Kitchen Memoirs are a collection of stories about the people and dishes who have inspired me most in the kitchen. Each month I will share a new story about one of these people accompanied by one or more recipes. This month’s story is about my Mary and her Spaghetti & Meatballs.
Before someone could be reached with the simple click of a single button, we were all required to memorize the phone numbers of those we phoned most. I find it endearing that there are still phone numbers – to this day – that I can recite on demand. And further, those that I can still so vividly recall the singsong tone pattern that the numbers make as being dialed: a comforting melody.
There is one phone number that I recall better than any other: The White’s.
Mary, Bill, Nicole, Katie, and Danielle. A family that lived two blocks down the street with whom my family was incredibly close. Mary and my Mom met in 1987 when they were both out with their newborn baby girls (Dani and I) for a long awaited Spring walk. “Do you mind if we walk with you?”, Mary asked my Mom. They bonded quickly over their babes, who were born just weeks apart. Little did they know that a lifelong friendship had just begun.
A Place To Call Home
Mary was the 3rd born of 7 siblings, so cooking was something she remembers doing from a very young age. With a demanding career, her Father’s job took the family all over the country. “We moved 8 times in 12 years. It was crazy, but I think it made me stronger and adaptable to so many things”. It wasn’t until Mary was 13 that her family came to Minnesota, a place she would call home for a few years to come. It was just 2 short years later that she met her now husband, Bill.
A few years later, Mary was due for another relocation, so she and Bill packed up and suddenly, Colorado became home. This is a time in Mary’s life that she recalls starting to cook more often. Although she would host small gatherings of friends, try new recipes, and further hone her cooking skills independently, she attributes much of her abilities to the two women who inspired her most in the kitchen: her Mother, and her Mother-In-Law.
Two Sides In The Kitchen
“We had two Mothers as it relates to cooking: Bill’s Mother was very methodical. She was a wonderful cook and was very organized. Every table was set with beautiful silver, china, glassware, and flowers. I got all of that from her. I would take notes on everything she did.” It’s very evident that this affinity for creating a welcoming atmosphere for guests is something she’s carried on through the years.
“Although”, she laughs, “I was totally intimidated by her. One time we were making Thanksgiving dinner, and she re-chopped all of my vegetables that I had already chopped up! She just came over to my cutting board and…”, she mimics feverishly chopping vegetables. It’s very clear that presentation was of utmost criticality for Mary’s Mother-In-Law, a trait that has very obviously been passed down to her, through in different ways.
While there’s a stringent side of entertaining and being in the kitchen, there’s also space for creativity. “I would praise my Mom. She could make meals out of nothing. We ate meatless a lot because my brothers were all big guys, they’d eat you out of house and home. Sometimes all you’d have left would be eggs, this, and that, and she’d come up with some bread pudding, or something she just knew how to make.”
“My mom was a ‘get it done’ kind of cook”, she says lovingly. “She would make a big roast on a Sunday, then use leftovers for dinner on Tuesday. My parents had just one car, so they would go to the store and buy a ton of groceries, and then she had to use up everything she had. There weren’t recipes for her, but rather just good and wholesome food, like Chicken and dumplings. The type of food people don’t make anymore.”
A Recipe Collection For The Books
While Mary’s inspiration in the kitchen can be attributed to these two wonderful women, she’s also a lover of cookbooks and modern recipes passed along to her from her daughters and friends alike.
Her collection of recipes are well worn, tucked in to two small three ring binders. “This is kind of a riot. These are the top recipes I make all the time. There’s nothing in here that I don’t still make!” She thumbs through the binders, excitedly pulling handwritten cards and pieces of paper filled with her spectacularly neat and loopy cursive.
Her recipes are balanced between old and new: Dad’s Carrot Cake Bars, Salmon Noodle Bowls, Raisin Bran Muffins, Cape Cod Chopped Salad. The recipes span cuisine, method, and dish, but they all have the same thing in common. These recipes are those that Mary truly makes time and time again.
“You can tell I really love food, can’t you?”
Green Bean & Cottage Cheese Tacos
Like most amazing cooks, Mary has a story or two for when things haven’t been as satiating, or go…exactly as planned.
“One time I made Bill’s Mom’s chocolate chip cookie recipe. I melted the butter, and then added the chocolate chips, so they just melted and made chocolate cookies! I didn’t really have the methods when I started, but I guess that’s how you learn!”
A statement holding far more weight in the next story she already had lined up for me. “I made my first turkey…with all the stuff still in it. I salted the inside and everything! My mom said, ‘You should boil all of the stuff that was inside the turkey to make your gravy’. And I said…what stuff?”, as her infectious laugh fills the kitchen. “I wasn’t brilliant with cooking.”
As we continue chatting about her years of experience in the kitchen, chuckling and joking at some of the missteps we’ve both taken, no story sets her off more than that of her famous tacos. “My kids would always laugh. They’d say, ‘Mom. Where did you ever get the idea to serve us tacos with cottage cheese and canned green beans?’ I just was trying to follow food groups! They still laugh, even today they’ll call and ask if my tacos have canned green beans in them!”
The Menu
When Mary and I started discussing our day in the kitchen together, I was (not so) secretly hoping that this was the precise meal we would make. “I have hundreds of recipes, but the birthday dinner most often requested by my family is homemade chip dip, spaghetti and meatballs, Italian salad, garlic toast, and angel food cake with cocoa whipped cream frosting and almonds.”
Are we ready for this? Let’s dig in.
The Only Spaghetti & Meatballs Recipe
Mary’s recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs is a true labor of love. Not because it requires an exorbitant amount of effort (it doesn’t), or because it takes a little more time to make (it does). It’s because you can taste the love that goes in to them.
Particularly selected organic ground beef. The “good” organic canned sauce. Perfectly measured spices. A slow simmer that gently coaxes the fat out of the meatballs cooking in the sauce, yielding more richness and complexity.
Your first bite solidifies one thing: this is a recipe that has been tried, tested, and perfected time and time again.
“I started making this recipe when I was 21, when Bill and I got married”, she reflects. “His friends from college would come over for dinner with big appetites, so I started making this. It was a cheap meal that served a crowd: everyone loved it. I’ve changed it over the years to use organic tomato sauce, organic ground beef…I’ve upped the game a little bit, not that much!”
The Method
The meatballs are made of only beef, with egg serving as the only supplemental fat. Mary mixes her dried herbs directly in to the egg: “It allows the herbs to distribute more evenly, as opposed to clumping”. Onion, garlic, and breadcrumbs are added and the mixture is combined thoroughly with a cook’s best tool: the hands. When asked how much meat makes up each individual ball, as she mindlessly measures and begins to roll, Mary laughs shortly. “I just kind of know. I think I started using an ice cream scooper, but it’s just easier to do this.” Once you make something so many times, it becomes second nature.
As the meatballs are formed, they’re added to a hot cast-iron skillet for a quick brown before getting gracefully plopped in to the already bubbling sauce for a 2 hour bath. “A girl from work told me about making her own tomato sauce as opposed to using a jar of premade sauce, so I started trying that.” Organic tomato sauce gets an upgrade with the addition of herbs, minced onion and garlic, sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. A resourceful and strategic cook, Mary already plans to reserve the water from boiling the pasta. “I use it in case the sauce has thickened too much. I’ll use that to thin it out.”
Mom White's Italian Salad
Mary’s Spaghetti and Meatballs wouldn’t be complete without her unbeatable dinner salad.
Growing up, it wasn’t that I didn’t love salad. Far from it, in fact. However, salad at the White’s meant crisp and crunchy romaine, a handful of crunchy vegetables (typically green onion, green pepper, and tomato), and sunflower seeds, all expertly seasoned with vinegar and olive oil. I couldn’t understand how I never missed the beloved beloved bottle of Ranch while eating at their house, until I realized that there was a true art to making salads.
Ample amounts of crunch, but not without something soft to offset it.
Just enough salt and pepper to accentuate the freshness of the vegetables.
The perfect balance of acid to fat, with the type of vinegar holding critical importance.
The Method
Most salads that Mary makes include both spinach and romaine lettuce. “Bill doesn’t like the grainy texture of spinach, so I’ll use both romaine and spinach.” Though many of her salads use what she has on hand, this salad specifically calls for green onion, green pepper, celery, and tomatoes.
The greens and veg are placed in a large salad bowl and drizzled with just enough avocado oil. “I’ll just do it once around, and then I’ll toss them to coat the leaves.” Onion salt, a little pepper, and then the key ingredient: salad vinegar! “I’ve always used Salad Vinegar, but if I can’t find it I’ll use Champagne Vinegar, or I’ve even used Apple Cider Vinegar if that’s all I have. I top it with sunflower seeds, and then that’s it! Voila!”
The Perfect Light Dessert
The simplicity of this dessert is sinful, but not half as much as it is delicious. “This was Bill’s Mom’s recipe. She would make it for everyone’s birthday. It was nice and light after a big dinner. She would always serve it with Bailey’s.” The pan that she made the cake in is a true heirloom, believed to be at least 75 years old. Though she wouldn’t shy away from a scratch recipe, Mary opts for a boxed cake mix which I sincerely applaud her for.
The Method
Although Angel Food Cake doesn’t need much to be divine, Cocoa Whipped Cream adds the next exquisite layer. A large bowl and the two metal whisks that will attach to a handheld mixer are pulled from the freezer. The chilled heavy cream streams softly in to the bowl, and the beaters go in. “There’s no recipe for the whipped cream, so I just wing it!”, she says loudly and with a smile, as the mixer furiously whips air in to the cream. Once its volume doubles, she adds in a spoonful of powdered sugar and cocoa powder. As she whips, she’s tasting: is it sweet enough? Enough cocoa? Is it thick enough? There is no measuring of ingredients or recipe to follow: this too is a recipe that Mary has perfected over the years, using only her taste and intuition to guide her.
When her expectations are met, the cocoa whipped cream is spread with care on the light and fluffy cake. The final layer adds a savory crunch: roasted and salted sliced almonds. “There’s really no process to this, I just kind of add them as I go”, she states humbly as the crunchy bits are secured to the cocoa whipped cream with her open palm.
As pretty as a picture (but far more delectable).
THE Dip
Once dinner preparations are complete, it’s time for wine and appetizers. I’m filled with genuine childlike glee when I find out that our pre-supper treat is the one…the only…Mary’s Chip Dip.
This addictive dip is the definition of a crowd pleaser. Growing up, I remember eating this dip with chips, pretzels, a spoon…really, any vehicle to get said dip in to my mouth. The beauty of this mouthwatering appetizer is that it’s includes just a handful of simple ingredients, yet the end result is anything but basic. Sour cream, cream cheese, lemon juice, onion salt, and green onions. The perfect dip that is impossible to try “just once”.
A Dinner To Remember
Spending an afternoon preparing a delicious meal and discussing food with Mary is certain to develop an appetite. We were lucky enough to have a few guests join us, including my Mom, Mary’s oldest, Nicole, and her daughter Sadie. As expected, the table was set beautifully with no detail overlooked: the candles were lit, the flowers arranged, and the wine poured. Entertaining is an art form, and one that Mary has mastered. “I feel so honored that our friends always want to come to our house: they like the food, they relax, they like the ambiance. It’s a compliment. It’s fun.”
While some may find it intimidating, Mary has a strategic approach playing host. “People get way too nervous, and that’s why I do all this prep in advance. If you’re ready for people, entertaining will be simple.”
When the host is at ease, everyone is.
I always considered Mary a second Mother. There’s a lightheartedness to her: her mannerisms, her conversation, her food. Everything feels so special, yet so simple. Her ability to put others at ease, to listen, to love, and to cook with her whole heart is what makes her the amazing person that she is.
I love you, Mary!
Mary's Spaghetti and Meatballs
Equipment
- Cast Iron Pan
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 1/2 lbs grass fed ground beef
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp sage,
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
For the sauce:
- 6-8 ounce cans tomato sauce , low salt preferred
- 2 Tbsp dried minced onion
- 1 Tbsp dried minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp Worcestershire
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp oregano
- 1/8 tsp thyme
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water, once pasta has been made
To serve:
- 1-2 lbs spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
For the meatballs
- Add beef, bread crumbs, and onion to a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk egg with sage, salt, and pepper. This helps the spices disribute better in the meat mixture. Add to large bowl and use hands to mix together.
- Form mixture in to 1 inch balls and brow in a lightly olied fry pan.
For the sauce:
- Add all ingredients except water to a large pot, stirring to combine. Taste and add any salt you prefer. Set over medium low heat.
- Once meatballs are browned, add directly to the sauce. Allow to simmer for 2 hours, stirrring every so often.
To serve:
- Divide cooked spaghetti in to 6 bowls. Top with meatballs and sauce, serving with parmesan cheese to serve.
Tossed Dinner Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
- 2-3 stalks celery, chopped
- 4-5 green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped tomato
- 1/2 head romaine lettuce, torn, washed, and dried
- 2 cups spinach, torn
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1-2 tsp salad vinegar, champagne or apple cider vinegars ok substitutions
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese, or cheese of choice, to serve
- 1/2 tsp onion salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Add all vegetables to a large bowl. Drizzle with avocado oil, tossing to coat evenly.
- With a light hand, add vinegar. Start with less - you can alwasy add more! You're seasoning to your taste, but be careful to not add too much: this is the trick!
- Sprinkle with sunflower seeds, onion salt, and black pepper.
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Jamie, what a beautiful tribute! I have asked my mom for her salad recipe a hundred times – I think this might be the first time she’s ever actually written it down! So, thank you. This is a beautiful piece that we will treasure.
Thank you so much, Kate! That salad recipe: undeniably the best. Glad I could get a hard copy 😉 Your Mom is truly one of a kind!