Posted on 01/04/2024 1:12:50 PM PST by Red Badger
NATIONAL SPAGHETTI DAY
National Spaghetti Day on January 4th offers an opportunity to pick your sauce and add it to that long, thin cylindrical pasta of Italian and Sicilian origin. Usually made from semolina flour, this pasta has been a worldwide favorite for ages and loved by millions.
#NationalSpaghettiDay
There are various pasta dishes based on spaghetti, and the sauce determines most of them. Some examples include spaghetti ala Carbonara, garlic and oil, tomato sauce, meat sauce, bolognese, Alfredo sauce, clam sauce, or other sauces. In addition, we traditionally serve spaghetti dishes topped with grated hard cheeses such as Pecorino Romano, Parmesan, and Grana Padano.
The word spaghetti is plural for the Italian word spaghetto, which is a diminutive of spago, meaning “thin string” or “twine.”
American restaurants offered spaghetti around the end of the 19th century as Spaghetti Italienne (which is believed to have consisted of noodles cooked past al dente and a mild tomato sauce flavored with easily found spices and vegetables such as cloves, bay leaves, and garlic). Decades later, cooks added oregano and basil to many recipes.
Spaghetti Origins
There is a significant debate on the origin of spaghetti. However, we do know that we've been consuming pasta for many, many years. There are records in the Jerusalem Talmud of itrium, a kind of boiled dough commonly available in Palestine from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD. A 9th-century Arab dictionary describes itriyyaas as string-like shapes made of semolina and dried before cooking. A 1154 writing for the Norman King of Sicily, mentions itriyya as being manufactured and exported from Norman Sicily. Dried pasta became popular in the 14th and 15th centuries due to its easy storage. People stored the dried pasta in ships when exploring the New World. A century later, pasta was present around the globe during the voyages of discovery. (Wikipedia)
On Top of Spaghetti
In March of 2009, the world record for the largest bowl of spaghetti was set and then reset in March of 2010 when a Garden Grove California Buca di Beppo restaurant successfully filled a swimming pool with more than 13,780 pounds of pasta.
Sung to the tune of "On Top of Old Smoky," the fun children's song, "On Top of Spaghetti," was written and originally sung by folk singer Tom Glazer with the Do-Re-Mi Children's Chorus in 1963.
"On top of spaghetti, All covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball, When somebody sneezed.
It rolled off the table, And on to the floor, And then my poor meatball, Rolled out of the door."
COOK, EAT, CELEBRATE
Make your favorite spaghetti dish, and be sure to make enough to share. Of course, you can always invite friends to join you at your favorite Italian restaurant and split a plate. If you do, be sure to tag the restaurant and use #NationalSpaghettiDay to post on social media.
NATIONAL SPAGHETTI DAY HISTORY
National Day Calendar continues researching the origins of this pasta-loving holiday.
Spaghetti FAQ
Q. What wines pair well with spaghetti?
A. The wine pairing you choose will depend on the sauce and other ingredients.
Q. Are there other pasta days on the calendar?
A. Yes. Check out these days to get your pasta fix:
Tortellini Day
Lasagna Day
Pasta Month
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January 4th Celebrated History
2001 While playing for the Washington Wizards, Michael Jordan scores his 30,000th career point. He becomes the 4th NBA player to reach the achievement and does so while defeating his former team, the Chicago Bulls.
2004 A robotic rover named Spirit landed on Mars. It is the only object to take a photo of Earth from another planet.
2007 The House Representatives elected Nancy Pelosi as the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House.
January 4th Celebrated Birthday
Isaac Newton - 1643 The English mathematician and physicist made many discoveries during his lifetime. Gravitational theory is one of Newton's most recognized theories. However, he also is credited with discovering calculus and the composition of white light.
Louis Braille - 1809 The educator developed a method of reading for people with blindness. The series of raised dots is called Braille.
Edward H. Johnson - 1846 One of Thomas Edison's business associates, Johnson was also an inventor himself. In December of 1882, he wired together a string of lights and strung the first set of lights on a Christmas tree.
Sterling Holloway - 1905 The voice actor is best known for his work in several Disney animated films including the voice of Winnie the Pooh, Kaa the Snake in Jungle Book, and Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland.
Dyan Cannon - 1937 In 1977, Cannon became the first woman in Oscar history to be nominated for an Academy Award for her work both on-camera and behind the camera. Cannon was nominated in 1970 for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the film Bob & Carol and Ted & Alice. In 1977, she directed the short film Number One which was nominated for Best Short Film, Live Action.
Spaghetti Ping!...................
We can has skabetti? And scheeze?
Tom Glazer, the venerable Stalinist balladeer, set the tune to a folk song that was a hit for the Stalinist singing group the Weavers in 1951.
On its menu, Jack’s restaurant in Whittier Calif. lists “Italian spaghetti”—probably so customers can be certain that it’s not Uzbekistani spaghetti.
Well, we jumped the gun by two days. Made enough meat sauce to freeze some and get two more meals out of it for the two of us.
Great news. I’m having shrimp scampi tonight to celebrate.
I did my fair share today...I used RAO sauce...good...but Bertolli is more economical. I’m 80 and it’s just me. My days of cooking sauce all day have passed. But I do miss Braciole.
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