When my paternal grandmother passed away, there was a huge uproar about her recipes. Specifically, where they were. I remember talking with my mom and sister about it. We all agreed that it was wrong not to pass down family recipes and things like that. It’s our history. A legacy. Inheritance isn’t always about money, it’s about value. Recipes, to me, are invaluable. Would I miss having a million dollars? I don’t know, I’ve never had a million to know the loss. But, those hand-made ravioli we used to make with our grandmother are something I think about more often than I probably should.
My own mom agreed that she was annoyed she didn’t get her mom’s recipes. We all had a good laugh at that one because my maternal grandma couldn’t cook, so there were no recipes to worry about. If it contained two shots and was over cracked ice, that was her recipe. And, always have an ashtray handy.
Over at my paternal grandparent’s house, everyone was in a scramble to find the small metal index card box with her recipes. I was estranged from my paternal grandparents for over thirty years, and, wasn’t involved in the Recipe Box Quest. It wasn’t until the reading of her will that they had all discovered that the recipe box was in his, the lawyer’s, possession. My grandmother had left, not only the recipe box, but, the majority of her kitchen cooking equipment was bequeathed to him. No one really cared about the old equipment, it was the recipes. He wasn’t giving it up and refused to let anyone even touch the box. The aunts and uncles made out well with the sale of the house and the stocks my grandmother had purchased in things like Coca Cola, Kodak, Hershey Chocolate and a few others.
As time went by, my sister returns home one day to find a series of large plastic storage bins on her back porch. Inside the bins was all the kitchen equipment. Pasta maker, cold cut slicer, ravioli trays, rolling pins and so much more. Recognizing the equipment, she called the lawyer to find out why there were there. Of course, not until after she searched every bin for the recipes, and found nothing.
The lawyer said that he didn’t want any of it and that it was haunted. She asked him what he was talking about and he hung up on her. He passed away a few weeks later from a heart attack.
The following summer, my sister wanted to bring my mom into Boston for a visit for mom’s birthday. As is our fam ily traditions, we always eat lobster on our birthday. The menu would be pasta with lobster, salad, fresh bread and lemon top hat cupcakes.
LOOK FOR PHOTOS OF TOP HAT CUPCAKES + LOBSTER PASTA
Prepping to make The Sauce. even though it’s just me that will be eating this, it’s got to be prepared for at least four to six people. Really, a single serving just isn’t right. I’ll make it for eight, and I’ll get so many pre-prepared meals.
Always use the freshest ingredients. I know, they say that on all the cooking shows, and they’re right. You really can taste the difference. We’re lucky because we have Rosemary, basil, bay laurel and others in the window right now.
For the meatball sauce for the initial baking, I’ll prepare a few things:
The main sauce, on the slightest simmer. My mother would say that if it was boiling it was burning. She’d cook her sauce over the period of two weeks. Everyday, she’d take the bot out of the stove, and have it on the stove all day. She’d add water, take out a meatball or sausage to eat, and throw in pre-baled boneless chicken breast, and keep on cooking the sauce. We would have the sauce on something for dinner, and it would cool and go back in the fridge for the night. Next day, same thing. If you got the bay leaf, it was good luck. I would always get it, and damn near choke on it! (Side note: I do love growing them, the bay laurel is so fragrant and has a mild sweet flavor.)
I don’t pan-brown my meatballs. It tends to distort them. I make the balls, add it’s own sauce, and bake them. Once cooked, this will all get added to the Main Sauce kettle that has sausage, chicken breast and all the other ingredients. When all those flavors come together, it does give a thrill to know I’ve mastered this one recipe.
It’s THICK. Dense. Delicious.
There is so much going on in here.
Once it’s all done, I portion it out into small containers from the dollar ($1.25) store. The small containers have one or two meatballs and sliced sausage, a bit of chicken and sauce. This one serving is more than an enough for a decent meal for myself. Into the freezer and super easy to thaw when needed.
More containers, for my own record.
This, a small salad and some bread, it’s a dinner.
And, no, not everything is in a red sauce. In all honesty, it was many years before I would actually eat anything with a red tomato sauce.
Garlic and lemon chicken on angel hair pasta, with extra lemon and butter. (It needed either asparagus or broccoli.)
