Pizza essentials - sauces

Sorry for the long break in blogging, but the holidays sure do take it out of you sometimes.  Today's blog is going to be the first in a series I want to do on what makes a good pizza.  Some of you know that I love to grill pizzas and have been moving toward using as many fresh home made ingredients as possible.  One of the most important aspects of a pizza in my opinion is the sauce.  It can truly make or break a pie and sometimes no sauce at all turns out to be the best choice. 

 I like a red sauce that is slightly thick, not runny, with a balance of salt, acid, sweet, and heat to go with pepperoni, hot italian sausage, meatballs, and the like.  For veggie pies and some fancier ingredients I prefer a spinach pesto augmented with other fresh herbs.  Is it me or does the pesto jar pictured here appear to be floating in thin air?.?.?  I digress.  Below is my recipe for red sauce or at least the most recent incarnation thereof.  I would love for anyone to try making it and let me know how it turned out and if you liked it or not.

Aaron's Red Sauce (also good on pasta)
1 can (28 oz.) San Marzano Tomatos
1/2 small can tomato paste
1/2 yellow onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
olive oil
1 cup red wine divided (1/2 cup reserved for use if consistancy needs to be thinned)
red pepper flakes to taste
oregano, thyme, basil to taste (fresh if possible, though dried work as well)
salt and pepper to taste
sugar to taste

Place a sauce pan over a medium heat.  Coat with oil, saute onions until translucent, but not brown.  Add minced garlic (garlic press comes in handy for this).  Add salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, herbs and stir for 30 seconds.  Add canned tomatoes and mash with a potato masher, or wooden spoon until tomatoes are well broken up.  Add tomato paste and red wine and stir.  When pot comes to a boil, reduce to simmer and cover for 20 minutes to a half hour.  Taste sauce and adjust seasoning to your taste.  If it seems too acidic or salty, add sugar.  Let simmer a bit longer stirring occassionally.  If you like your sauce a bit thinner, add more red wine.  If you like it thicker, add more tomato paste, but in small amounts. 

Enjoy!