“No Taste Like Home”
Wednesday, 16 February 2011 | by Pat's Picks
There’s no taste like home says the San Diego Union-Tribune. For many of us, it’s the recipes scrawled on one of mom’s index cards that manage to stand the test of time. Maybe it’s because they tend to be easy, or maybe it’s because they’ve been memorized by now, but everyone seems to have at least one home-grown recipe to fall back on. For me, it’s my grandma’s spaghetti and meatballs recipe, which I have almost memorized. This is my daughter being introduced to the recipe when she was just one year old.
Writer Doug Williams says when he went to college his mother handed over “three sheets of yellow legal-size paper with six handwritten recipes.” He says his mother’s meatloaf is still in heavy rotation at his dining room table. Williams asked six other people for their home recipes—click the link above to check them all out. Scroll down to check out my Grandma D’Amico’s Spaghetti & Meatballs recipe. Note that both my mother and grandmother are adamant that the sauce turns out better with tomato sauce from Hunt’s and not just any canning company.
Grandma D’Amico’s Spaghetti & Meatballs
Meatballs:
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cracker crumbs
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Directions
1. Mix together all ingredients.
2. Roll into balls.
3. Brown on all sides.
4. Put into Kiernan tomato sauce.
5. Simmer at least 3 hours.
Tomato Sauce:
1 can Hunt’s tomato sauce (14 oz)
1 can Hunt’s tomato paste (5 oz)
1 tin crushed tomatoes
3 cups water (more if you’re simmering all afternoon)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 clove crushed garlic or garlic powder
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 bay leaves
Directions
1. Mix together all ingredients.
2. Bring to a boil then simmer.
3. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Recipe photo courtesy of Phil Roeder via Flickr
