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Pasta sauce, My Way

This is more of a method than a recipe, really. It's my interpretation of David's parents' method, which is an interpretation of his Italian grandmother's method. No one in the family can figure out exactly how she makes hers -- no one's ever tastes the same or has the same texture, no matter how hard we try! Even if we can't duplicate hers, this sauce is *infinitely* better than store-bought canned or jarred sauce, and it doesn't take long to make.

Serves 4 adults, or 2 with leftovers!

Necessary equipment:

One 2-quart saucepan. Ours used to belong to David's parents. It is sacrelidge to use any pan but this one in our house.
One food mill with holes small enough that the tomato seeds don't go through them.
One wooden spoon, preferably highly-seasoned with years of use. Like the saucepan, ours used to belong to David's parents. It is used only for pasta sauce, and no other utensil is acceptable :)

Ingredients:

One large (28 oz) can of whole Roma tomatoes (the pear-shaped ones). Brands to buy: Trader Joe's (with salt; the no-salt-added ones don't grind as well) or Tuttorosa. Avoid the store-brand ones like the plague -- we have never found one that was any good. Also avoid Del Monte, Green Giant, or any of the other American brands. Imported from Italy is your best bet -- even better is if they have basil leaves in with them. We usually pay about $1.19 for a can, but that makes a lot of sauce -- enough for at least 6 adults.
Good olive oil -- doesn't have to be extra-virgin for cooking, as the heat will destroy a lot of the taste of extra-virgin. Plain old virgin or just plain olive oil is fine. You'll use just enough to fry the garlic in -- probably a tablespoon or two.
Lots and lots of garlic -- I usually use at least 5 cloves, but if you prefer less, I suppose you can do that :) Please use fresh garlic! I have never found a good canned/jarred garlic, and forget about the paste. Yuck. If you can find a small farm near you that grows garlic, get theirs -- it will be infinitely superior to the stuff at the grocery store, which is often old and bland. Ick. Definitely don't buy "elephant" garlic; it may seem like a better deal, but there's the same amount of flavor in one big clove as there is in one small clove, so you'll have to use much more of the elephant garlic to get the same flavor.
Basil, parsley, and pepper to taste -- I like a lot of basil, somewhat less parsley, and just a pinch of pepper. Fresh basil is terrific if you can get it, but if not, dried is fine. DO NOT use oregano unless you're making sauce for pizza. Oregano in pasta sauce is an abomination!
1/4 cup decent wine. David's grandmother says "Don't cook with anything you wouldn't drink!" Don't bother with cooking wine; it's gross. We usually use port or a cheap white wine.

Directions:

Have all of your ingredients ready before starting! When the garlic is cooking, you'll need to work kind of fast.

Pour olive oil into the saucepan, so that it just covers the bottom in a thin layer. Heat it on a medium high burner.
Put the garlic in the saucepan when the oil is hot. Saute for just a couple of minutes -- you don't want it to brown up, since that makes it crunchy and bitter. Yuck.
When the garlic is fragrant in the oil, add the herbs and saute for a minute longer (to release the herbs' flavor).
Deglaze the pan with the wine -- if any garlic has stuck to the bottom of the pan, it will release with the addition of wine. Allow the liquid to reduce until the oil/garlic/herb/wine mixture is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
Put your food mill on top of the saucepan and pour the tomatoes in. The tomato liquid will stop the oil and wine from boiling and keep the garlic from burning.
Grind the tomatoes into the pan. You shouldn't have any seeds or skins in the finished sauce, if the mill has done its job.
Allow the sauce to simmer (partially covered to prevent messy splashes) for about 30 minutes, or until it reached a consistency you like. We used to simmer for only 10 minutes or so, for a very thin sauce, but I prefer it a little thicker than that now. If you'll be using it for pizza, simmer until it's more like tomato paste. If you want it thick quickly, drain the tomatoes before grinding them -- that way, you'll just be cooking with the solids, instead of the tomato juice they include in the can. Cook your pasta while the sauce simmers.
That's it! Serve hot over pasta of your choice with some fresh grated cheese on the side (none of that Kraft canned stuff -- another abomination! -- it doesn't take long to grate parmesan or romano cheese with the proper tool). You can reheat leftovers on more pasta, or simmer it down a little more for pizza or calzones.

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