If I follow my Grandma DiIulio's recipe, it starts with tomatoes and takes two days. If I follow my version, it starts with Hunts cans and takes 6-7 hours. Both taste identical. I just don't have 8 hours everyday in the kitchen like she used to spend. Over 90% of what she made and served was from Grandpa's garden (which took up the whole backyard) or from scratch ingredients. I remember as a small boy seeing every flat surface in her kitchen covered with white dish towels so the noodles she'd made could dry on them. Grandma died in 1968, and this and a meatball recipe are all of hers I have. My cousins have more but they will not share and it took awhile to get these. Mom could also cook well, and I have a few of her recipes that I collected while I was in college. My Dad gave the rest to my niece, who also refuses to share. Sigh...
Grandma and Grandpa DiIulio, from a home movie shot in 1965 or '66. A long way from Campana, Calabria, Italy.
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