Fried Spaghetti -a story and a recipe

My close friend War T. Storm knows a thing or two about cooking. I asked him for a recipe. Even though he was born in the Queens (really some place that starts with an L) and grew up in the Bronx (maybe Coney Island) he is still a very good cook. He doesn’t have many hard copy recipes because he, like Marilyn, prepares his dishes by “feel” and not from a recipe written on a three by five card.

This is an actual recipe that War T. got from his Grandpa Clarence, a man that did immortalize his recipes. I have never heard of, much less tried fried spaghetti but Marilyn tells me that they used to make it at the restaurant where she worked on the pier in California. War T. and Marilyn both tell me it’s wonderful so give it a try.

Fried Spaghetti

My Grandpa Clarence not only taught me his values of hard work and accountability but also a few secrets about southern cooking. He also taught me respect for the grill. As far as he was concerned “if you were not grilling with charcoal you might as well be cooking on the stove.”

There was no such thing as sauce from a can. Bread was always prepared at home and not bought at a store. The kitchen was Grandpa’s kingdom and no one dared to cross the moat when King was in court. Knowing his expertise, the crowds of family and friends never seemed to decrease from his table.

My granddad would quickly kill off potential competition with just a taste of his homemade marinating sauce. In my lifetime I have seen many men hang up their tongs (would-be Iron Chefs) after a night at the Kings court.

Others would leave dazed and confused with dreams of recreating the masterpieces they had observed - masterpieces that for Grandpa was as simple as, dare I say “apple pie.“

Grandpa Clarence was an extraordinary cook, whose famous line when things didn’t go right for you was “you didn’t hold your face right.” Keep that in mind if this turns into a casserole the first time or two that you make it, as the key is to keep it together when you flip it.

I hope you like this recipe. If you do, I’ll share another recipe with you next time along with some great stories about a great man

Equipment
Deep cast iron frying pan
9/13 cake pan or larger
Flat no lip cookie sheet
Large boiling pot

Ingredients
2 pounds of regular spaghetti or vermicelli
2 cups of mozzarella, 2 ½ cups of Monterey jack, 2 cups of Swiss cheese
Salt, ground pepper, Italian seasoning, rosemary, ground red pepper, olive oil, crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, thyme, oregano, fresh garlic, olive oil

Ok, let’s get to it.
Boil spaghetti in water with cut fresh garlic. You want the spaghetti to be slightly undercooked
Rinse and drain under cool water allowing the spaghetti to firm.
Mix in bowl with cheese and seasonings
Heat olive oil in the deep frying pan (aprox ¼ inch)
Once hot place your mixture into the pan and spread evenly
Let stand for about 15-18 minutes undisturbed.
Here is the moment of truth, you have to flip it with out it falling apart to brown the bottom, if not you will have a very good casserole
Flip the half done Fried spaghetti onto the cookie sheet.
Add some more olive oil and slide the Fried spaghetti back into the hot pan
let cook for another 10-12 minutes, until brown and crunchy

Your sauce will be your crushed tomatoes, thyme, oregano and fresh garlic marinating in your tomato puree while you are cooking the fried spaghetti.

Cut a slice, add your sauce and enjoy.

Eric'sWeb