Do you have ingredients that are particularly sentimental to you? Or even a dish that is very strongly connected to a memory, person, or place? Well, for me, that ingredient would be none other than Newman’s Own Sockarooni spaghetti sauce.
My special sauce
Yes, jarred spaghetti sauce. This sauce isn’t the most incredible thing I’ve ever tasted, though it happens to be my preferred jar of choice, but it is special to me for other reasons. Growing up, one of our favorite family meals was spaghetti and my dad almost always made the sauce. He always, without fail, used Sockarooni and “doctored it up” with his own combination of spices. I open the jar, smell it, taste it, and instantly can picture myself standing barefoot in the kitchen with him, throwing spaghetti noodles on the wooden cabinets to see if they stick (a sure sign they’re perfectly cooked, FYI), and tasting the sauce. This sauce is a bittersweet one, but not because of its taste. It is bittersweet because, as many of you know, my father passed away in November 2008. Anything I can do to keep him fresh in my memory is so important to me, and when I picked up this jar of sauce at the grocery store, I knew exactly where it would take me back to. So tonight’s dinner of pasta with Sockarooni sauce, is dedicated to my Daddy.
I had a long day on campus doing grad school orientation and that, coupled with me crying as I tasted a spoonful of spaghetti sauce, told me that a glass of wine might not be a bad idea. And in an effort to add more wine reviews to the blog, I indulged.
HRM's Rex Goliath Cab Sav
I have to say, for under $6, this was a kickin’ Cab Sav. Cab Savs happen to be my favorite type of wine because they’re bold, but not too bold. The almost bitter taste of red wines comes from tannin and this has a great balance of fruit and tannin. I did my tasting, ate dinner, and when I got around to blogging I checked the HRM Rex Goliath website out and was shocked to see the wine’s description went right along with my own opinion. I am, by no means, a wine expert, but apparently I’m doing alright. It had a very fruity, almost sweet taste up front and it had the traditional red boldness of the tannin on the back of the palate as you swallowed. Honestly if you’re into red wines and you don’t have a big budget (like me!) I highly recommend it. It tastes more luxurious than it actually is!
One happy camper!
Now I’m going to relax a little and think fondly of the special sauce and the amazing person it reminds me of. I think food is a very important aspect of memory and association — it goes to show how powerful food truly is!
