Fat Tuesday Supper

From Mom's Kitchen

Growing up in an Italian American home in New Jersey, life revolved around family, food and tradition. Well I left New Jersey with my Irish American husband and our daughter and moved to Georgia. Time to make the transition and start our own traditions. Our families were raised to appreciate the traditions and the importance of passing those on. What we discovered was that a great deal of the ingredients and foods that we loved were not readily available at our local market. Time to improvise!

I learned to cook at an early age both from my Mother and my Father. The recipes were either not written down or in that shorthand so many of us have come to know; a pinch of this, a sprinkle of that. Well my love of food and Mom's cooking had me trying and experimenting and buying lots of cookbooks. One of my favorites for inspiration has been The Talisman Italian Cook Book, Special Edition Printed for Ronzoni Macaroni Co., Inc..by Ada Boni. I actually own the one that was in my Mother's stash. I love being able to take these old tried and true recipes and making them my own, but back again to improvising.

It all started with Fat Tuesday. Mom always made a simple meal on Fat Tuesday to mark the beginning of Lent. It's a baked spaghetti dish with sweet fennel sausage, parmigiano cheese, eggs, parsley and to thicken, Farina. 20 years ago, you just couldn't find Farina in Georgia. I tried using grits (it works) and I tried Cream of Wheat, but it just wasn't the same. Well today we can get that wonderful nasty breakfast selection here and I can once again make that dish the way Mommy did!

FAT TUESDAY BAKED SPAGHETTI

1 lb Spaghetti (broken into 3” pieces)

1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage with Fennel (sliced into 1/2” thick pieces)

1bunch Italian Parsley (chopped)

6 large eggs beaten well

1-2 cups grated Parmigiana cheese

Farina

salt and pepper to taste

Bring 6 quarts of water to boil with sausage and parsley. When water is at a rolling boil add pasta, until it is cooked but still is a bit hard. Add eggs and cheese and stir. The egg and cheese mixture will not incorporate well just yet. Now add approximately one cup of farina (sprinkled on top) and mix very well to avoid it lumping up. The mixture will still be somewhat soupy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour your pasta into a well buttered baking dish and bake at 350 F. for approximately 1 hour or until well set and top is lightly browned.

Enjoy!