Sacco & Vanzetti Spaghetti
1 large green pepper
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 clove fresh garlic
1/4 cup milk
1 large can whole tomatoes (no. 2 1/2, 27 to 29 oz)
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 small onion
1 beef bouillon cube
1 egg
1/2 cup burgundy wine
corn meal
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp thyme
Make sure that the breadcrumbs are Italian- you want the extra spices.
Vegetarians: substitute some of that mysterious soy-based stuff whatever
it is, for beef. It you spice it up with enough other stuff, it still
manages to taste pretty good, suprisingly. Chop green pepper and large
onion. Mince garlic. Saute in olive oil. Add tomatoes, 2 Tbsp flour, 1
Tbsp sugar, burgundy, bouillon cube Bring to low boil. Add the savory
pinches marjoram and thyme, cover and simmer on low heat, for about an
hour's time In bowl, mix ground beef, Italian bread crumbs, egg, small
onion, salt & pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and roll into small balls,
like a fine paste. Roll meatballs in cornmeal, and drop into sauce.
Carefully cover them completely, when you gently toss Cover and simmer
for another 45 min, on low heat Serve over cooked spaghetti, then call
everyone to eat
After draining, you can optionally add 1/2 stick of butter to spaghetti
Then, celebrate with Sacco, and throw some confetti for Vanzetti.
** This Date In History **
Today is the 80th anniversary of the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti
(August 23, 1927). No special mention in the papers, not even for such a
nice, round power of 10 - just a buried reference in "This Day in
History", in the comic pages. Sacco and Vanzetti deserve much better.
Considering how our decaying world is in the early stages of rigor mortis,
I suppose that it is to be expected that such a date would be ignored.
There was a beloved poet in Provincetown, Mass who had been a Sacco and
Vanzetti fan - I am not surprised by this, either. I don't have any idea
what was the beloved poet's name, but I recall reading that he was
beloved, and that he was an admirer of Sacco and Vanzetti. Like Ingmar
Bergman, the beloved poet died, so I guess that there is no one else left
to properly commemorate this occasion with a spaghetti recipe, other than
a particular, unbeloved, one-eyed poet. It's grim, I know. Nothing left
but the Dark Dregs in the Coffee Cup of Time, but at the end of the day,
we will drink a toast with that dark, Italian Roast.
I cannot say this is exactly an old family recipe. I'm not sure where it
came from, but from my point of view, it came originally from my Aunt
Dorothy, who passed it on to my Mom, who passed it on to me, before she
died, handwritten on a index card. That sounds like a family recipe, to
me. They didn't call it "Sacco and Vanzetti" spaghetti, but I have
arbitrarily dubbed it that, in their honor.
It is my personal, all-time favorite spaghetti- the Food of the Gods. It
might not sound special, to look at the ingredients, but it is like
alchemy- try it. I think that the cornmeal coating on the meatballs is
the key, to thicken the sauce- use it liberally. For anyone who (* sigh
*) doesn't know who Sacco and Vanzetti were- see Wikipedia, but they were
Italian immigrants accused of a murder in an armed robbery in Braintree,
Massachusetts and executed in 1927. The case became famous (although
apparently not enough for you, if you don't know who they were) because
the duo was very probably innocent of the crime and was apparently
persecuted both for ethnic prejudice and political reasons.
The Wikipedia capsule summary does not capture the reasons why poets would
take such interest in what otherwise would have been just another,
everyday minor crime, and one of countless unfair trials. What do Sacco
and Vanzetti really mean to you? At least, what they *would* mean to you
if you were on the side of the long-running historical battle that
Sacco/Vanzetti represented, not the side that Judge Thayer represented.
To understand that, you need to read not Wikipedia, but the letters of
Sacco and Vanzetti, to discover what wonderful human beings they really
were- intelligent, articulate, idealistic. Much the same impression that
you get when reading the thoughts of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, another
couple playing almost the same historical role- idealists, maligned, pawns
in a game played by larger, vicious political forces.
Sacco and Vanzetti put the modern-day Left to shame. They were of the most
humble background, working as everything from fish-mongers to ditch
diggers, but they could dance circles around many of today's political
activists, in terms of being well-read and aware. Regularly, you will find
them quoting sources from Bertrand Russell to Voltaire, or other
wide-ranging names, leaving you trying to play catch-up and to expand your
own horizons. They were also aware of a key aspect of history and
politics that seems lost to many of the naive, deluded souls on the Left,
today. The conventional stereotype of the Sacco and Vanzetti trial is
that the judge was simply prejudiced against them, because of their
Italian descent and far-left politics. That is a kind of innocence that
the Left cannot afford.
Concerning Sacco and Vanzetti, I might not buy all of their ideas, but I
do respect their minds, and admire their personalities. If they were alive
and could speak, I would always be listening. Sacco- he's the younger,
cute one, married with children. Vanzetti- he's the older, more
articulate and political one, unmarried and possibly gay - we will never
know for sure. A Toast: of red, Italian wine, spaghetti, and dark, roast
coffee!
--
Rec.food.recipes is moderated by Patricia Hill at [email hidden].
Only recipes and recipe requests are accepted for posting.
Please allow several days for your submission to appear.
Archives: http://www.cdkitchen.com/rfr/ http://recipes.alastra.com/