Get a 12″ sautee pan and heat up the stick of butter and a glob (yep, glob) of olive oil over medium-high heat.

Salt and Pepper the chopped onions to your liking. When the butter is melted, add the onions to the pan and coat them.

Let the onions cook a bit and then add in a tsp of sugar and the cooking sherry. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes.

Add the ground beef and ground sausage. Break up any large chunks while cokking until you see little or no pink.

Add the chopped garlic and cook for another minute.

Drain off the fat and juices as much as you wish. (I take out about half.)

To the pan with the meat, add the pureed tomatoes, the tomato sauce, the tomato paste, and the olives. Mix it all up.

Bring the sauce to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer.

Add the basil and oregano as well as the remaining sugar and the smoked salt. Stir.

Let simmer, covered, for at least 4 hours.

Season to your taste as needed.

Eat it on your favorite pasta, sprinkled with fresh parm and a bit of basil.