butter tomato sauce

Look what DC taught me! Collage photos, COOL!

Meme. Not mimi. MEEM. Yes because now I am a cool internet-user. "A meme ( /ˈmiːm/^[1]) is "an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture." (thanks, Wiki!)

If most of you are like me, you a) previously had no idea what a meme is, AND b) still couldn't spot one if you saw one. On the internet, it's a photo or a saying or anything, really, that went viral. Like everyone (clearly, except me) has seen it because they are good little internet surfers who care about the stuff other people say. I guess now that I'm a "blogger" I should be better about learning these cool internet things.

What caught my eye, though is an article in Saveur magazine on recipe memes. I had seen all these recipes before, in various magazines and various blogs - and they were recipes that are surprisingly delicious. That are simple. So simple and perfect that everyone and their mom had blogged about it. It's like middle school gossip, but for cooks.  But I know if you're not a super internet food person, "no-knead bread" doesn't mean anything to you. Nor does "Marcella Hazan's butter tomato sauce." So my next posts will go through some of these recipes, bringing them to you all at once. I'll have to save the Heaven and Hell cake for a special occasion, though.


Ridiculously Simple Tomato Sauce   
for 2-4 folks. This is a very delicate sauce. Serve with pasta or ravioli or just eat by the spoonful.!

28-ounce can good peeled plum tomatoes, no salt or herbs added
5 tablespoons/2.5 oz butter (salted or unsalted)
1 small onion, peeled & cut in half

Toss the ingredients in a pot with a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat and crush the tomatoes a bit with a spoon as they cook, stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes. Droplets of fat will appear on the top. Remove onion; salt to taste. Serve with pasta, fresh pepper, parmesan - whatever you like, but try it plain first. Lovely!