Welcome to Friday Favorites! I can’t wait to share this week’s scoop. This is a *very quick* glimpse of my week that goes out to all subscribers. I’ll include a fan-favorite recipe we made in a cooking class, something I’m watching, reading, or listening to, a recent find, and a “win for the week.

What I’m Cooking
This week, my Basics class was all about pasta sauces and making better dried pasta at home. Carbonara, puttanesca, alfredo, pesto, brown butter-sage, bolognese, we covered a lot of ground. I love pasta, I wish it loved me back. But not to worry, I'll keep on cooking and teaching it. If you've never made Marcella Hazan's famous (and super simple) tomato sauce, try it. It's one of those uber-famous recipes that's unbelievably simple and ends up delicious every time. There are only four ingredients, and one of them is salt. Chances are you have everything in your pantry and fridge for Friday night pasta at home. The recipe says to discard the onion after it’s simmered with tomatoes and butter for 45 minutes, but I like to puree half an onion with the tomatoes. It adds a bit of creamy texture and sweetness. I've developed my own tomato sauce recipes, but every time I think, "What's the point?" As the saying goes, "If it ain’t broke, don't fix it."
Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce
2 cups tomatoes and their juices, I use a 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes
4-5 tablespoons of butter (salted or unsalted, add more salt to taste if using unsalted butter)
1 small onion, peeled and cut in half, white, yellow or red
Kosher salt
In a medium saucepan or Dutch oven, add the tomatoes and their juices, the butter, and the onion halves. If using unsalted butter, add about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and just a couple of pinches of salt if using salted butter.
Turn the heat to medium and bring everything to a simmer, stirring occasionally to distribute the butter. Cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour. When ready to serve, use an immersion blender to puree the tomatoes and half the onion in the pot, or transfer everything to a blender or food processor and puree. This makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta.
Note: Marcella’s recipe tells you to toss out the whole onion, but that feels wasteful. I like to puree half the onion with the sauce. You can freeze the other half and use if for homemade tomato soup.
What I’m Reading
I read Once More From the Top and it gave Daisy Jones & The Six vibes. Love the inside view of the music industry, with a bit of a mystery added to the plot. I was also obsessed with the Daisy Jones show on Amazon Video and Riley Keough's style. I might need to watch it again!
What I’m Coveting
I have these inexpensive sunglasses from Amazon and get so many compliments when I wear them. If you're in the market for a cheap pair that won't give you anxiety about misplacing, they come in a bunch of different colors and styles.
This Week’s Win
I'm excited to cosplay fall in the cool weather of NYC this weekend. I wrote about some of my NYC planning here. The fall weather in Texas makes me grumpy and agitated. It finally dropped below 75 this week, but I know it will heat up again. I'm a sweater-weather girl living in a hot and humid climate.