What is "Sunday Gravy"?

Funny you should ask. Sunday gravy (thank you, Wikipedia) is "a meat-infused tomato sauce commonly made on Sundays and special occasions; derived from the Italian ragù napoletano. There is some friendly debate among Italian-Americans over whether it should be called "sauce" or "gravy."' Take my word for it: It's gravy.

This blog is about this wonderful stuff and the meal that surrounds it. However, it is also a call for Italian-American communities to reclaim the tradition of the big Sunday family dinner. This is where generations of kids learned about their families, their heritage and their place in the world.

Occasionally I become a realist, and this is one of those rare times. Many families are far-flung; we no long need immigrant communities since Italians are no longer a despised or mistrusted minority and are accepted just about everywhere in America.

However, there are groups of Italian-Americans who miss those days of the large family dinners. This blog will examine ways that these people can come together and define their own Sunday Gravy families. Will it work? I don't know, but with your input in the comments sections, maybe we can figure it out.

Let's get started ...