Hungry Expat's "Tomato-Cream Pasta Sauce"

One of my New Years resolutions this year (since I actually achieved the few I made over the last couple of years, I got cocky and set a "monthly" goal), is to perfect a dish each month that I can make for any occasion.

January's attempt was a creamy marinara sauce (I've clearly been a bit slow in writing/posting). I have, of course, cooked this many times since moving abroad since the bottled marinara sauces in Kenya and India leave much to be desired, in my opinion. They are either too sweet or too ketchup-like for my taste. 

My go-to recipe site is All Recipes. I usually find a couple recipes on there that look good (with less ingredients) and then mix/match/adjust for my taste. The following made four healthy sized servings:
           2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

2 red onions diced

1 small head of garlic (I really like my garlic)

2 tetrapaks of tomato paste (there were zero fresh tomatoes in the fridge) 

~1 tbsp Italian seasoning (or just do ~1/2 tbsp each of basil and oregano, or to taste) 

1 tsp granulated white sugar 

a splash of red wine vinegar (in my case it's a yellow tail Shiraz that I didn't drink fast enough but don't want to waste) 

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper (I like a large pinch) 

1 200g tetrapak of "fresh" cream  

1 tbsp cold butter

So, I do know that you should cook the garlic and onion first, which I did, but apparently not long enough. Curry Delight's only complaint was that the onions weren't soft enough. I didn't notice, but then again, that's why he's usually the one cooking.

Then I added my tomato paste (normally I would do half the amount of paste, just for thickness, and then use fresh, chopped tomatoes for taste, but we had absolutely no fresh veggies in the house since we'd been travelling). Next, I mixed in the red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and herbs. I brought it to a boil, stirring regularly, and let the liquid cook down over a few minutes. 

Once it had thickened up, I took it off the heat and added the cream and butter. Butter was a first for me, but it did add a nice flavor. However, I would probably skip it in the future as it just seems unnecessary. Finally, I reduced the heat and let it simmer for a few minutes before tossing it on some pasta and 

Finished product - it doesn't look beautiful, but I thought it tasted good

It didn't take me very long to throw this together with what little I had around the house, but I will keep experimenting with the measurements and such until I can do it more quickly and sans outside recipes. Guinea pigs welcome!