Sunday Sauce and the Power of the Family Table

In our house, Sunday had a smell. It started mid-morning with garlic in olive oil, then tomatoes, then the slow, sweet perfume of a sauce that would bubble quietly on the back of the stove all afternoon. By the time the table was set, everyone had found an excuse to wander into the kitchen and “test” it with a heel of bread. For Nonna Do, Sunday sauce was never only about food. It was the reason everyone came home, and the place where the week’s news, jokes and worries were shared. Here’s her recipe, built from the sauces in her cookbook, and our thoughts on why the family table matters.

Nonna’s Sunday Red Sauce

This sauce brings together the best of Mom’s cookbook: the gentle garlic of her Spaghetti alla Nonna, the San Marzano tomatoes of her marinara, and the long, patient simmer of her Bolognese. The meat is optional, but on Sundays it’s never missing.

Ingredients

Makes about 3 quarts; serves 8–10 with pasta

For the sauce - ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil - 1 medium onion, finely diced - 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced - 3 tbsp tomato paste - ½ cup dry red wine (optional) - 3 cans (28 oz each) San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand - 1 cup water, swished around the cans - 2 tsp sugar, or to taste - 1 tsp dried oregano - 1 Parmesan rind (optional, but wonderful) - A large handful of fresh basil - Salt and black pepper

For the meats - 1 lb mild or sweet Italian sausage links - Meatballs: 1 lb ground beef (or half beef, half pork), ½ cup breadcrumbs, 1 egg, ¼ cup grated Parmesan, 1 clove garlic (minced), 2 tbsp chopped parsley, salt and pepper, 2–3 tbsp milk

Method

1. Make the meatballs. In a bowl, moisten the breadcrumbs with the milk. Add the beef, egg, Parmesan, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix gently with your hands until just combined, then roll into 1½-inch balls.
2. Brown the meats. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Brown the sausages and meatballs in batches until golden on all sides. They don’t need to be cooked through. Set aside.
3. Start the sauce. Lower the heat and add the rest of the oil and the onion. Cook gently until soft, about 6–8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant and barely golden. As Mom says, “Garlic must kiss the oil — not burn in it.”
4. Deepen it. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1–2 minutes until it darkens slightly. Pour in the wine, if using, and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let it bubble until mostly evaporated.
5. Add the tomatoes. Add the crushed tomatoes, the water, sugar, oregano, Parmesan rind, a few basil leaves, salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil.
6. Simmer low and slow. Return the meatballs and sausages to the pot. Partially cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 2½–3 hours, stirring gently every 20–30 minutes so nothing sticks.
7. Finish. Remove the rind. Taste and adjust the salt and sugar. Tear in fresh basil just before serving.
8. Serve the sauce over rigatoni, spaghetti or Nonna’s gnocchi, with the meats on a platter alongside.

“If the sauce sticks to the spoon, it’s ready.” — Nonna Do

Nonna’s Tip: Make it on Saturday. Sunday sauce is even better the next day, after the flavors have rested overnight in the fridge. Just rewarm it slowly on Sunday morning.

Sauce Variations from the Cookbook

Sauce	What changes	Best with
Tomato basil marinara	No meat; simmer 20–30 minutes	Spaghetti, manicotti, chicken Parmigiana
Sunday red sauce	Meatballs and sausage; 2½–3 hours	Rigatoni, gnocchi, a crowd
Bolognese	Minced carrot, celery, beef and pork, milk and wine; 1–2 hours	Tagliatelle, rigatoni, lasagna
Arrabbiata	Marinara plus red pepper flakes	Penne

Leftover Sunday sauce is also the secret to Nonna’s award-winning lasagna.

Why the Family Table Matters

Mom has always lived by a simple principle: family first. She gave her life to her husband, Robert, to her children and her grandchildren, and so much of that love was served on a plate. She’s taught us that a shared meal is one of the simplest and most powerful things a family can do.

Here’s what we’ve learned around her table:

• It creates a rhythm. A standing Sunday dinner means no one has to ask when they’ll see each other next.
• It connects generations. Grandchildren learn family stories, recipes and a few words of Italian and Croatian simply by being there.
• It slows everyone down. A meal that takes three hours to cook deserves more than ten minutes to eat. Phones go away. Conversation takes over.
• It builds belonging. Everyone has a job, from stirring the pot to setting out the bread. Everyone matters.
• It’s a gift that keeps giving. The meals become memories, and the memories become traditions that carry on.

“Food is love. And there’s always enough love for everyone.” — Nonna Do

Tips for Hosting a Big Family Dinner

Feeding 10 or 20 people doesn’t need to be stressful. Mom’s approach is organized, generous and relaxed.

1. Cook ahead. Sauce, meatballs and even a tray of lasagna can be made a day early. Leave only the pasta and salad for the last hour.
2. Plan one big pot, not ten small dishes. A single, generous main dish with bread, a simple salad and a dessert is plenty.
3. Figure on about 4 oz of dry pasta per adult, a little less for children, and cook it in batches in your largest pot with plenty of salted water.
4. Set the table early. A pretty table, even with mismatched plates, tells people they’re welcome.
5. Give everyone a job. Kids fold napkins, teenagers fill water glasses, adults bring a salad or dessert.
6. Serve family-style. Big bowls passed hand to hand make the meal feel abundant and shared.
7. Keep it warm. Hold finished pasta in a low 200°F oven with a little extra sauce so it doesn’t dry out.
8. Send everyone home with leftovers. Keep a stack of containers ready. In Nonna’s house, no one leaves empty-handed.

Make-It-a-Tradition Checklist

Want to start your own Sunday table? Here’s a simple list to get you going:

• [ ] Pick a regular day and time, weekly or monthly, and keep it
• [ ] Choose one “signature” dish your family can count on
• [ ] Invite at least one extra person: a neighbor, a friend, someone who is alone
• [ ] Put the phones in a basket by the door
• [ ] Say grace or share one thing everyone is grateful for
• [ ] Teach a child one step of the recipe each time
• [ ] Write the recipe down, with your own notes, and share it
• [ ] Take a family photo now and then, and save them
• [ ] End with something sweet and a cup of coffee
• [ ] Say “same time next week” before anyone leaves

Nonna’s Takeaway

A pot of sauce can’t solve every problem, but it’s amazing how many it helps with. Sunday sauce is a promise: that there will be a place at the table, that someone saved you a meatball, and that the family will always come back together. Start your own tradition this week, and in Nonna’s words, “Come hungry. Leave happy.”

More from the family: About Nonna Do, the recipe collection, and photos from the family table.