Mothers and Grandmothers: The Carlton Spaghetti Sauce

Mothers and Grandmothers:  The Carlton Spaghetti Sauce

This recipe is brought to me by my mother. This is actually my Italian grandmother’s recipe, on my dad’s side. Her maiden name was Square, which doesn’t sound Italian because the immigration office said their name was too long to keep. It was 14 letters long.

The best thing about this recipe: This is a delicious, healthy, Italian recipe. It makes a ton of sauce and is very easy to make. It is always a hit. I would make this if you needed a lot of leftovers for lunches, or if you were having a big meal with lots of guests. It is also is very inexpensive.

1 big bottle of tomato juice, in the juice isle

1 can of tomato paste plus 3 cans of water

¼-1/2 a cup of dried Parsley

3 cloves crushed garlic (or more to taste)

2 Bay leaves

 

Meatballs

-1 pound beef

-1/4 a cup of onions cut in very small pieces

-1 egg

-Italian bread crumbs

-Garlic cloves to taste

¼ to ½ a cup of dried parsley

 

Pour tomato juice (not V8!) into a big sauté pan. Crush 3 garlic cloves and parsley and add to the pan. Also add 1 can of tomato paste and 3 can-fulls of water and 2 bay leaves. Heat the pan on medium, and let simmer for at least an hour. Turn off, cover, and then reheat when ready to serve.

 

 

 

 

Cassie’s Meatball Method: I add all of the ingredients for the meatballs and mash them with my hands. Then I roll the meat into meat balls and broil them in the oven for 10-15 minutes. I then add them back to the sauce. This allows me to make the meatballs while I’m cooking the sauce, since it takes a long time for the sauce to be ready. It also cooks the meatballs evenly and perfectly without having to guess when they seem cooked through or done. The downside is, you will have a cookie sheet to clean afterwards.

 

 

Traditional method: Combine the ingredients for the meatballs and sauté in a pan until cooked through. You would then add the tomato juice and everything else to the pan once they were cooked.

 

Ladle generously over spaghetti. I’m not going to insult your intelligence by including a paragraph on how to boil water and cook your pasta. It’s on the back of the box, for Pete’s sake. I only cook mine for 9 minutes in order to get it al dente.

Vegetarian: Sans meatballs.

Note: Grandma says she did not put pork chops in her spaghetti like I said in the intro; this was my father’s invention. In other news, I have been living a lie.

My Mom: What can I say about my mom? She is my best friend. Every year is better and better. One of my favorite memories was when she came down for a sleepover when Nick was away at a tournament. We went out to eat and stayed up late, talking about everything. It was the first time that I remember her opening up to me and telling me personal thoughts and feeling, things as a friend, and not as a daughter. It touches my heart that we have finally crossed over from the parent-child dichotomy and can meet each other as two souls, searching for answers together. I like to think that I am as much a part of her journey as she is a part of mine, and I love her very much. Happy Birthday, mom, and here’s to many more to come.