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Spaghetti Contest
On New Year’s Day we had the first ever Valine Spaghetti Cook-off. It was great fun with Naomi, Hannah and Mom each making their favorite spaghetti recipe. The pots bubbled away all afternoon and we were all getting into the spirit of competition by the time dinner arrived. The table was set and each person was given a taste of all three kinds of sauce.
When the vote was tallied we ended up with a tie. Not wanting to leave this contest without a clear winner, we went to our next door neighbor and let her cast the winning vote. Mom’s recipe won. The sauce recipe came from a magazine nearly thirty years ago and the meatball recipe came from an Italian friend in New York City. In case you want to reproduce this “dish of honor� (we can’t call it prize-winning since there was no prize) here is the recipe:
Marinara Sauce
2 tsp.oil
1 small onion
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. basil leaves
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 – 16oz. can tomatoes (I use crushed)
1 – 6oz. can tomato paste
Cook onion and garlic till tender. Stir in sugar, basil, salt, tomatoes with their liquid, and tomato paste. Heat to boiling. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
This makes enough for about 8 oz. spaghetti.
Sharon’s Meatballs
1 lb. hamburger
1 cup bread crumbs
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. pepper
Mix all ingredients together. It is a bit liquidy. Scoop meatballs with a ¼ cup measuring cup. You can make them smaller if you like. Put them in a jelly roll pan and bake at 350 degrees until they are cooked through. Add them to the sauce and let simmer.
* This is a very large recipe. Depending on the size of your family you probably won’t need a whole recipe.
Posted by lilypress at January 9, 2006 10:21 PM
