On Sundays my grandpa Emmanuel would take the kitchen table out on the lawn and turn it into a buffet table for his 10 children and the whole neighborhood. He would make Sunday gravy (marinara sauce) filled with slow-cooked meats that flavored the sauce: braciole, pork chops, chicken thighs, rabbit, sausages and meatballs. He would simmer the meats for hours, then pull them from the sauce pot and separate them into stacks on a large platter. He would toss spaghetti, which he referred to as macaroni in English, with half of the remaining sauce and add lots of cheese to it. The extra sauce would be ladled on top of dinner plates of meat and macaroni. This recipe is all I can do to imitate Sundays with Emmanuel in 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, for both meats and sauce
• 3 thin cut pork loin chops, 1/2-inch thick, cut in 1/2
• Salt and pepper
• 2 each sweet and hot Italian sausage links
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, for moderate to spicy marinara
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped, 3 for sauce, 2 for meatballs
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a couple of handfuls of leaves
• Several leaves fresh basil, torn or chopped, a handful
• 1 pound meat loaf mix, ground beef, pork and veal combined, from butcher counter
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 handfuls, plus extra for tossing pasta and to pass at table
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, 3 handfuls
• 1 loaf crusty Italian bread, for serving

Directions