When we were
teenagers, every Wednesday night was
Spaghetti Night at Granny's. We'd all meet over at
We were all driving by that time, and independent and busy
with school and friends
and work (slaving away at the International House of Pancakes). But you
could
always count on meeting up on Wednesday evenings around Granny's big
black mahogany
dining room table, white tablecloth neatly in place, the old
Grandmother clock
on the shelf chiming away the hours, and mountains of
spaghetti and
meatballs to go around for everyone. Sometimes there were only a few of
us
there, other times most of us, but it seemed there was always someone
from each
branch that would make it there. Ricky almost always
made it,
as did I and Danny and usually Jimmy. I think Blayde was already in the
Marines. Judy might have been off to college in
The other day, as Providence would have it, I was cleaning out
of my kitchen
cabinet a bunch of old herb and spice containers that had been left
there from
when Jessica had lived here (she moved to Minnesota almost five years
ago). She
used to use them in her cooking quite a bit, but since then they
haven’t seen much
use. So it was time to clear ‘em out. And there, on the bottom of the
shelf,
all stained, faded, creased, and greased, was Granny’s Home Made
Spaghetti
Recipe. It was the original hand-written recipe I had taken down over
the phone
from Granny herself, right after I was married (in 1978). I had wanted
Peggy to
cook it for me. And she did. Many times. After our divorce, that recipe
was one
of the few things I took with me. I guess. Because I don’t remember
taking it
with me. But obviously I did. And I
must
have given it to Jessica when she started showing an interest in
cooking, and
she must have stashed it up there with her spices and other recipes.
And then,
just when I’m starting up this whole Family Website thing – there it
was. Fate,
I tell ya. Fate. So I’m putting it on here. Enjoy. Or should I say,
“mangiare”.
1 can tomato puree*
1 can crushed tomatoes OR 1 can tomato paste*
oil in bottom of pan/pot
clove or two of garlic
Cook about 45 minutes or 1 hour.
Approximately 5 minutes before you turn it off, spread Parmigiana/Parmesan cheese on top.
1 minute before your turn it off add ¾ teaspoon sugar (the secret ingredient to cut the bitterness of tomatoes) and stir.
Let sit on stove, covered, approximately 20 minutes after you turn it off.
*Note: She didn't specify sizes of cans, but if I remember correctly, it was a large can of puree and a small, tiny can of paste. If anyone can remember (or has this recipe written down) can you tell me the actual sizes of each? Thanks. B.Y.
1 lb. of chuck (fatty, not lean) (I think chuck is the same as ground beef, right?)
2 slices of white bread (first soaked in milk), give a little squeeze
add:
basil
oregano
pepper
salt
Mix together and make into meatballs.
Brown in pan.
Add to sauce 20 minutes before you turn it off.**
**Another Note: The secret to really tasty sauce is to add three different kinds of meat to it, approximately 20 minutes before you turn it off. All meat should be browned/cooked in a pan before adding it. Suitable meats are chicken (mmmmm, almost a requirement), pork chops, loose hamburger, meatballs (this IS a requirement), Italian sausage, etc.
***Yet Another Note: In this day and age of raised health consciousness and philosophical reflections, you can substitute vegetarian pseudo-meats for the chuck/ground beef and Italian sausage. I've used the vegetarian hamburger for meatballs a lot when Jessica was a teenager, and they tasted quite good in the sauce – really added to it. And Brendan loves the vegetarian Italian sausage, it is quite tasty, but I haven't tried them in sauce yet.
According to Blayde, Granny's Home Made Spaghetti Recipe is also in the Acworth Church Supper cookbook called "Loaves and Fishes and other Dishes" on page 24. Copyright, 1968-1981. I think my mother submitted it.