Buon Compleanno & Buon Pranzo!

Here are a few lines commemorating Joe and all his efforts to keep the sauce flowing over the years.

Stage 1: It’s August
Every August, an email missive arrives from the Capo dei Pomodori (Joe) outlining his blueprint for “making tomatoes.” Mathematical formulas and strategic tactical decisions are clearly outlined for the crew (us). The backyard at 890 (Command Central) gets transformed into the tomato-making operation. Tents, tables, tubs, machines, burners, jars, cutting boards, knives, cauldrons, and paddles the size of oars are hauled out of storage.

Stage 2: The San Marzano Score
Joe relies on Bigi, his trusted consigliere, to handle this tricky and competitive deal. He knows she’s smart, cunning, and has good connections with Corrado’s.

Stage 3: Battle Stations
The cleaning crew. Bushels of tomatoes are plunged into oversized water-filled tubs. A highly coveted spot since saucing coincides with some of the hottest days recorded on the planet. Joe’s nipotini (his young apprentices) work alongside experienced crew members.

The cutting crew (everyone!) is another highly coveted spot. Gossip, hot topics, and politics are sliced and diced along with tomatoes. This station requires good knife skills, speed, accuracy, and the ability to talk your way out of trouble.

Bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble. Barrel-sized cauldrons filled with quartered tomatoes and basil are positioned over burners to reach a steady simmer. Pot lids that resemble shields of armor and the aforementioned paddles are some of the oversized props that provide photo ops for the Sauce Warriors.

Let there be sauce! This is one of the most demanding stations. Working against the relentless roar of the machine with plungers in hand, we watch as gallons of tomatoes transform into “sugo.” This exhausted and tomato-spattered team brings the sauce back to a simmer, gently skimming the foam and preparing to decant.

Before canning gets underway and the motor is silenced, Joe breaks into a recitation of numbers to calculate the yield of sauce against the jar and lid ratios. As we near the end of this huge task, Joe has the same confident look of a general leading his troops to victory.

Generations ago, canning was a necessity that sustained and carried your ancestors through the darkest days of winter. With every delicious mouthful came the promise of summer.

Now it’s time for martinis! Joe, tante grazie for taking on the role of capo and keeping this big multi-generational tradition alive, sustaining us with stories, shared memories, and countless quart-sized jars of sauce. Buon compleanno and buon pranzo!