When I Learned to Love Spaghetti and Meatballs

Growing up in a coal-mining town in Pennsylvania meant different foods served at dinner, depending on where your parents came from.  My little town, about 15 miles Northeast of Pittsburgh, included many nationalities, drawn to the coal mining and steel working opportunities.

Thus was I introduced to Syrian sandwiches, made on bread much thicker and fresher than today’s packaged and often tasteless pita bread.  Or I might have been served that Polish classic, sauerkraut and kielbasa (sausage), or sticks of Greek souvlakia (aka shish kebab).  Or if I were eating at my grandmother’s house, I could count on boiled chicken.

I loved them all, but my favorite food from that time was Spaghetti and Meatballs.

How Much Meat Is Too Much?

I remember the rare occasions when my family would eat out.  If we were traveling, my father would always pull up to a Howard Johnson’s and order Veal Parmesan.  It was almost like he was a taste-tester, going from restaurant to restaurant, making sure the food was identical.

When we were at home, though, he switched his eating-out preference to Roast Prime Rib of Beef. That’s a cut of meat we all loved, and on those rare occasions when we ate out that’s what we all ordered. 

Looking back, I can’t believe how much meat arrived on my plate and how little remained when the wait staff took my plate away.  Today 1 slice of prime rib would probably serve 4 people at my house.

Roast Beef and I

London Broil Sliced Against the Grain

Roast beef and I used to have a fine time together.  When I was growing up, going out to dinner with my family and ordering prime rib was a grand tradition.  We didn’t do it often—maybe once a year—so it was memorable.. 

My mother didn’t know how to cook prime rib.  I doubt she ever looked for it in the meat department.  As I grew up and started learning about cooking, I examined various beef cuts, but I was so confused that I mostly bought ground beef and made hamburgers. 

What was the difference between sirloin steak, porterhouse steak, New York strip steak, minute steak, flank steak, round steak and chuck steak?  Before I figured it out, I moved to London, where these cuts of meat had different names.  Luckily the city had lots of small-store butchers who were willing to answer questions.  With their help

Ramen Noodles Not Just for College Students

If you toss out the flavor packet (too much salt), packaged ramen noodles can be the basis of a reasonable emergency meal.  I proved it last night when I was scrambling to get dinner on the table and discovered two lonely packages of ramen noodles at the back of a pantry shelf.  They were just what I needed for the leftover pork stir-fry I wanted to make.

Recipes That Live On

Dorothy's Hungarian Goulash

If I had more time, I’d make Julia Child’s Coq au Vin (Casserole of Chicken in Red Wine) recipe once a week.  I have successfully recreated her Cheese Souffle—a dish I was terrified to cook for guests because at the time I was a newbie in the kitchen and worried it wouldn’t rise.  I also treasure her Beef Bourguignon (Beef Stewed in Red Wine) recipe, and there’s no fear factor involved—just lots of steps and waiting around.

Last night I was reminded how good these classic dishes can be, especially when someone else is cooking them.  Our friend Dorothy invited us over for dinner and served Goulash, the Hungarian version of beef stew.  Dorothy clipped this recipe from a newspaper a few decades ago, cooked it dozens of times and made it her own.  It’s less complicated than Beef Bourguignon but equally delicious.

Laila Ali Reminded Me Why I Cook

Spaghetti Bolognese (photo by Andy Mills)

Seldom do I have an opportunity to talk about cooking with a well-known public figure.  But the subject came up recently when I was interviewing Laila Ali for USA Today’s Back to School magazine.  Ali is the daughter of heavyweight boxing legend Mohammad Ali and an undefeated boxing champion herself.  She was discussing the importance of being present in the lives of her two young children, Curtis Jr., 7, and Sydney, 4, and husband Curtis Conway.

Although long retired from boxing, Ali has a heavy travel schedule and hosts several TV shows.  She could easily afford to employ a cook, but she told me she doesn’t.  “I cook dinner every night, and when I'm out of town I cook and freeze dinners before I leave. It runs me a little ragged, but it's all about priorities.”

Letting Kids Control Your Menu

Stuff Your Own Tortillas (photo by Andy Mills)

When I was growing up in Western Pennsylvania, I had almost no say in what the family ate for dinner.  My mother cooked it and served it, and my father, brother and I choked it down.  On Monday nights, if Dad was out at his Kiwanis dinner meeting, my brother Steve and I begged for Chef Boyardee Spaghetti.  It came in a can, and the noodles were as soft as pudding. 

I’m sure my mother obliged us because all she had to do was get out the can opener, dump the spaghetti into a pot and turn on the gas.  We lapped it up and begged for more.  It was the best-tasting dinner we were likely to have in any given week.

Flash forward to Sunday dinner...