Spaghetti Sauce...

We are Italian. We know about basil, oregano, Romano cheese, red wine that comes in a jug, and stuff like that. Now, we make our own spaghetti sauce - AKA: gravy - around here. So, when I was asked to try two new Ragu Sauces, I was skeptical - but, I'll try anything once.

I picked a night when Mr. wasn't going to make it home for dinner. I asked the kids if they wanted spaghetti for dinner, got the requisite "YES!", and proceeded with my devious plan. When I opened the jars I sniffed them. They both smelled pretty good, but I've been fooled before... It's all in how it tastes. I put the two Ragu choices - Sweet Tomato Basil and Margherita - in two different bowls that Mr.'s sauce might have been stored in. I made it look like there wasn't quite enough in one bowl so I had to heat both. (I'm slick like that!)

I put the spaghetti in the kids' bowls and nonchalantly pushed the sauces over. They looked. They knew.
"This isn't Dad's sauce."
"Well, we are doing a taste test tonight for Mom Central. Try them both and let me know if you like them."
"Oh, okay. What do we get?"
"You get to eat dinner."
"That works."
(Yes, my children, it does. Eat it or starve.)

They both reached for a different bowl. They sniffed. They swapped. They sniffed. They swapped back. (It was very interesting to watch. Some psychoanalyst could have a party at my dinner table!) He took the Margherita. She took the Basil. They put their cheese - freshly grated romano - on top, swirled it all around and took a bite. They liked it. They took a taste from their sibling's bowl.

And the results are:
She likes the tomato basil best. He likes the Margherita. He likes the oregano in the sauce - it makes it taste more like a pizza sauce, I think. She likes the basil - it tastes more traditional - like her Dad's sauce. Me - I like them both.

I will tell you that we had the same meal later on in the week. I wanted to see if they would still choose they way they did the first time. And they did... for the most part. LLB put a little of the Margherita in with her big blop of basil - she mixed! And yes, people, THAT was her absolute favorite. Not #1! He is a purist. He likes the Margherita plain. No mixing for him.

So, when Mr. is out for the evening and we are left to our own devices, I can honestly say that we will be using both new flavors of Ragu... Sweet Tomato Basil for her and Margherita for him.

I make homemade pizza. I use the Margherita for that. It is delicious. As a matter of fact, LLB's birthday is coming up and we usually do pizza for her and her friends. They like to make their own individual pizzas. I think 2 jars ought to do it... they like to dip their bread in the sauce while they wait for their pizzas to be done... We've taught them the art of bread dipping and if we try to skip it, they squawk!