Flash

GRAVY MEAT

Nancy's Notes πŸ–ŠοΈβ™¬

It’s time once again for
Friday Fictioneers.
This is how the photo
prompted me.

Photo Prompt Β© David Stewart

It was a tradition in my house when I was a kid; Mom made macaroni with gravy meat every Sunday and Thursday.

Nobody called it pasta; it was Ronzoni macaroni. And we didn’t say β€œsauce” either; it was β€œgravy”. Meatballs, pieces of pork, beef and lamb, sausages and bracciole – that’s Sicilian β€œgravy meat”.

Mom’s cooking was absolutely incredible. With the steamy kitchen window open just a crack, the aromas wafted out into the night, beckoning aunts, uncles, cousins and a few neighbors to dinner. Our apartment was always full.

The bright light wasn’t really necessary; everyone just followed their nose.

NAR Β© 2023
100 Words

10 November 2023
FOWC with Fandango β€” Incredible

This is Louis Prima and “Come On A My House”

67 thoughts on “GRAVY MEAT”

  5. Mmmmm …. I could smell the gravy from your words. YUP … Momma’s knew
    how to cook and didn’t mind doing it. It was always yummy to eat dinner when it was made by Momma. Aahhhh … memories of when sitting down to eat was a pleasure all by itself. Great memories in your story,Nancy.
    Have a wonderful week … Isadora 😎

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  12. Some years ago, my son brought me a recipe for Sunday Gravy and asked me if I could make it for his birthday. I did. It was a bit time consuming, but BOY was it good! The ingredients you mention are very similar to that recipe.

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    1. Sunday Gravy is a commitment and I’m in the kitchen for hours.
      It’s a lot of work but the results are worth the time. I prepare a huge batch, starting with the sauce, then the meat. Because it’s so time-consuming, I prepare 4 batches …. one to eat that day and 3 to freeze. Honestly, I don’t know how my mother managed to make her Sunday Gravy every weekend!

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      1. Now that it’s just the two of us, I don’t make it any more. It really is time-consuming. But SO delicious! I did quickly learn to double-or triple-batch it and freeze the extra, but somehow it just wasn’t the same as when it simmered all day πŸ™‚

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  16. I never seem to be able to cook like my mother. And I definitely don’t cook like my mother-in-law. Unfortunately I never met her. 😦
    Fortunately my husband learned from his mother and enjoys cooking. Recently I’ve been thinking about “Meals on Wheels.”

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  17. I love this – You wanna know why? Because – “macaroni” “gravy”. Yes, always Ronzoni, and Yes – macaroni – never heard the word pasta until I was in my 40’s. And there seems to be only a small segment of the Italian-American community who uses the word gravy – years ago I got into a long ‘argument’ on the internet about it’s usage. I had to be 20 or so before I knew there was something called ‘gravy’ that was brown and Anglos put on meat…who ever heard of such a thing LOL And yes, I refer to anyone non-Italian as “anglo’. LOL Oh I just remembered – my mother would send me to the butcher with the instruction to ask for “meat for the gravy” – that’s exactly how you ordered it.

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    1. Absolutely! And how nice to know someone other than my cousins who understand the term “gravy meat”!
      The first time I brought my boyfriend (now husband) home to meet my parents, he didn’t have a clue what gravy meat was (1/2 Irish, you know). He was in for a surprise that knocked his socks off!

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    1. “Sau-seech” his own, as my dad liked to say. I call it sauce these days, too.
      Now, because I’m a curious sort, I must ask: real baked ziti calls for a mixture of ricotta, shredded mozzarella and grated Parmigiano/Romano cheese. Are you adding all three? Some cooks only add mozz which is good but the other two ingredients really made the ziti hearty but not heavy. I made baked ziti yesterday and also added chopped sausage. Buon appetito, Jim!

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    1. My mother was a fabulous cook of all types of Italian foods, from her savory soups to a multi-ingredient lasagna to the most decadent of desserts.
      But ask her to make a grilled cheese sandwich and she’d stare at me as if I came from Jupiter! I didn’t eat a hot dog until I was 8 years old at a friend’s birthday party.

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    1. Interesting! If you know Italians/Sicilians, then you know the never ending debate: sauce v gravy. I grew up calling it gravy which could be confusing because meat juices were also gravy. Go figure. I now call it ‘sauce’ but my family and in-laws still know it as ‘gravy’. Real authentic Italian restaurants will always have their version of “Sunday Gravy” on the menu. 🍝

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    1. Si. Ronzoni sono buoni …. as the old advert jingle goes. Personally, I do not like Ronzoni but they had the market cornered when I was a kid.
      The best was my mother’s homemade Sunday pasta;
      there’s nothing like pasta made from scratch, caro,
      with homemade wine that would knock you on your ass!
      My dad would slice peaches into a tall glass,
      then pour his wine over them. Fantastico! πŸ‘ 🍷

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