The Dish on Dreamfields

I love to eat. I really do. There are so many things to try out there, so many flavors, colors, and textures of food to try. Food connects people and defines them. And one of the defining foods of my life is Italian. Not only do I love to eat Italian, I also love to cook it. There is nothing like the aroma of Sunday Sauce (also known as Sunday gravy), which is a heady Italian tomato sauce containing a variety of meats (like pork, beef, and meatballs). It definitely makes my list of “last meal on Earth”. But of course, anybody who is Italian, has eaten Italian, or has heard of Italian knows that no sauce is complete without it’s own bed of pasta!

Because my family is a bunch of busy New York City people, we don’t have the time to cook up fresh pasta (gnocchi making is a one time a year event). So we buy our pasta. Unfortunately, pasta, like seemingly most good things, is high in carbohydrates and can be a no go for diabetics and waist watchers alike. So what do we do, those who want to have their pasta and eat it too? Well, we buy a box of Dreamfields.

Dreamfields is a brand of dry pasta (means from the box) that has only 5 grams of digestible carbs per serving. I know, I know the box says that it has 41 grams of carbs per serving, BUT Dreamfields unique manufacturing process (read more about that here) allows them to “protect” all but five carbs from being recognized by the enzyme looking for them. The non digestible carbs act as fiber in the colon. Sounds too good to be true you say? Well, I agreed –at first- I expected some awful tasting “heart healthy” wheaty mess. But there is no difference at all in flavor between Dreamfields and my favorite carbfull pasta brands like Ronzoni.

The Dreamfields website offers a plethora of information on their patent pending creation (and recipes!)- in case you’re still not convinced. They do offer a coupon for one dollar off on the right side of their homepage, when you sign up for their email newsletter. You can also find them on Facebook, where they like to run a few contests. At this time, Dreamfields only carries 7 pasta shapes: Spaghetti, Angel Hair, Linguine, Elbows, Penne Rigate, Rotini, and Lasagna.

As commercial-y as this sounds- I do love Dreamfields. It allows be to enjoy some of my most favorite dishes without the guilt or as many carbs. And as a chick with a love for her Italian eats, it’s a pasta worth enjoying with much relish!

You can find great recipes for Sunday Sauce all over the web, but I suggest that if you're going to do it then go all out and do it right. Almost Italian, a website started by Skip Lombardi- a professional jazz musician and author of La Cucina del Poveri, Recipes from My Sicillian Godparents, and Holly Chase- a writer, lecturer and tour operator- has a great recipe for Sunday Gravy as well as tons of interesting information on the history of said sauce. Or you can follow this recipe, from one of my most favorite cook/books (one of those books that acts as a cookbook and a story at the same time)- The Men of the Pacific Street Social Club Cook: Homestyle Recipes and Unforgettable Stories by Gerard Renny.


SUNDAY GRAVY

Sunday Gravy

Recipe courtesy of The Men of the Pacific Street Social Club Cook Italian: Home Style Recipes and Unforgettable Stories by Gerard Renny- which can be purchased here. Some changes may have been made by this blogger. Enjoy!

 
SUNDAY GRAVY
Makes 10 cups, Drained of Meat


Ingredients:
2½ to 3 pounds spareribs, separated into ribs, or short ribs
1 pund boneless beef, i.e. shoulder steak
1/3 cup olive oil
2 onions, minced
12 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 pound italian sausage
Four 28 ounce cans peeled plum tomatoes, including the liquid
1/4 cup minced frsh oregano leaves, or 2 teaspoons dried, crumbled
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves, or 2 teaspoons dried, crumbled
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon frshly ground black pepper
12-14 meatballs
1 pound pasta, per two cups of sauce


1. In a casserole or stockpot, combine the ribs with enough cold water to cover by two inches. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain.


2. In a 10- quart casserole set over moderate heat, warm the oil and cook the onions and garlic, stirring frequently, for five minutes. Add the boneless beef, and cook until just beginning to brown. Add the ribs, and sausage, browing those too, 6-8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, herbs, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for one hour. Add the meatballs and cook for 1 to 1½ hours more. The longer the cooking time, the more concentrated the gravy will be.


3. When the gravy is almost done, cook the pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Drain.


4. Remove all of the meat from the sauce, and put on a platter. Pour some of the sauce into a gravy boat to serve of the side. Add the pasta to the remaining sauce and toss with a little oil.


* The ingedients can be halved for a smaller yeild. The sauce freezes well.