Anyway, to get to the subject at hand: I don't know much about spaghetti, so I thought I'd educate myself by watching some YouTube videos on the subject. Big mistake! It's pretty clear that most people on YouTube don't know how to make this dish. Not that I do.
Take the one above for example. Can you believe this woman? In the first minute of the video (I don't recommend watching more than that) she shows us the ingredients and they're all cans! She lovingly describes her can opener which no doubt has high-tech carbon fiber and titanium handles and hangs from a silver chain. Almost all the YouTube spaghetti recipes are like that! People love their canned goods! One guy ecstatically kissed his finger tips and said "Bellissimo" every time he opened a new can. The only top-notch chef I saw seemed bored with the subject.
*Sigh!* I guess the people who know what they're doing just aren't interested in low-rent dishes like spaghetti. Anyway, I thought I'd put up a couple of the least offensive videos, just so you get a feeling for what the thinking is on this subject.
To save time I eliminated from consideration all recipes by old-world Italians. Spaghetti might have begun in Italy but it was perfected by Italian Americans, who alone know to how to make it right. And I learned not to trust grandmothers...they work out of cans, just like everyone else. I also eliminated recipes by caterers. They make the dish the cheapest way possible. They're into volume, not quality. Lastly, I eliminated all diet recipes. I eat dietetic foods most of the time, but when I take the time to cook something really special I want maximum flavor, even if I keel over dead afterwards.
So, after eliminating the can people, the cheapskate caterers and the diet fanatics, who's left? Well, there's a couple (below). Neither is perfect, but they're the best I could find. See what you think.
Boy, does this guy pour on the wine! He pours in a bunch, then uses it liberally to clean out 3 tomato cans (emptying the wine-soaked residues into the pan), then takes a woeful look at the pan and adds most of the rest of the bottle. His family seemed to like the result, though they were probably crocked. Even so, he seems to have made a decent canned spaghetti, and has an appealing personality.
One of his commenters suggested adding veal, which sounds right.
This recipe (above) is made by a restaurant owner who appears to do it right. I had to deduct points, though, because he doesn't discuss the sauce. He's Italian American, and they like to keep their sauce recipes secret.
Like most IAs he disdains soupy anglo meat sauces and prefers to keep the sauce and meat seperate. In other words, he prefers "spaghetti and meatballs." The meatball meat is usually made with additions like milk, bell peppers, breadcrumbs and eggs.
That's all I have to say for now. Take a look at the olive and anchove recipe submitted by Buzz in the comments, Jorge's Marty Scorcese recipe, and the bizarre "Milton Glaser" recipe submitted by Hans Flagon. Was Glaser serious about that?
There have been several documentaries on the Graphic Designer Milton Glaser. In at least a couple of them (I saw something on PBS/BBC in the 80s, and there is a new documentary from 2009 that retells the same story that I have not seen. It has almost become a part of his public speaking repetoire) Glaser recounts his mothers recipe for Spaghetti.
ReplyDeleteIf you like your pasta Al Dente, it is a shocker. It is more like some kugel from hell. The earlier documentary showed him making it, which prolonged the suspense.
a couple of short tellings Google found:
Glaser said, “She took Mueller’s spaghetti, boiled it, then basted it with Velveeta cheese and Heinz ketchup, sliced it, then fried it in chicken fat.”
Mama Glaser's "Spaghetti"
**Ingredients**
- 1 box Mueller spaghetti
- 1 bottle Heinz ketchup
- 1 box/slab Velveeta cheese
(note brand specificity for ALL ingredients)
**Instructions**
- Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil
- Drop in pasta
- Cook until basically all of the water is evaporated (this will be much longer than the typical cooking time for dried pasta)
- Mix in bottle of ketchup; HEINZ ketchup
- Drop in block of Velveeta; stir until combined evenly with pasta/ketchup
- Continue cooking until all ingredients are congealed
- "De-mold" (his word, not mine) onto platter
- Slice
- Serve
In regards to the secrecy of family recipes: I had a girlfriend at one point who refused to let me make her spaghetti because she was "very Italian" (despite being half Dutch)and the family recipe couldn't be topped. She didn't give me specifics but said that the sauce was made with beef blood instead of tomato.
ReplyDeleteSo the spaghetti I was eating at those restruants was incorrect? Damn...
ReplyDeleteI'm Italian-American (50%) and I make a fine spaghetti sauce if I say so myself. While I'm not a vegetarian/vegan, I do prefer vegetarian sauce.
ReplyDeleteNow, I'll confess I sometimes use canned ingredients as a short cut, but for the most part I try to go fresh.
1/4 cup olive oil (set the skillet at medium)
1/2 tsp crushed fennel
1/2 tsp crushed rosemary
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp sage
3-4 large cloves of garlic, chopped fine (allow these to set out 15-20 minutes after cutting to allow the full flavor to release)
1 large chopped onion
1 cup chopped Kalamatra olives (I can't recommend Kalamatras enough; black olives are okay but pale in comparison)
Cook all the above together for about 3 minutes then add:
1 tsp anchovy paste
Stir, then add:
3 cups of diced tomatoes (I like 'em chopped fine but I've also used 'em cut to 1/8ths)
1 small can of Hunt's tomato paste (only if you prefer your sauce slightly thicker; otherwise, feel free to omit)
1 bay leaf
Cook and stir until everything is bubbling, then drop the temperature, cover, and let simmer while you're getting the pasta ready.
Put the pasta in a big serving bowl, pour the sauce over it, toss, and serve.
buzz nailed it;the secret to tomato sauce is...wait for it... tomatoes!
ReplyDeleteif you have real authentic Italian sauce its runny/chunky, not "thick". It's the American canned pasta companies who had the marketing scam that thicker was better. Then it just sitsa ona topa'da'pasta!
use fresh ingredients, you can't go too wrong.
Mario Batali goes for scratch, but it still includes a can.
ReplyDeleteA can of San Marzano tomatoes. These are basically Roma Tomatoes which happen to fall apart into a Sauce well, rather than staying chunks of tomatoes, rather well. Saute Onions in Olive Oil, add the tomatoes crushed by hand, with a clove of garlic bla bla bla
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/basic-tomato-sauce-recipe12/index.html
Since he has actually endorsed a bottled sauce that is fairly similar, it might be interesting to see how they differ.
I thought a prettier Julia Childs as soon as I saw your pic.
ReplyDeletemy favorite youtube cooking channel is called "Foodwishes" you can also see him at http://www.foodwishes.com I've made several of his dishes and they've turned out tops!
ReplyDeleteMarty Scorsese's mom supposedly makes a mean sauce, and she's a pure italianamerican:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.emulsioncompulsion.com/2008/04/04/news/catherine-scorseses-recipe-for-spaghetti-sauce
And down this mean sauce, a man must. Go! Make this sauce!
It's better than Egg Noodles and Ketchup.
1 large onion minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cans (28 ounces each) whole tomatoes in thick puree
2 cans (16 ounces each) tomato sauce
2 cups water
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
3 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 carrots, peeled
1 potato, peeled
3 tablespoons each minced fresh basil and parsley leaves, or 1 tablespoon each dried, crumbled
Salt to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
1/4 cup milk
6 ounces each ground pork, veal and beef
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons each minced fresh basil and parsley leaves, or 1 1/2 tablespoon each dried, crumbled
In a large saucepan or casserole set over moderate heat, cook the onion in the oil, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
In a blender or food processor, puree the tomatoes and sauce. Add the tomato mixture to the pan along with the water, tomato paste, garlic, carrots, potato, basil, parsley and salt and cayenne. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, soak the breadcrumbs in the milk until softened.
In a large bowl, combine the bread crumb mixture with the meat, egg, Parmesan, basil, parsley, salt, cayenne, and 1/2 cup of the sauce. Add the meat to the sauce, shredding it and dropping it in a little at a time. Simmer the sauce, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Before serving remove the garlic cloves, carrots and potato.
I actually made those meatballs Vinnie demonstrated last night for supper, and they were delicious. Thanks for bringing all this internet gold to our attention Eddie. I always like checking out your blog. Mind and palate (and waistline!) expanding.
ReplyDeleteThere are different schools of sauce. I've spoken to a couple real authentic wops who swear that bottled Prego tastes exactly like the real thing. Both came from Northern Italy to Chicago, so there must be a province in Italy where cans and bottles are not taboo.
ReplyDeleteWhaa!? I never use canned anything when making my tomato sauces!
ReplyDeleteMy secret is cinnamon. SHHH!!
I'm too lazy to follow all the steps, but I'm definitely going to steal some pointers from these!
ReplyDeleteThat photo of you is freakin' hilarious. What a hoot! It totally fits the post.
ReplyDeleteCynthia
I noticed that a lot of people used canned (tinned) tomatoes when making a pasta sauce. I understand the need for speed and I understand that tomatoes taste best in the summer.
ReplyDeleteI use the stewed organic tomatoes stored in a jar or a Tetra-Pack container (like how Trader Joe's Starter Sauce is stored) rather than a tin can. Tomatoes in tin cans - even organic tomatoes - are not healthy because the lining in tin cans contains a chemical called BPA that mimics estrogen. The chemical leeches into the tomatoes because the high acidity of the tomatoes draws the chemical out of the can, and there's enough of the chemical that leeches out to cause problems. The chemical causes numerous reproductive problems and has been linked to causing breast cancer.
Stephen's right about Prego. My ex and my nanny were from Italy. The tomato sauces that the nanny and my ex's mother made were more chunky, "herby", sweeter, and less oily in texture than tomato sauces made in the States. Prego is a lot like their sauces. The Trader Joe's starter sauce also reminds me of their sauces.
Mitch, Cinnamon is in Cinncinatti Chili. Which was invented when someone asked for spaghetti in a greek restaurant, and the restaurant didn't know or have the ingredients handy and they improvised (probably similar to a meat they use with that filo pastry stuff, stuffed grape leaves whatever. Apparently, no tomatoes in that meat gravy sauce.
ReplyDeleteIt is a classic spaghetti gone wrong recipe.
Eddie, having seen the demonstration in the late 80s documentary, I think that Glaser was sincere in relating his mothers understanding of the concept (apparently via a jewish kitchen- the kugel dna seems strong). That is, he wasn't punking the documntary crew at his moms expense, he was just showing what he was told was 'spaghetti' when he was growing up, and showing how it was prepared. Gulp. He knew it was far from prototypel, and he wasn't necessarily saying it was good or bad.
Although I do not cook the pasta to oblivian as in glasers spaghetti, my chicken tetrazini can sometimes do the pasta brick thing, as other pasta based casseroles can sometimes (think lasagna) because of the amounts of cheese added in, and the partial cooking of the spaghetti in the chicken cheese mushroom piminto etcetera mix.
Hans, I also use cinnamon in my chili! :D
ReplyDeleteYou look like a Nick Parks character from "CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT"!
ReplyDeleteHans:Haw! That is the weirdest recipe I've ever read. I put a reference to it in the post, but I would be amazed if anybody ever tried it. I'm also amazed to hear you say that it's on the level. i'd be scared to taste it.
ReplyDeleteBuzz: Kalamatra olives and anchovy paste in spaghetti? I wrote it down so i'd remember to try it, but it's a bit unconventional. On the other hand, you strike me as somebody who's a reliable spaghetti advisor.
Jorge: Sounds good! Maybe it's a classic recipe.
Ted: You tried it!? Holy cow! I wish i coulda' been there!
Jenifer: The can warning sounds right, but I was surprised to hear such a ringing endorsement of Prego.
Kelly: Thanks for the tip! I'll look it up!
I can definitely agree with the Prego statements. An ex of mine's mother is IA and she swore it was legit. "It don't a matter if it's in a jar, but it must have the right stuff in a the sauce".
ReplyDeletePersonally, I prefer to make my own meat sauce, but that is as simple as putting some ground beef or turkey in a pan with some sliced onions, carrots, fresh tomatoes ( if available ) along with some Prego and your good to go.
One thing we all do wrong, though, is we boil the shit out of the noodles. In Italy, this is a big no-no. We Americans have no understanding of is the words 'al dente'.
It must be in the blood because spaghetti is easily my favorite meal, and I had my noodles al dente once and couldn't finish the meal... a very sad day indeed.
BTW, for seafood lovers, I highly recommend linguine al vongole (red). Your taste buds will melt. God dammit, now I'm hungry at ten thirty am and my shitty LA diet forbids it. :(
Trevor: ANOTHER endorsement for Prego!!!! Can it really be that good? I'll buy a jar and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteAl dente is of course the only way to do noodles!
Aw man Uncle Eddie. Dissing cans? That hurts but I can understand why. Yet I feel like I should defend myself since I have to use canned stuff in my cooking now and then.
ReplyDeleteThere's two reasons why someone would use canned food. They're either lazy, which I'm not, or the canned is better than the fresh.
Which would you prefer? The tomatoes picked at the peak of ripeness and then canned? Or the "fresh" ones at the store that were picked green, shipped across the world, and then sprayed with chemicals to look red?
Yeah I know that fresh GOOD tomatoes are just the best damn thing ever,but its the middle of winter! Where the heck are people getting good tomatoes this time of year?!
.....Uh anyways the brand of a canned good is important too. You can really tell the difference between them. I'm the one in the family that has to do the shopping or else I will end up with the cheapest brand or even worse, a bag of flavorless red things they say are tomatoes.
I just say sometimes its better to use something that's canned if it gives the recipe more flavor and there's no better alternative. And given the time of year, I will place my bets with my canned things.