I was pretty annoyed making this sauce.  If someone asked me if there was a sauce I was jonesin to make this would be last next to Alex Garcia’s Ham Spread.  I mean it’s just a stuck-up tomato sauce that takes longer to cook and is more acidic.  Then I tasted it and shut myself up.  Turns out it’s really really good.  Even better when served on Homemade Gnocchi like we did. 

Here is the recipe we used.  Cook the gnocchi (if using) for a hot minute in the sauce before serving.  Then the butter/cheese at the end rounds out the flavor and you’ll be pissed if you skip it, so don’t . 

White Trash Option: Keep the ignorance going as I almost did by vetoing Pomodoro in your sauce portfolio

You know the story.  Cinderella/Pretty Woman/Whatever.  Plain Jane can become a total babe with the right ball gown.  That’s what madeleines are… basic ingredients put in a fancy dish.

A few notes:

-you have everything in your pantry to make these

-yes, you have to buy the pan (you can probably buy one for $5 or get one from your mom- thanks mom!)

-it feels weird putting the melted butter into the batter-  it’s ok

-the recipe says you should brush the dish with melted butter…  this is kind of a janky move on BonAppetit’s part because the madeleines will come out way too brown- you need to dip a paper towel in melted butter and lightly pat some onto the dish  instead

This is obv a classic but if you are looking for something to resemble the pureed soup you had as a shnub, this is not it. Ina’s Roasted Tomato Basil Soup is thick and chunky and everything I ever wanted. Ina probably felt a chill go through her spine as I used an immersion blender to break the texture down a little bit (sorry girl- I don’t have a food mill, a perpetually cheesin’ husband or a house in the Hamptons). This has a double hit of tomato flavor from fresh tomatoes I roasted in the oven and some San Marzano ones I got at the store. Served up with a grilled cheese, it was the perfect end to a historical day in DC.