Don't Forget the Carrot! (And other subtleties of family recipes)
A complete cookbook chapter.
In order to guarantee my success with my goal of finishing my first chapter this month, I decided to start off with a cookbook chapter to get an easy “W.” May is my birthday month, and it makes me think about my favorite meals growing up that would often be made on my birthday. As such, this chapter is dedicated to my Grandma’s Meatballs & Marinara & my Dad’s French Toast.
Please comment or message me with any feedback on how the recipe itself could be clearer or better organized. I struggled the most with calculating the ratios, and presenting everything in a way that made sense/can be replicated. This book is meant to be more of a memoir mixed with recipes, with stories and commentary accompanying 1-2 recipes each chapter. First draft of chapter begins below the line.
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Don't Forget the Carrot! (And other subtleties of family recipes)
There is a part of me that wants to share this story and recipe with as many people as possible to keep my Grandma alive, and another part that fears she might curse me from the grave for giving away her secrets. Deep down though, I know that even with the recipe and the exact ingredients with step by step instructions—there is an element to making family recipes that can’t be taught, you either have the love for them or you don’t. My Grandma was never threatened that someone else would be able to recreate her recipes exactly, because she knew most people couldn’t. She was nevertheless a bit sneaky with this life lesson, which on reflection, was definitely intentional on her part.
The first time I saw my husband make a DiGiorno pizza, he bragged that his DiGiorno pizzas always come out perfect, and that his secret was to “follow instructions exactly.” This became a joke between us, as it prompted me to tell him this story about my Grandma’s sauce for the first time. My Aunt Connie—God rest her soul (as my Grandma would always say whenever her name was mentioned), was the one who first wrote down their Mother’s recipes (my great-grandmother). In my family there have always been references to “Connie’s Cookbook,” and many of these recipes became the “base” that a great deal of Donato/Garito recipes use. I’m sure that each of the cousins think their Mom or Grandma had the best adaptations, just as I happen to believe my Grandma’s were objectively the best and most delicious.
I was a sophomore in college, living with one friend who went to high school with me and another friend I was in love with but who had friend-zoned the hell outta me, when I decided to attempt to make my Grandma’s sauce for the first time by myself. After speaking to my Grandma on the phone, she told me to simply follow Connie’s recipe. I obtained the recipe exactly as written in Connie’s pages from my Mom, and followed them meticulously. The sauce was trash. Hot, steaming trash. It was nothing like my Grandma’s, having an almost metallic, bitter taste to it. It didn’t exactly impress either friend, or do me any favors in the stomach-to-heart department. When I called my Grandma the next day to go over each step to figure out what I did wrong, the first thing my Grandma asked was “Did you put the carrot in the sauce?”
I felt my blood pressure rise a bit when she said it, and I thought to myself, “Why would I have put a carrot in it when that’s nowhere in the recipe?” “There’s nothing about any carrot in the recipe, Grandma,” I said. She laughed and coyly replied, “I suppose there wouldn’t be in Connie’s version, she always forgot that step—which is why her sauce was always too bitter.” She knew the whole time! Grandma allowed me to follow Connie’s recipe and learn for myself that she did something different from Connie that made her sauce much better, and that she was, ergo, the better cook.
Grandma went on to share the following information with me, which I try to pass on to whoever I can force to listen. Carrots caramelize in the heat of the sauce, releasing natural sugars that perfectly balance any bitterness from the tomatoes. You just throw the carrot out when it’s done and stir. People who do not know this trick will often have 1-2 teaspoons of sugar in their sauce recipe; this is a far inferior solution that is immediately noticeable to me in a sauce’s flavor profile. You now have one of my Grandma’s biggest cooking secrets—and you are honor-bound to use it only for good.
The next time I attempted to make the sauce, it came out ALMOST perfect! I had followed the recipe to a T, including her instructions about the carrot. It was easily 10X better, and it was so close…but there was still something slightly off that I couldn’t put my finger on. My roommates told me it was night and day, that whatever my Grandma told me had fixed the problem from the first batch, and that it really was the best sauce they’d ever had. But I knew it was not quite right. When I called her again to see what other Sicilian kitchen magic had been withheld from me, this time her first question was “Did you make sure to use Genoa salami in the meatballs, and cook them in the sauce for long enough?”
Of course, this was the first indication she had given that the sauce required the meatballs, and in fact couldn’t be made without them. Much to my Grandma’s dismay, I was a vegetarian at this point in my life. “You know I don’t eat meat anymore Grandma, I was trying to just make the sauce…” “Just make the sauce?!” she yelled at me, “You can’t make the sauce without the meatballs, the meatballs flavor the sauce as they cook!” I would be a vegetarian for 15 more years, never perfectly replicating her sauce until 2021 (two years after she passed away), when I decided to make an exception to my rule of not handling meat so that I could keep my Grandma’s recipe alive by having my husband taste her meatballs & sauce.
My husband and Mom’s reaction to the sauce let me know I had nailed it. When I tasted it for myself, I was so overcome with emotion that I nearly cried. I never expected it to have that effect on me, but there was something about tasting that taste for the first time in so long, a taste I thought I’d never experience again. I thought it had died with her, but as soon as I was willing to follow her instructions exactly (ie making it with the carrot and meatballs), I was able to recreate it perfectly.
With all of that for context, I created the recipe below using my Aunt Connie’s original instructions as the base, adding in my Grandma’s refinements, and including some of my own tips/tricks from my personal experience of cooking this so many times now, for varying numbers of people.
GG Frances1’ Meatballs & Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
Meatballs: Lean ground beef, Genoa salami, eggs, garlic, Italian breadcrumbs, grated parmesan (preferably Locatelli), (filtered) water, oregano/salt/pepper/rosemary.
Marinara: You have two options, the easy way and the hard way. I recommend the easy way. I’ve done it both ways, shown myself I can do it, and determined that the hard way does not yield more delicious results. Rather, the hard way yields the exact same results, takes 3X longer, and requires a high quality food processor for best consistency. But, whatever—do you, boo.
Option 1: Easy Way (Recommended)—Pomi strained tomatoes, large organic carrots, pepperoncini or Tapatio, chili powder/salt/pepper/garlic, olive oil.
Option 2: Hard Way—Roma tomatoes, large organic carrots, pepperoncini or Tapatio, chili powder/salt/pepper/garlic, olive oil.
Ratios/Proportions
Connie’s original recipe was portioned to feed 6-8 people. My Grandma was a genius at turning recipes intended to feed a lot of people into perfect individual or 2-person servings. I’m going to provide the ratios to do a large, two-person serving (meaning two people with seconds/leftovers), which you can easily adjust by doubling or cutting in half.
Meatballs: 1 lb lean, ground beef : 2.5oz Genoa Salami : 2 eggs : 1/2 clove or 1tsp minced garlic : 1/8 cup oregano/rosemary/parsley : 1/5 cup breadcrumbs : 1/3 cup parmesan/Locatelli : 1/2 cup (filtered) water
Marinara: 2 boxes Pomi/24 Roma tomatoes : 1 clove/2 tsp minced garlic : 2 large pepperoncini or 2 tblsp Tapatio : 2 large organic carrots (peeled) : 1 tblsp olive oil : all other seasonings are “to taste”
Method
The method varies a bit depending on if you’ve chosen to do the sauce the easy way (with Pomi strained tomatoes) or the hard way (from scratch with Roma tomatoes).
Let’s start with the easy way, since it’s the way I do it, and the way my Grandma did it for the last 15 years of her life. She would lament that she had wasted so much time doing it the hard way for so many years, when Pomi was so much easier and tasted better. “Someone should have told me sooner that Pomi had already done all the hard part for me!” Grandma would joke.
NOTE: DO NOT USE ANYTHING OTHER THAN POMI STRAINED TOMATOES! IF YOU CAN’T GET POMI STRAINED TOMATOES WHERE YOU ARE, DO IT THE HARD WAY WITH ROMA TOMATOES! You’ve been warned in ALL CAPS!
If using Pomi: Make the meatballs first, which will be lightly seared on all sides before finishing cooking in the sauce. Before I had an Always Pan, I would use a frying pan to sear them, then transfer them to a larger sauce pot with a lid to cook in with the sauce. If you have a large enough pan like the Always Pan, you can sear the meatballs in it and pour the sauce directly over them to keep everything in one pan.
Pat the ground beef dry with paper towels, and put all the ingredients together in a bowl. I like to pat the meat into the shape of the bowl so that it forms a large pocket to put everything else. You have to get your hands dirty and mash it all up together so that all the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the meat. You can wear kitchen gloves to avoid getting animal fat on your hands.
For the Salami: You buy it sliced, and break it apart into small pieces with your hands. I buy a brand in LA that comes in 5oz packages, but you can also go to the butcher or deli counter and have however many OZs you need sliced fresh for you.
When all the ingredients are properly combined, it should look a little wet and be extremely malleable. You can use a regular spoon or ice cream scooper to grab pieces to mold into meatballs. These are not little meatballs, you want to have 10-12 of them per the ratios I provided above for 2 people. So if you’re making for 4 people and doubled all the amounts, you’d have 20-24.
Tip: I use a large metal steaming tray that came with my rice cooker to hold the meatballs, and use tongs to transfer them to the pan you’re searing them in and to flip the meatballs. You can stack them on top of each other, and don’t worry about them being perfect balls or anything—the shape is going to be molded when you sear them, they will plump into great balls in the sauce and then be completely covered in sauce.
Meatballs ready to be seared.
Sear each meatball, on all sides, over med-high heat in extra virgin olive oil until lightly browned. The idea is for them to be seared on the outside and rare on the inside, do not overcook them or attempt to cook them all the way through in the frying pan.
Tip: Wear an apron if you care about the clothes you have on, and long sleeves wouldn’t hurt either. The meatballs do sizzle, the hot oil does crack and pop. I wear glasses so I don’t need kitchen goggles, but the risk-averse lawyer in me feels the need to warn you that cooking goggles/clear glasses would not be a bad idea if you are worried about hot oil splatter.
How they look when almost done searing. Browned on outside, rare inside.
The next step is to add the Pomi. If you have a large enough pan to be doing everything in one, pour the Pomi directly from the box right on top of the meatballs. Turn the heat down to low for now, you are going to turn it back to medium in a bit, but put it on low while we do the steps for the sauce. If you were frying in one pan and transferring to a larger sauce pot, you can turn the heat off on the pan and pour the Pomi into the sauce pot. Then transfer the meatballs into the sauce and turn it to low heat.
DO NOT FORGET THE GD CARROT! Peel the carrots and cut them in half. For the large 2 person ratios I gave, with 2 boxes of Pomi, it should be 2 large organic carrots, 4 halves. Throw them into the sauce.
Don’t forget the carrots!! Add garlic, pepperoncini/Tapatio, olive oil, and other spices to taste. Stir everything, making sure it is well mixed and the carrots and meatballs are covered. It’s OK if they’re peaking out a tiny bit, as long as you stir them every so often. But best if they’re entirely covered, so add more Pomi if you have it until covered.
Cover the pot with a lid or large enough plate, turn the heat to med or med-high, and set a timer for 60 minutes. Check in on it every 10-15 mins or so, and make sure its not burning or overflowing. Adjust the heat as necessary for your stove so that it maintains a low simmer. It shouldn’t be bubbling up like a rolling boil, just softly simmering and barely bubbling.
Whatever type of pasta you’re having with the meatballs (I often eat them by themselves without any carbs, they are so filling and delicious), start making it about 20 minutes before the meatballs are done—around the 40 min mark on the meatballs.
If you time it right, you should have the pasta perfectly cooked and strained in a separate container or pot around the same time the meatballs and sauce are finished. Give the meatballs and sauce a good stir, turn heat to either low or completely off, remove the carrots and throw them in the trash. Put the pasta with a drop of olive oil into serving bowls/plates, and pour the sauce and meatballs over the pasta to serve. Top with parmesan cheese (preferably Locatelli).
This is how it should look when it’s done. Look at the difference in the sauce from the carrot picture above before it cooked.
Hard way difference:
If you are doing the hard way with Roma tomatoes, it is more efficient to get the tomatoes, garlic, and pepperoncinis (if not using Tapatio) in the oven and roasting first, before starting the meatballs. That way, by the time you have the meat molded into balls, the tomatoes are ready to be turned into sauce.
Roast the tomatoes/garlic/pepperoncinis in the oven, drizzled with olive oil, for 20-30 minutes. Puree everything in a food processor, then fold in the additional olive oil and other seasonings to taste (including Tapatio if you used that instead of pepperoncinis). Puree until completely smooth. DO NOT BLEND THE CARROTS! Those still go in the sauce whole so that they can be thrown out. They are just for the natural sugars to absorb into the tomato, you don’t want carrot blended into your sauce. Proceed with the rest of the steps as normal, searing the meatballs, adding the sauce, adding the peeled carrots, cooking it for 60 mins.
Daddy-O’s2 World Famous French Toast
Unlike my Grandma, my Dad was not a world-class chef with an endless repertoire. My Dad had about three things he could make really well, and one thing that was—in my humble and unbiased opinion—THE BEST IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. That would be his French Toast. There is no long story to match the one about the carrot in the sauce here, just another reminder to follow instructions exactly for best results. Many a time have I attempted to make this simple recipe without one of the ingredients on hand, thinking it would be fine, only to be reminded of this lesson.
This recipe makes me think of Sunday morning on a holiday weekend (like Memorial Day weekend, the weekend my birthday usually falls on). My Dad would get so excited to make it for me, and half the joy of the meal was seeing him make it and being in the kitchen with him. He would supervise me making the batter, giving verbal critiques and praise with tips for improvement. The final honor of pan-frying the batter-soaked bread slices was always his, and he used the perfect amount of butter to get each side a crispy-golden brown without being burnt.
One of my childhood friends, Amanda (who I’ve known since the 2nd Grade), told me that she still has vivid memories of my Dad’s French Toast. Amanda lived just down the road in the next apartment complex over, and we slept over each other’s houses a lot. Whenever she slept over, my Dad would make French Toast in the morning. I revealed to her years ago that the secret ingredients are orange juice and orange zest—now we both continue to keep the recipe and those memories of him alive whenever we make it. He would love for you to make it while making good memories, too!
Ingredients
Bread, whole eggs, milk/almond milk, vanilla extract, fresh orange zest, fresh orange juice, butter/ghee, cinnamon, honey or syrup.
Ratios/Proportions
Everything depends on how many people you are cooking for. The basic idea is to consider two slices of French toast as one serving. For one serving, the ratios are:
1 egg : 1/4 cup milk : 2 tbsp orange juice : 1tsp vanilla extract : 1 tsp orange zest
For every additional serving, simply double those proportions.
Method
Crack eggs into medium to large mixing bowls and scramble them well.
When they are fully scrambled, mix in milk or almond milk and stir/whisk until perfectly blended into a light cream-colored yellow, like custard.
Gently fold in the vanilla extract, orange juice, and about half of the cinnamon & orange zest.
Heat a skillet or pan on medium-high, using butter or ghee in the pan.
While pan heats to desired temperature and butter/ghee melts, dip bread slices in the prepared egg batter, fully covering both sides in the liquid and allowing it to seep into the bread.
Put the slices directly from the batter onto the pan, do not allow to burn, flip quickly.
Repeat until all your breads are done, using the extra cinnamon and orange zest to top each piece as you transfer it to a plate to keep warm while you finish. A real warming plate is ideal, but this can be accomplished with regular plates being covered with lids.
When all slices are done, you can put a small amount of butter/ghee between each one, and drizzle the top with either honey or syrup of your choosing, topping off with a dusting of the remaining cinnamon and orange zest.
OPTIONAL SERVING SUGGESTION: My Dad would always cook the leftover batter at the end and serve the “sweet eggs” with the French Toast. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it served this way. I’d never eat cinnamon-vanilla flavored eggs on their own, but it works so well with the French Toast—sort of like a McGriddle vibe. They’re great with a little cheese melted on top, too, for a savory counter balance.
A Word on Ingredients
I like to think I perfected this method over the years, and have substituted in better ingredients. Like many my parents’ age, they were conned by the food industry into thinking vegetable oils and margarine were healthier than butter. As a result, Country Crock was used exclusively in my house, with my Mom thinking she was doing us all a big favor. After I left home, I drastically changed my diet based on taking classes in human nutrition in college.
Ghee is the healthiest option in my opinion, but real butter without too many additives is also a great choice. I personally no longer use syrup, and prefer raw honey to it. It is delicious and packed with anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial benefits. However, I still buy organic maple syrup for my husband, and gently encourage pouring it with an even hand. You don’t need to smother this french toast in syrup, it has an amazingly light and sweet taste naturally, that is complemented by just the right amount of honey or syrup drizzled on top.
For the vanilla extract, use an organic or natural brand if possible—I have even used an agave-based natural vanilla extract that tasted great. As for the bread, bread is a very personal thing. I can’t tell you what kind of bread to use, but I can tell you that I personally seek out fresh breads that are not made with seed oils. A lot of people like challah for french toast—it is delicious, but often packed with a lot of extra sugars/carbs. I haven’t reached the stage yet of baking my own bread, but I do my best to avoid stuff with seed oils or too many chemical preservatives. A whole loaf that isn’t pre-sliced is less likely to have the preservatives that are in pre-packaged, sliced bread.
My favorite thing about this recipe is how easy it is to modify and make your own, adding in any fruits, nuts, or toppings of your choice. I highly recommend playing your favorite lazy-Sunday music and enjoying yourself making this fun, special breakfast. Create memories with someone you love!
My Grandma did not like the Italian word for Grandma, “Nonna.” She hated it. Almost as much as she hated the idea of being called “Great Grandma” by her great-grandchildren. She thought they both sounded old, and she only liked Grandma. Well, her last name was Garito, and she loved Gucci because of its famous monogram double-G designs. GG can mean Grandma Garito or Great Grandma (or my personal favorite, Gangsta Grandma), and she became GG or GG Frances to many in the family. I only called her Grandma.
My Dad liked calling himself Daddy-O, but no one else ever called him that. It was a term of endearment he gave himself, and he would refer to himself in the third person when he used it, i.e. “Daddy-O is getting ready to make his famous French Toast!”
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