My Grandmother and Her Famous Spaghetti

Meet my grandmother, Maw Maw…isn’t she lovely? 

When I hear her name, thousands of priceless memories fill my thoughts.  I think of watching I Love Lucy reruns together in bed at 10:00 p.m., midnight snacks, coffee-time…and lots of laughter.  I don’t think she’s ever missed a sporting event that her grandchildren were involved in, or a 3 hour-long recital where I danced approximately 15 minutes total. 

Her New Orleans upbringing is revealed through her sweet southern drawl.  She embodies southern hospitality by opening the doors to her home without hesitation, and she can have the table set and the coffee brewing at a moments notice.  She required of me yes ma’am and no ma’am and thank you and no thank you, and taught me to sit with my ankles crossed, my napkin in my lap, and my elbows by my side (never on the table).  If I was ever at a loss for what to do, I could look to her, because she is the epitome of a southern belle. 

Many memories involving my grandmother are set in her old kitchen. I have been at her feet by the stove since the day I learned how to walk.  Every year around Thanksgiving, Mom would drop me off at Maw Maw’s so that I could help prepare the upcoming meal.  We would make the dressing, bake the pies, fix the casseroles, set the table, and fill the coffee pot so that it would be ready to brew.  Not a detail was overlooked by Maw Maw’s eyes.  I’ll never forget entering her kitchen the first day of our Thanksgiving cooking marathon and seeing her labeled plastic bags lined up on the countertops.  She would always work through the night chopping and prepping all of her ingredients and putting them in individual plastic bags, so that all we had to do was the cooking. J

I admire her and look up to her more than she’ll ever know and am so thankful that she has been such a big part of my life.  I am forever grateful to her for blessing me with my precious Mama, and I will never be able to thank her for all the times she’s been there for me.  She is one of my best and most precious friends, and I will always credit her as the woman who sparked the flame that ignited my passion for cooking.

Thank you, Maw Maw, from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to invest in me your love of life and food and family.  I thank God for you every day and hope that we spend many more holidays bumping into one another from all angles, laughing until we cry, and enjoying each other’s company.  I love you dearly. 

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Moving onto the recipe...

She is famous for a lot of different dishes, but not many top her spaghetti.  It is not complicated at all.  The only thing it requires is time (3-4 hours) and an occasional scraping of the bottom of the pan so it doesn’t burn.  I promise you – the end result is well worth the time and the stirring.  Trust me, your family will thank you.

It is not like most marinara sauces I’ve had.  It most closely resembles what they call in Italian a Bolognese sauce.  She uses an ample amount of ground sirloin (and I added some hot Italian sausage) in order to fill up her men’s tummies and make it extra satisfying. 

When I first called to get the “recipe” I hung up the phone feeling confused and unsure of my cooking skills.  She told me to add “a little of this and a little of that.”  In the beginning days of my cooking adventures, “a little of this” wasn’t quite specific enough for me.  I’ve tweaked it a bit over the years, but she was right all along…you just have to go with it and add “a little of this and a little of that” along the way to get it just right.  J

I’ll talk you through how I do it.

You will need:

 1 (24 oz.) jar of Prego

 1 lb. ground sirloin, 1/2 lb. hot Italian sausage

*Note:  Maw Maw uses 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. ground sirloin.  Phillip and I were in the mood for a little spice, and Central Market has THE BEST hot Italian sausage, so we added it.  Do whatever you like.

 Crimini mushrooms

 2 (6 oz.) cans mushroom steak sauce

 2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste

I didn't mean to get the basil, garlic, and oregano flavored tomato paste, but it was the last one I grabbed. Do you ever do that??  Pick up one can of what you want then grab another one without looking too carefully.  I can't tell you how many times I've come home with the wrong kind of beans, tomatoes, etc.  In this case, it didn't seem to affect my recipe in any way good or bad.  J

 Onions and garlic

 A good bottle of red wine (pinot noir or merlot)

 Good ole' yellow mustard

Trust me.

 Worcestershire sauce

 "Louisiana Red Hot" 

(as my mom and grandmother call it)

 Bay leaves

I used fresh because I had some in my refrigerator, but dried ones work just as well.

 Spaghetti noodles

And freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

(The real stuff.  Don't you dare go and buy the kind with the green top!  Well, you can, but don't tell me about it) J

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Now we'll start cooking!

 Brown your beef and sausage (if you're using it) in a Dutch oven.

 Once it has good color, pour it out onto paper towels to get rid of some of the excess grease.

 Chop an onion.

 Pour some olive oil into the bottom of your pot.

 Add in the onion and season with salt...

 ...and pepper.

 Give your mushrooms a rough chop.

 Like this.

 And throw them in.

Cook for 8-10 minutes until the mushrooms are browned and the onions are translucent.

 While that's happening, chop up some garlic.

Sticky garlic is a good thing, did you know that?  It means the garlic is fresh.  Maw Maw says that the only way to get it off your fingers is with lemon juice...I've never tried it.  Let me know if she's right J

 Run your knife back and forth over the garlic until it is minced (aka finely diced).

Throw into the pan and cook for 30 seconds or so.

(You don't want to burn the garlic).

 While stirring, add in about 1 cup (give or take) of red wine.  

Be sure to scrape all of the bits off of the bottom of the pan...that's where all the flavor is!!

Let it reduce by half (about 5 minutes).

 Pour in your Prego.

Add in the tomato paste, mushroom steak sauce, and bay leaves.

And the mustard, worcestershire sauce, and Louisiana red hot to taste.

This is used to "cut through" the sweetness of the tomatoes.  Don't go crazy on the mustard, though.  I add in about 2 teaspoons or so.  Just enough to do its job, but you definitely don't want your spaghetti to taste like a hamburger with ketchup and mustard. J

Bring the mixture up to a boil, turn the heat down to low, then cover it (not all the way) with a lid and cook for 3-4 HOURS.

The longer you cook it, the better it gets.  

Mine ended up cooking for about 3 hours.  It was really good, but probably would have been even better if I had let it cook longer (but that would have meant PG and I would have eaten around 10:00 p.m. and I don't do so well when I have to wait that long to eat dinner).

 Be sure to check on it every 15-30 minutes and, as Maw Maw says, "Put your elbow grease into it!"  You certainly don't want to go to all that trouble and have it burn on the bottom and ruin your entire pot of comfort J

 30 minutes or so before your spaghetti is done, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, then add in A LOT of salt.  

You want the water to be like seawater.  This is the only chance you get to season the pasta itself.  If you've never done this, start now!  It will make all of your pasta dishes SO MUCH better!

Cook your pasta according to the package instructions.  I cook mine until al dente, but if you like your pasta cooked until it tastes like Elmer's glue, be my guest.  J

 After 3-4 hours, it will look like this!!  

Be sure to check and make sure the seasonings are just right.  If not, adjust to your liking.

 To serve, pile a generous serving of pasta onto your plate, then top with a bighearted amount of homemade sauce.

Then, if you're a Parmesan fan like me, finish it off with a liberal amount of freshly grated cheese.

Yum!!!

I hope it fills your home with love and warmth this winter!  Enjoy...from my family, to yours.

Maw Maw's Spaghetti

2 – 3 teaspoons oil (Crisco or olive oil)

1 – 1 ½ pounds ground sirloin (or 1 lb. ground sirloin + ½ lb. hot Italian sausage)

1 large onion, chopped

8 oz. crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup red wine (Merlot or Pinot Noir)

1 (9.5 oz) jar Prego with Mushrooms

2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste

2 – 3 (6 oz) cans mushroom steak sauce

2 – 3 bay leaves

1 – 1 ½ Prego jars of water

1 – 2 teaspoons yellow mustard (to cut through the sweet tomato taste)

Lea and Perrins, Louisiana Red Hot, and salt and pepper to taste

In a big pot, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat.  Add in ground beef, and sausage (if you’re using it) – season with salt and pepper.  After meat is browned, pour onto paper towels.  In the same pan, heat 1-2 teaspoons olive oil over medium heat.  Add in onions and mushrooms – season with salt and pepper and sauté until onions are translucent and mushrooms have browned (8-10 minutes).  Add in minced garlic – cook for 30 seconds.  Pour in red wine – stir to remove brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Reduce for about 5 minutes.  Add Prego sauce, tomato paste, mushroom steak sauce, bay leaves, water, yellow mustard, cooked meat, and seasonings to the pot.  Bring mixture to a boil, and then turn the heat down to medium-low and let it simmer for 3-4 hours – stir frequently so spaghetti will not stick to the bottom of the pan.

I usually double this recipe when I make it.  It freezes really well, and you can pull it out and enjoy it on a rainy day!  I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!  Enjoy!!