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would make him a sandwich that he loved. He called it a Specialty. It was just three slices of white bread with peanut butter spread in between. He would come home from school and say, Mom, please make me a Specialty . And then when he was nine or ten, he decided that he would make Specialties for everyone. Even now, at twenty-six years of age, if I offered Albie a Specialty, he’d say, Oh my God, yeah! This sandwich is one of the easiest meals you can make, but because we named it and treated it like something more special than it was, it has become a family food tradition with my kids.
    I get a lot of mail from women who say they don’t know how to cook, or they just can’t cook.
    MY SIGNATURE RECIPES
    Every person should have their own signature gravy or sauce that they develop over the years. It should be custom-tailored to your taste, and you should guard the recipe. I love making my sauce, and while I change it up from time to time, here’s the basic recipe—use this as a springboard to create your own personalized sauce!
    Sunday Gravy
    Olive oil for browning meat (about 4 to 5 tablespoons)
    8 cloves garlic, crushed
    1 small onion, chopped
    2 pounds Italian sausage (I use 1 pound sweet, 1 pound hot)
    3 veal neck bones
    3 pork bones (ribs are fine)
    1 beef braciole (recipe below)
    3 28-oz. cans crushed or whole tomatoes
    2 6-oz. cans tomato paste
    1½ cups red wine
    Handful of fresh basil leaves or 3 bay leaves (your choice)
    Salt and pepper
    In a large pot simmer the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for about a minute, but don’t let it burn! Add the sausage, bones, and braciole. Let meat simmer for a bit and turn until all sides are browned, about 5 minutes.
    Add the tomatoes along with the tomato paste to the pot and simmer for about 10 to15 minutes; we want to blend all the flavors. Once the sauce begins to bubble a bit, turn down the heat and add the wine.
    Add the basil/bay leaves, and salt and pepper, to taste, keeping the pot on low heat, stirring occasionally. We don’t want the sauce to stick to the pot and burn. Let the sauce simmer for about 2½ hours.
    Though I throw some meatballs in midway so they absorb all the flavors of the gravy, I do keep a fair number out too, since Al and the kids like them fried without sauce.
    Once the sauce is done, remove from the heat and discard the bones. Serve over pasta of your choice. Get yourself some good grated cheese and Italian bread and enjoy!
    Braciole
    Lean beef slices—buy one flank steak and slice it into thin pieces
    1 cup grated Locatelli Pecorino-Romano or Parmesan cheese
    Salt and pepper, to taste
    5 cloves garlic, minced
    Â½ cup fresh chopped parsley
    Lay the beef slices out on a cutting board. Sprinkle with the grated cheese, salt and pepper, garlic, and parsley.
    Roll up each beef slice and secure with string or toothpick to create a bunch of little beef roll-ups.
    I say bullshit . Everyone can cook one thing well; you just haven’t figured it out yet. Think about your favorite dish that your mom made for you. I bet it wasn’t anything fancy. It was probably her spaghetti or her cupcakes or cookies. It might have even been something frozen that she heated and served her own way. You don’t have to be a chef to make your family some food that they love. Trust me, they will love you for making even something very simple for them. It’s the process of cooking, putting love and care into it, as much as the end result, that draws us closer to our families.
    Ask Caroline
    Caroline! Help! My mother-in-law can’t cook, and it’s our tradition that we always spend Thanksgiving at her house. Nobody eats their food, it’s so awful. I tried talking to my husband about having it at our house, or even for us to arrive early so I can help her cook, and my husband said no! My husband says Thanksgiving isn’t all about the food, but I don’t think I can do this every