My Dad’s Spaghetti Is All I Want to Eat in January

Oh, my father is such a fantastic cook! When we were kids, my sister and I would always beg him to let us help in the kitchen. He makes an incredible salad loaded with juicy flavors, but his true specialty is his beef stew. He prepares the stew in a unique pot made of clay, and he has a friend who owns a special wood-fired oven. The stew simmers slowly for three hours, allowing all the flavors to meld beautifully. He seasons it with two different types of thyme and a dash of black pepper. It’s absolutely delicious! Love you, Dad!

From one Kelsey to another, I was so moved tonight following your recipe for your dad’s spaghetti (Cento included). I thought of you, your grieving heart, your dad’s love for you, and your daughter enjoying this pasta too. I’m weepy again just telling you about it! What a gift it is to be nourished in this way by your dad.

This was delicious! A crowd pleaser at our table which includes a “snacks-only” 3 year old who resists dinner daily so this will definitely be in our dinner rotation. Thank you for sharing your dad’s recipe with us :)

I just made it, so yummy for such shoer ingredient, one tips is to add pasta water if it is not salty enough. It does need enough salt to bring out all the yumminess umami

Coming back to say that I made this for my family tonight. I was a little nervous because my husband is Italian and can be picky about spaghetti, but he loved it! My daughter loved it, I loved it! It came together so quickly— the most labor intensive part was mincing the garlic. This is going into our meal rotation. A winner, for sure! Thank you so much for sharing.

This was a terrific, low effort dinner, but I dare say the leftovers were even better! All the flavors had melded together.

I made this last night for my 4 year old and we both loved it! I’m grateful to your dad for a delicious, easy to make, and kid friendly recipe <3.

One dish that will always remind me of my father is fried bucatini (long, tube-shaped pasta). First, the pasta was boiled, then fried in a pan until crispy (“DON’T STIR THE PASTA AROUND! It won’t become crispy, Julia!” – can you hear him?), seasoned with salt and pepper, sometimes tomato ketchup, and served with Parmesan cheese. This combination of crispy and tender pasta always takes me back to the kitchen table of my childhood. As an adult, I now know that this special crispiness came from the generous amount of butter that was used. And when I make the dish now, I tend not to use ketchup, but another tomato sauce instead. Enjoy. Thank you Papa.

My dad has two signature dishes- cheesy tarragon eggs with corned beef hash (using canned corn beef with the key you twist to open the can) and goulash. I don’t eat meat any more, but he’ll still cook up the cheesy tarragon eggs if we are around for breakfast, and they are every bit as good as they were in childhood

Looks delicious, but then again all pasta does to me. How many does this serve, eight?

Made this last night, loved how fresh and bright the sauce was! Will prob use less oil next time though! Thank you for sharing this with us, Kelsey!

OMG – I made this last night – followed the recipe exactly. My entire family devoured it. It was perfect. We’re a pretty low key family and we don’t experiment much with food – this was a 10/10 for all.

Made this this weekend according to the recipe and it is delicious. Added some fresh torn basil to the top to my own plate and it is even more delicious.

Wow. This is an amazing comfort dish, perfect for heavy times. Thank you for sharing! Added a shallot with the garlic and a splash of cream at the end.

my favorite dish of my dad it’s also with a lot of garlic, he loves it. it’s a salad mixed with rice and not too much beans and eggs, it’s pretty simple and Brazilian, but I love the feeling of eating it with him. love you dad

I made this last night and it was so simple and so delicious. I plan to make it for friends soon! And I a decidedly not generally big on spaghetti of any kind. This is a keeper for sure.

In my house growing up, dad’s signature dish were to different cakes (a very dry chocolate cake that somehow became my brothers favourite, and a coconut meringue+ raspberry jam thing that I will bake when I’m feeling very nostalgic). But he somehow never remembered any allergies or preferences (hos one very typical dad like trait), and he had absolutely no skill in adapting meals for picky kids. The one dish that I still remember was when he surprised us all with a very traditional Norwegian dish “lungemos” (lit. “Minced lungs) -a grey, gelatinous mix of offals (heart, lungs …) and ground beef. He was missing his grandmothers cooking, and wanted to treat us to one of her special recipes. His face when lifting the lid of that pot definitely didn’t match me or my siblings’ that day.

Making this tonight in honor of your dad, Kelsey. You write beautifully about him. My dad doesn’t have a signature dish, but he makes a mean pot of coffee and always makes sure to get fresh donuts or bagels when we visit. ❤️

Thanks Kelsey for taking us home to your dads.

My dad’s thing was breakfast, especially on Christmas morning. Nothing fancy, just perfectly cooked scrambled eggs and bacon. His signature dish though was oatmeal pancakes, evolved from I think a Bobs Redmill recipe? Might be time to try and make my own.

Every Saturday morning in my memory, my dad would make homemade pancakes (while watching This Week In Baseball on Fox). He developed his own recipe, lives rent free in his brain, & they’re essentially thicker crepes. I couldn’t eat pancakes at a restaurant until college (& they still have to be chocolate chip!) because nothing compares to my dads pancakes. Thankfully, he translated the recipe from his head & i try to make Saturday morning pancakes now :)

Dad had two signature dishes. 1) “concrete” which was just awful. He would cook ground beef in a pot, not drain off any fat, add a couple of cans of peas & carrots, and canned potatoes. No seasoning at all. “If you are hungry, you’ll eat it” was his famous saying. Yes, he was a product of the Great Depression. 2) potato salad was his summer specialty. Now, that was delicious. Lots of bacon and, of course, bacon grease added to the mayo. Memories.

So fun reading all the comments! My mom did all the cooking. However, if it wasn’t for the magic my Dad picked or pulled from an incredible backyard garden, we would barely have eaten at all. All the green veggies and plump raspberries and beautifully hued rhubarb and mulberries and ground cherries (!) as well as peanuts and cotton (just for fun)! He was so creative on the land.

On the rare occasions when we were only with my dad there were two signature dishes: runny scrambled eggs – he would make it medium rare :) , and grilled chicken with grilled apples and plums. Yum.

When I was a kid, my Dad’s Dish was steak, rice, and corn. He has never really had interest in spending time making food, my mum showed him how to do it and he could do that one dish okay! Now he is the go-to for setting up my kids in front of morning TV when we visit: orange slices and dry cereal. It’s perfect.

My stepdad makes the best oatmeal. It is so simple, but it is so comforting. He uses whole cinnamon sticks and adds in lots of raisins so they plump up while cooking. Served with a side of toast with plenty of butter. It’s now my daughter’s favorite thing to eat for breakfast when she visits him and my mom. I love that she enjoys it as much as I do.

OK I made this. BELIEVE THE HYPE. Not a noodle left behind.

My dad’s beef stew was incredible. Wish I knew the secret to it!

I can feel the nostalgia and comfort of the spaghetti reading this piece. My grandmother made spaghetti in such a specific way that no one else did that I can’t recreate it, but occasionally I will get a bite of my own or my mom’s spaghetti and will think ‘that was a grandma spaghetti bite.’ It’s rare though and has been years since it’s happened. I will be making this as the cold moves back in over the weekend and I think this may give me a glimpse of the comfort and nostalgia I am looking for. Thank you for sharing your dad and this recipe with us; the way you wrote it imparts a strong tone of love that I can feel in the words.

My dad was a farmer and I have fond memories of being home (either because I was sick or there was no school… as one of 6 it was an especially great treat if I was the only kid at home) and him coming in for lunch and frying up spam and potatoes and us eating while we watched Flintstones. He died 21 years ago when I was 28… This memory always makes me smile.

My dad can cook, but doesn’t often. What I remember most from childhood was that he made the BEST chocolate milk! Just your basic skim milk (I know, I know, but that’s what I was used to drinking as a kid) and chocolate syrup. For whatever reason, his tasted so much better than when my mom would make it, probably because he would really load in the chocolate syrup!

My dad’s speciality dish is lasagne – originally meat but when we, our friends and our cousins all became veggies in our teens he switched to lentils. Using twice as much salt as you think you need in the lentil mix is the key. He makes it in a specific deep pyrex dish that is only used for lasagne, I’ve told him that when he dies that’s the only thing I want to inherit.

I love this and all of the comments. My own dad died when I was six so I have no memories of him doing anything. My two sons are 24 and 26 and although my marriage to their dad was very fraught and we divorced 4 years ago he was a terrific cook and taught them to cook many things. The three of them spent a lot of time in the kitchen and he had many signature dishes that I still miss. Now he has a big garden and the boys talk about the three of them cooking together with fresh things from their dad’s garden. Despite how poorly the marriage went, I’m so glad they have this with their dad and will have not only those skills, but those memories and the brotherly time too. The older one is engaged and if there are grandkids soon I hope they too can join the three men in the kitchen. Such a lovely thing to share and pass on.

I never ever saw my dad cook, but I would say that his signature dish was bringing home bagels, lox, and cream cheese from the deli on Sundays.

In our family, the main Dad dishes were “super duper tuna salad” with all kinds of refrigerator items (pickles, hard boiled eggs, carrots, celery, tomatoes) or chicken grilled on the BBQ. I grew up in a traditional home where my mom did most of the cooking. Sadly, she wasn’t that great at it and I can understand the drudgery of cooking for a family of 5 every dang day. When my dad retired, he took an interest in cooking and started experimenting with recipes out of their local paper. He got pretty good! Miss you Dad – is Mom with you now (my Mom died right after this recent Christmas)?

My dad and I had a difficult relationship, but in college I lived as a tenant in a house he owned. During those years, he would sometimes go through the Chick-Fil-A drive through and get 3 or 4 chicken sandwiches and leave them in the fridge for me. It was always such a welcome surprise and felt like love. Thanks for this article- I think I’ll hit the drive thru and put a couple in my fridge to eat cold, in his memory.

Thank you for sharing this piece of your father with us, Kelsey <3 I can't wait to try this!

My dad was a locomotive engineer when I was a kid. He worked nights and weekends, so was usually home and awake in the afternoons to get us from school and handle dinner prep. He wasn’t (and still isn’t!) known for his culinary skills, but he’s definitely known for his creativity, including the infamous time he decided to “get creative” with the zucchini he’d let grow way too big in the backyard. So picture this: two zucchinis the size of an adult man’s femur, hollowed out and filled with microwave Spanish rice from a packet (tell me without telling me this was the 1990s.) And to finish the whole thing off with a certain j’ne sais quois? A drizzle of Wishbone Italian salad dressing and some grated cheddar over the top, of course. He put these creations (monstrosities?) in the oven to bake and when my mom got home you could watch her olfactory journey as she tried to make sense of what she was smelling. When he proudly yanked open the oven to show her, they rolled right off their sheet pan and down onto the floor. He was crushed and I will never forget us all trying very hard to be sympathetic, but also, deeply relieved as we ordered a pizza. My dad and I haven’t had the most connected or emotional relationship over the years, but this one makes me smile.

I also lost my dad last year. I tear up reading this. He didn’t cook because my mom did all the cooking. But here was a period of time when I was in high school, my mom was doing business in a different city and my dad would cook some random concoction (fried rice made using left overs). And I remember him taking me out for pizza (very novel thing in a small Chinese city 20+ years ago) when he saw that I was low after getting a bad grade. Miss you dad. Miss you so much

My dad’s signature dish is fish tacos with fish he caught himself. So good! I wish I could recreate the marinade he uses on the fish but it is such a little of this and a little of that and changes a little each time recipe that I can’t keep up!

I didn’t grow up with my father in the house and my stepfather, who was a good guy, just didn’t cook. However I spent loads of time at my maternal grandparents’ house and memories from their house are my most beloved memories from childhood. Grandma was a great cook and is still my a major cooking influence on me as an adult. It was rare that Pop was in charge of feeding us Grandkids but when he did he really approached the task with love and fun. He’d usually fry up some juicy burgers on the stovetop – showing us how to grill the burger buns – adding all sorts of toppings that I didn’t care for. Once I think I gently and politely declined the burger and Pop could tell it wasn’t what I wanted but I wasn’t saying as much so as to not disrespect him. So he offered to make me a grilled cheese sandwich – my favorite comfort food as a kid. I remember it being richer and grilled darker than the kids ones that my Gram would usually make for me. Thinking about it today- probably 32 years later – that silly sandwich still makes me feel very loved. Miss you, Pop!

My dad sold his business and took a year off when I was in high school. He started learning how to cook during this time- prior to this his speciality was hamburger helper. He started bringing home bon appetit magazine and attempting all these fancy recipes. Some were great and some were awful but I remember it being such a fun time – he was always on the kitchen, playing music and drinking wine and experimenting. He’s a highly competent home chef now, as long as he doesn’t drink too much wine in the process. Food is definitely his love language. When my mom died he and I weren’t on the best terms, but he still brought me a cooler stuffed with frozen soups and stews and casseroles.

A beautiful tribute to your dad <3 and this recipe looks fantastic. I hate chunky tomato sauces and LOVE garlic, so this is right up my alley, Kelsey!

I make this exact same recipe except with fresh cherry tomatoes that are ever so slowly cooked on low-med heat with probably 15 cloves of garlic, lol. It takes about an hour for them to break down and then I add the tiniest touch of sugar to round out the flavor. It’s DIVINE in the summer.

Kelsey, this is amazing, I loved it. How much time does this recipe take? For the “heating”…is it just, like 10 minutes? And after you add the pasta to the sauce…is it just, like 1 minute? Thanks.

My dad was a musician, and would often be arriving home hungry at 2 or 3 am from some far away bar. He couldn’t cook much, but he often made “nachos” and he’d let me join him. Now that I’m a mom, I can’t really imagine letting my four-year-old watch late night TV and eat Jimmy Dean sausage, salsa, and cheddar melted onto tostitos, but it sure was fun at the time! My dad died just before my first child was born. Those early months while I was up in the middle of the night with a baby, those nachos were exactly what I was craving. Miss you, Dad!

Funny, my Dad’s go-to was also spaghetti, but your Dad’s version sounds way better! My favorite “dish” that he would made was… a plate of breakfast sausage? This was what he made for us kids when my Mom was out and also if we lost power, haha. Seems like an odd choice now, but I never questioned it as a kid! Almost 3 years without him now. I miss him a lot.

I love the love you have for your Dad, Kelsey! It is touching to remember him this way. I look forward to trying this dish. My dad never cooked anything except omelettes once in a blue moon. He was from a generation where men were not expected to know how to do anything around the house, even though my mom was also working she did everything (and I know some men of this generation surely helped out more, too). I vowed not to repeat the same dynamic in my marriage. My husband’s signature dishes are Neapolitan pizza and scones!

Sausages, baked beans, and very buttery mashed potatoes. Love on a plate.

My dad made steaks with sweet potato mash and broccolini. This is thanks to an executive health check he had once at work where he learned about superfoods. And never mashed a potato again when he could mash a sweet potato. There was no replacement for a good steak of course. I deeply miss his texts ‘got us a couple of scotchies (scotch fillet steaks) on the way home from work’. And then I would reply ‘sweet potato and broccolini?’ Falling into those easy jokes is a familiarity you really only find with family or the most close friends.

My dad’s signature dish was his caesar salad. It’s really important to use all great ingredients. It was nothing but Romain lettuce, garlic, olive oil, parm, black pepper, anchovies (preferably dried ones), and egg. The most finicky part is boiling that egg – the white needs to end up being milky, but not solid. Dad loved using specialty peppercorns, and had tried a few different types. I think my favourite were the cubeb ones. And just like you, I lost dad last year, and I still love his caesar salad when I make it myself.

This looks SO GOOD. Excited to try it out and love the simplicity of it, too. My dad is forever following my sister, my mom, and me around with fruit. But like, good fruit. Peeled and sectioned clementines, perfectly ripe peaches, melons de-seeded and cubed. I never really noticed he did this — or just completely took it for granted — until I came back home as a mom myself and saw with new eyes my parents…parenting. Now I am never *not* seeing the fruit offering. Definitely his signature dish.

All the garlic sounds so good! Trying this! And mind blown about cappellini and angel hair! Thanks for sharing about your dad. I can feel the love in this recipe.

My dad’s dish? Takeout Hahahaha!

My dad’s signature dish is a large fresh filet of salmon (from Costco- obvs! He’s a dad!) and barbecuing it on a cedar plant with lemon pepper sprinkled on top. Love it!

I just realized that I have no memory of eating something my father prepared, ever. We didn’t live with after I turned two. And it fits because he’s probably the least nurturing person I’ve ever met. But! My husband has an array of signature dishes that he’s made for me and our son. And it makes me so happy to say that! His most signature dish is homemade gluten-free pies. Gluten-free! (I’m gluten intolerant.) Each time he makes them they taste even better than the previous time. My absolute favorite is his blueberry pie. He creates a really complex flavor that is not overly sweet. I appreciate the profound expression of love. (Food is for sure my love language. I adore cooking. Its my creative outlet.)

The sauce to pasta ratio is what has me on this! And the love. Thank you for sharing! My mom is a great cook and my dad’s religion is doing the dishes, even now at 93. Like, this man can clean stains out that I considered to be part of the original pan. And he’s so offended if you try to help. Also you don’t do it right so go hang out with your mom, sweetheart. BUT he did, throughout my childhood, make an awesome charcoal grill hamburger. He’d spend all afternoon fanning the grill coals with a frisbee that he’d then toss with me and my brother between fans. And then he’d make these tennis-ball round patties with a crispy crust, just barely burned but in a good way. Perfect with ketchup on a seeded bun.

I always love your writing, Kelsey, but this post was really special. This dish looks so comforting and the sauce is so intriguing to me – will def try soon. My Dad is also gone, he made the best hummus, monster cookies and ‘flapjacks.’

My dad made GLOP. Basically veggie and potato hash in a cast iron. Crack eggs over it and grate cheese, put it under the broiler til eggs are cooked and cheese bubbling. I Miss him.

My 4 year old who is not a motivated eater said today that she loves “basgetti” so this spaghetti recipe is going on the list! My dad’s signature dish is omelets and they are perfection!

This is a wonder of the world. You are feeling grief and hunger and you decide to gift us one of your warmest coziest memories. Today, on the anniversary of the LA fires, I am reminded of something I read in a Sue Bender book- about someone who lost their home in the Oakland Hills fire many years ago. The person was very generous and often gave away items and photos from her home. After her home burned down, so many people gave her back her things…. and for me the moral is the same, sharing what you love makes everything better. This act of generosity is so healing- imagine all of these folks, strangers but connected, enjoying your dad’s gift. They say you don’t fully die until the last time your name is spoken…. I suspect your dad will be with us for a very long delicious time. with such care respect and gratitude- L

My Dad makes these best grilled chicken & blueberry pancakes.

So glad you got the recipe from your dad. Love how the sauce is mixed in the pasta and just the right amount (not swimming on top of the pasta). My dad was a great cook and unusual for his age group (it’s his 100th year in March). He made stuffed artichokes, the best salad of orange and fennel, homemade pizzas, and I can still picture him at the BBQ (grill) with his ‘brush’ of rosemary, parsley and other herbs brushing oil on the steaks as they cooked. Wonderful memories.

We have a very casual Christmas eve tradition, we roast hot dogs and sausages with salads and cheesy potatoes on the side. The next morning, my husband makes omelets stuffed with the leftover cheesy potatoes and our adult daughter’s (who spend several days after Christmas at our house) absolutely lose their minds over them e v ery year.

My kids always ask for “grandpa eggs” which are just scrambled eggs (with lots of milk whisked into them, and very salty), but I always think of my dad’s chocolate chip cookies, which were slightly different each time he made them. He was a pastor (work at home dad), so he was always around when we got home from school. If you ask my sister, his signature dish is oatmeal. When her two older siblings were in school, each day dad would ask her, “What would you like for lunch: oatmeal or dog food?” One time she got wise and asked for dog food, but still somehow ended up with oatmeal.

My dad “famously” won his office St. Patrick’s Day Irish Soda Bread competition year after year when we were growing up. He was a single working dad, and he took great pride in it as an Italian beating out his fellow colleague, a former Irish priest. They were all a bunch of lawyers, so you can imagine how festive that party was. I think my dad really won every year because he was in charge of the party planning, but regardless, I always felt pride in his bread baking. We lost him two years ago, and we all miss him terribly. My brother started baking on St. Patrick’s Day; he says the recipe might have come off the back of the baking soda container. HA!

My dad’s signature dish was his pancakes. Perfectly golden brown, fluffy, and HUGE! Each one was the size of the entire pan.

Broad assumptions about parents can be so painful. I have never seen my father cook food. You’re not alone, other folks feeling that.

Thanks for sharing a bit of your dad’s heart with us Kelsey. This sounds so simple and delicious, I can’t wait to try. The secret to success is always technique!

interesting recipe, I am intrigued. And from the photos it looks like it would make perfect leftovers for a spaghetti sandwich.