Old School Italian Meat Sauce

In the Italian households I knew growing up, Saturday was sauce and meatball day: You made the sauce in the afternoon so it could simmer all evening. Meanwhile, on Saturday night, you fried up meatballs and put them on the back porch to cool until they were dropped into the sauce on Sunday morning. In addition to quality tomatoes, garlic, and extra-virgin olive oil, a respectable “Sunday Gravy” also included a hefty dose of red wine (both in the sauce and in the cook). But for our good heal