Melchiorra's Spaghetti -- FWL Cookbook Friends

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Date Posted: 07:34:45 01/20/05 Thu
Author: Mary Cheatham, www.FWLCookbook.com
Subject: Melchiorra's Spaghetti

Melchiorra�s Spaghetti
Paul Urso�s Notes
Mary Lou, this is my mother�s, Melchiorra Urso (of course she's deceased) was a peasant woman from the mountains of Fiumedinisi, Sicily, born in 1886. She was named after one of the Magi. There was no one better than my Mom.

The making is in the SAUCE. It takes a while for the sauce, but you can make a whole bunch. It seems to last forever. You can even freeze it, and it never loses its taste. Spaghetti is quick and easy to make.
This recipe does not include specific amounts. There is no way to tell you exactly how much of each ingredient to include. You will have to taste it and work at it. That requires an Italian soul. (ML's response: Almost every cook has one down in there somewhere waiting to express itself.)
Mom was an illiterate Italian peasant woman, and when she cooked she never used a book (couldn't read), and heated the pot so long, put in a pinch of this and a pinch of that, broiled, baked, grilled, and NEVER fried.

She was extremely bright even though she never went to school. She did all the grocery shopping, and, although some of those smart aleck Italians in Brooklyn tried to cheat her, THEY NEVER COULD!
God bless you.
Melchiorra�s Spaghetti Sauce
You know the old saying: �It�s in the sauce!�
Brown:
Large pieces of lamb (the size a little larger than a fist)
Large pieces of beef (can use neck bones, or joints)
Large pieces of veal
Olive oil
Parsley
Oregano
Garlic (fresh)
Celery
Onions
(Other - like mushrooms)

Squeeze fresh whole tomatoes (can be from cans) in a bowl.

Add to a pan (with the tomatoes):
1 (or how many you think is necessary) can of tomato sauce
1 can of tomato paste

Simmer on low for 2 to 3 hours. Stir frequently so that the sauce does not char on the bottom.

Remove meat from sauce and place in a separate dish.

Spaghetti
Boil a pan of water (how much depends on how many are being served), and add olive oil while boiling and some salt (taste water to see if not too salty).

Add spaghetti, either whole or halved, into the water
Sample the spaghetti after about 10 to 15 minutes: CAUTION: don't make too SOFT!!! (Spaghetti is eaten the best when it's al dente�a little hard.)

Remove water through colander, add spaghetti to a pan (without sauce), add some olive oil (to prevent sticking), and mix.

With the sauce and spaghetti made, you are now ready to serve.

Paul Urso

Paul�s Notes
1. You can replace the lamb, beef, and veal with pieces of chicken (or fowls) if you want chicken tomato sauce.
2. If you want Marinara sauce - do not use meat of any kind.

3. If you want meatballs, take some chopped meat (of any kind) brown the meatballs in a frying pan with olive oil and add to the sauce above while simmering.

Paul�s Childhood
Now this is the TRUTH! My father brought the whole family to the U.S. from Sicily in the spring of 1931 (yes we were ALL born in Sicily). I was five years old and couldn't speak a word of English, but I spoke Italian (Sicilian) extremely well!

We settled in a tenement in Brooklyn, NY, by the East River. That area of Brooklyn was over-run by mobsters, but my Dad had nothing to do with them, even though he was out of work (the depression you know), and they had those big fancy, white-walled black cars (bullet proof I might add).

We lived in a one LARGE room cold flat and off to the sides there were three SMALL bedrooms. My two brothers and I slept in one bed (me in the middle!), my two sisters slept in another bed, and my parents slept in the third bed. The rooms were so small one could hardly move around (except in the bed). In order to keep warm on cold winter nights, my Dad use to heat bricks on the wood (sometimes coal when we could get it) stove and place them in the beds. We had lots of bricks!

Our tenement was attached to the public elementary school, so, for the first grade I got up at about 7:30 AM and was in school immediately for 8:00 AM. I think I was about 4 feet 8 inches tall - and boy did I want to be like Tom Mix who was 6 feet tall.

I had to learn English right away (the neighborhood kids called it American); otherwise the kids would beat me over the head or kick me in the rear while they screamed, �WOP, DAGO, GREASEBALL!� The funny thing, they were of Italian descent also!

I also had a bit of premature gray hair (even at that age), and the kids in the neighborhood and school teased me about it by calling me GRAYHEAD. But, what the heck, I didn't know any better and it beat the mountains of Sicily. GOD BLESS, PAUL
Paul, a World War II veteran, earned a Ph. D. and taught in medical school. He has published over one hundred articles in scientific publications, and he also has published several poems of literary merit.

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