If I were doing a weekend at the beach I would make chicken cacciatore in a dutch oven (well actually I would do it in a crockpot but I know that is considered declasse) and serve it over pasta and spend my time on the sand!

Omigosh, this all sounds so good! I'm remodeling my kitchen right now and haven't had access to my stove/oven for over a month. Sleevendog I'm coming to YOUR house for dinner!