Homemade Red Sauce

I know Sarah is the Italian food authority here, but I'm Italian now, so I have the audacity to put up a recipe for homemade red sauce. Yes, it's so easy to pour this out of the bottle, but this recipe is actually really simple, and soooo much better than anything in the bottle (though I have to admit, Costco has a great pomodoro sauce). This recipe came from Alan's sister Julia.

Ingredients:
2-4 tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic sliced thinly
1/2 onion diced
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup red wine (optional, but highly recommended)
Salt and pepper
1 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning or oregano
1 T sugar
A little crushed red pepper (if you want it a little spicy)

1. Heat oil in a large pan and sauté garlic and onion in olive oil on low heat till onions are soft and garlic is a little brown.
2. Use a food processor, immersion blender, or vita mix to purée the canned tomatoes. I like to set aside about 1/4 or 1/3 of it to add later so there are some larger tomato chunks.
3. Add canned tomatoes to sauté mixture, and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
4. Add basil, sugar, and the rest of the spices.
5. If you're adding wine, throw in a few glugs (about 1/4 cup) and let it simmer for at least 5 minutes.

Serve over pasta topped with parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, and/or breadcrumbs.