Ok, I know what you’re thinking.  You are thinking about gravy, the stuff you put over mashed potatoes, meatloaf or pork chops.  If so, you are wrong.  This is about gravy in the Italian sense, aka tomato sauce.

GeGe is my oldest friend.  She hates it when I say that.  I met her when I was in first grade and she was in Kindergarten.  We are only three months apart.  One day, I found the letter “G” (that you sew onto your clothes) in my mom’s sewing box.  You know, like the Laverne and Shirley “L” Laverne had sewn onto everything?  Well, this was a “G” and I knew just the person to give it to.  She has no memory of it, but I don’t hold it against her.  That was 45 years ago.

About five years ago, we found out that we both have relatives by the last name of Finch who lived in the NC/VA area during the same time, so now we think there is a relation that someone has kept secret from us all these years.  There are many, many other coincidences that connect our families that I won’t go into here.  We’ve tried to track it, to no avail.  I’m sure we are related….plus, who has friends for 45 years these days?

We even have a secret handshake that solidifies our friendship.  You will never see it, unless, of course, we have too much wine and don’t think anyone is looking.

GeGe married young and wound up in Pittsburg, PA.  She raised three kids there and then moved to Raleigh, NC for job purposes once they were grown.  She is a Human Resources Software Consultant in Raleigh. She works for herself.   She is remarried to Andy, who is a bit younger than she, and who has been dubbed “Cabana Boy”.  He has been assigned to take care of us in our old age.  We even made him a special shirt so he won’t forget (and in case we do.)

GeGe has cooked for her whole life it seems.  She was making meals for me when she was 14.  Her dad use to own a restaurant at a racetrack years ago and he also had one attached to a motel, so cooking was something she grew up around.

We lived together briefly when her husband was away for work and I helped her with the baby.  Then she moved to Pittsburgh, PA. It broke my heart when she left.  While in living in “Pitt”, she became a huge Steeler’s fan and also became familiar with all the wonderful Italian restaurants available.  So she started making Italian food at home.  It was cheap, filling and went a long way.  For a young, struggling family, this fit the bill.

Italian gravies usually have several different types of meat in them as well as meatballs.  It simmers all day long.  GeGe uses her gravy to top Chicken or Eggplant Parmesan or simply any type of pasta.  Today she is making Chicken Parmesan.

You will notice that the meatballs in this sauce are huge, about the size of a lime.  GeGe thinks this is important, so that everyone gets a generous meat portion with the gravy.  In my opinion, the best thing in the gravy are the country pork ribs.  Melt in your mouth delicious.  Just give me a bowl of gravy, some of those simmered ribs and a slab of crusty bread and leave me alone.  Lord, I will never be thin.

When she first started making gravy, she added raw meat and vegetables to the tomatoes, but then was told by an Italian friend she should sear the meat first in olive oil and then add the vegetables to the oil and saute them before adding the tomatoes.  She believes this was the beginning of her perfect gravy.

GeGe use to travel a lot, which meant many Sunday’s were spent cooking giant quantities of food for her family so they could eat while she was away.  She always cherished her Sundays and having a family Sunday dinner was very important to her, especially when traveling.  When she would make Sunday Gravy, everyone could eat a big Sunday dinner and then have plenty of leftovers for the week.

She is now a Nonna (Italian for Grandmother).  She has a sweet little grandson, Kaiden, and a granddaughter, Michaela, on the way.  She is very happy that her traveling days are over for now.  She will spend more time with the grandbabies and is looking forward to many Sunday dinners to come.

GeGe’s Sunday Gravy with Chicken Parm

Once seared, remove the ribs and set aside on a plate.  You could also add Italian sausage at this point if you like and sear them the same way if you want.  It may be traditional to have the sausage, but GeGe feels like the amount of meat in the sauce is fine without it.

At this point you may have to add a bit more olive oil and then the onions, red pepper and garlic.  

Once these are translucent, add the 3 large cans of tomatoes with puree, 1 large can of water, 2 small cans’ of crushed tomatoes and two small cans of tomato paste.

Then add ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese, 3 Tbsp sugar, 5 fennel seeds (optional), 2 bay leaves, more minced garlic if you want and a handful of each:  Fresh parsley and basil.  Add the ribs.  Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to simmer, partially covered.  Now it’s time to make the meatballs.

Using fresh bread you have lying around the house, make into breadcrumbs, either by pinching it or putting it into a food processor.  Mix ½ cup of these fresh breadcrumbs with ¼ of milk and let set until absorbed.  Mix together 1 lb of pork and 1 lb ground beef.  (You could also use 2 lbs of purchased meatball mix. Meatball mix contains ground pork, beef and veal.)  To the meat add:  2 Tbsp fresh parsley, ½ cup fresh bread crumbs soaked in milk, 1 beaten egg, 1 ½ tsp of steak seasoning, ¼ tsp onion power (or ½ an onion minced) and 1 Tbsp of minced garlic.

Mix well and then shape in to big balls about the size of a lime.  GeGe uses a utensil for this, but you could use an ice cream scoop or just eyeball it.

This gravy is always better the next day.  When I made it, I let it sit overnight in the fridge and then added the amount I wanted to a crock pot to heat the next day.  The meat was extra moist too.  Making things a day ahead is always best for entertaining, as well.

 The Chicken Parmesan is next.  Make some more fresh breadcrumbs.  GeGe likes these to be larger, pinched off breadcrumbs, rather than processed because it gives a nice look on the fried chicken breasts.  Combine about 2-3 cups of the breadcrumbs with ¾ cup of Parmesan cheese, 2 Tbsp of fresh parsley and ½ tsp pepper to a pie plate.  Beat two eggs and put in a separate pie plate or shallow bowl.

Pound out 8 chicken breasts.  If you don’t feel like pounding, you could cut them in half lengthwise.  This would make them thinner and may lessen the frying time.  It’s up to you.

Cover the bottom of large skillet or two with olive oil (non-stick is best) and heat to medium/low.  Dip chicken breasts into egg and then into fresh breadcrumb mixture and coat both sides.  Pat down the breadcrumbs.  Place in the skillet and fry on med/low heat until golden on each side (approx 8 min).  Put aside.  When all chicken pieces are fried to a golden brown, find a large casserole dish.  Place a ladle full of finished gravy on the bottom of the casserole dish and lay the fried chicken breasts on top of the sauce.  This keeps it from sticking.  Next, top chicken with a pinch or two of fresh mozzarella and then add some more gravy.  Add more fresh mozzarella and then sprinkle about 6 oz. of shredded mozzarella and 4-6 oz. of Shredded Parmesan on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.

Mama GeGe that’s a perfect meatballa!