SPAGHETTI COOKED IN WINE

I hope everyone enjoyed  the last weekend of summer.  Here in California it was everyone to the Beautiful Beaches to cool off, or at least to try to do so.  We have been having some really hot weather here and it looks like September will be it's usual hot self.

Today I bring you a recipe that I can remember my Maternal Grandmother making when I was just a little child.  I lived in Pennsylvania in a large house (rented) with my Grandparents, my Parents, my Aunt and Uncle, their 2 children and another Aunt and Uncle.  Times were very tough.  The house sat on about 2 or 3 acres of land which the family planted most of with vegetables.  They planted corn, beans, peas, onions, green onions, potatoes, a lot of other greens and just about anything you can think of.  Zucchini, yellow squash etc.  Then my Dad and my uncles would load all the early morning pickings in the truck and go on their route selling from the back of the truck. This is how we all survived during those hard times.  My Grandmother would kill and clean the chickens herself.  My Dad and the others did a lot of fishing.  I remember being four years old and shucking peas out in the yard, and cleaning onions, along with my two older cousins.  The yard was huge with a couple of big Queen Anne cherry trees, which we ate as we picked.  A Northern Spy Apple tree, the likes of which can never be duplicated.  They were the best apples ever.  They, as well as the cherries provided lots of goodies, pies, applesauce and just plain good old eating.  There were huge Lilac trees everywhere, and the smell in the early spring was the most heavenly I have ever experienced.  Today, they remain my very favorite.  It was like living in Italy in those days.  Everyone spoke Italian, and there was always room for guests at the table (who also spoke Italian)  On Sundays, the yard always held at least four or five or more friends to sit under the cherry trees, eating, drinking home made wine, and I guess talking about things in general.  (Always in Italian)

So today I bring you a recipe, very simple, that I remember eating on many occasions.  I had forgotten about it until about 2 months ago, I was watching one of my favorites, Michael , on Easy Entertaining, and lo and behold he was making this dish.  Spaghetti cooked in Red Wine.  My Grandmother made this dish from the wine she and my Dad made, the pasta she made, and any green leafy vegetable of the day from the garden.

Here is my version.  (Thank you Michael for jogging my memory)

This will serve 4 people.

1 pound (Barilla) thick spaghetti
1 bottle of Red Wine
1 good sized bunch of Broccolini
garlic (4 cloves)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
salt and pepper

Cook the pasta for 4 or 5 minutes in boiling water.  Drain.  Add a little olive oil to keep it from sticking together.  Pour 1 bottle Red Wine, Cabernet or Zinfandel, into the pan and bring to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook just until Al Dente.  It will absorb almost all of the wine.  While the pasta is cooking, cut the
Broccolini into 1" pieces and saute in olive oil with the garlic.  Just until almost tender.
When the pasta is cooked, lift out of the pan with tongs right into the olive oil and vegetables.  Cook a minute or two more.  Plate immediately and sprinkle with plenty of Pecorino Romano cheese.
Believe me, when you make this dish once, you will make it soon again.  The flavors are amazing.

Of course you will want to serve some good red wine and grilled Italian Bread. :)

Thanks for signing in today.  Have a most wonderful day.

One last note.  As a child I didn't realize that we were poor (in a monetary sense).  But even then I knew I was rich in love of family and friends.  And that I always had plenty of amazing food.  They were some of the best days of my life.  I keep my family close.  And we always have Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving, here where we keep all the family traditions.  Keep your families close, your children at your dinner table as often as possible.  They will always remember those things.

Ciao for now.
Grayce