My mom always made simple, bright Italian sauce with very few spices. I added oregano and thyme to this recipe but she rarely does.

We come from an Italian American family, maybe that's why we like to cook. But I can remember my grandfather enjoying ziti pasta with meat sauce since I was a baby. Followed by a piece of bread smothered in garlic and butter.

But my favorite memory of grandpa was on our trip to Puerto Rico. We stayed up all night eating fried chicken smothered in marinara sauce, drinking rum, and listening to him tell stories about being a fireman in NYC. Definitely a pitta provoking meal but back then, who knew?