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 What is it with the Pope Tomatoes?
When I was a kid, and my grandma Terry used to "make the gravy" in Little Neck, NY, she believed the only canned tomatoes to use to make gravy were "The Pope in the Can." They were the only canned tomatoes she used until she and my grandpa moved to Florida in the 70s and she was pretty bummed that she couldn't find "The Pope in the Can." Even so, she made the gravy like no one else.
My grandma left this earth in 1994 to make the gravy for the angels. I am still trying to replicate her gravy and her meatballs to this day...she left no recipes behind. I knew enough to use "The Pope in the Can" when I was living in NYC, but I'm not any closer to the perfection of her spaghetti and meatballs.
Also, now that I am no longer in the NYC metropolitan area, the only way I can obtain "The Pope in the Can" is through hit and run at every Pathmark in the northeast or through the constant begging of friends and relatives to bring them when they visit me in South Carolina.
The photo at left is the last can of Pope in my pantry until someone takes pity on me and sends me another case.
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My recipe for what doesn't really taste like my grandma's spaghetti and meatballs but ...
An update (June 2008): About four years ago (2004), the Pope company nicely contacted me. I told them I was their #1 fan. Well, I am. Was. Am. I just wish I knew where they went. And so do about 25 other people who wrote me looking for the Pope in the can. Thank you all for your correspondence and your own memories.
They had reformulated the Pope in the Can and sent me a can of puree, a can of whole and a can of sauce to try, and then I had to tell them what I thought. I actually thought they tasted pretty good. I followed the Sunday Gravy recipe from the Sopranos cookbook, pulled out all the stops, and it was a nice brew, but nothing like Grandma Terry's gravy.
The Pope folks had a nice website at that time, and I thought, okay, I am in business again, time to make the gravy. And then, just as suddenly as they appeared...they disappeared.
I was distraught. I even thought I might write a requiem piece. Then I remembered the gravy by a fellow paisan...simple, fast, delicious. This fellow paisan told me his grandma would fall over if she knew he was using canned tomatoes, but...if ya gotta...the San Marzano brand (Earth Fare, Fresh Market or Whole Foods here in Greenville) is the one to use.
And now...my own recipe for spaghetti and meatballs. Even Grandma would approve. Well, maybe not...but it's pretty good. Mangiare a la tutta bene.
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Good News! (updated 3/2/09)
An update: I decided to see if maybe the Pope website worked.
It does!
www.popefoods.com
Now it's time to get out there, Tri-State Area...and find those Pope Tomatoes! I will do my part and ring them and see what I can find out. My thanks to everyone who has written me during the Pope drought and hopefully we will be swimming in the gravy soon! |
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