Emma Bryan
Professor Miller
September 5, 2018
Spaghetti and Ham
What is the first thing that pops into your head when you think of your favorite meal? I’m sure you’re not going to say spaghetti and ham. Well, that’s mine. Should I mention I don’t even like ham? The “real” name for spaghetti and ham is actually called hurry up spaghetti. It only takes about twenty minutes and it super easy. No seriously, I started cooking it when I was about seven. Spaghetti and ham is by far my favorite meal to eat, and to cook.
Neither my mom or I have cooked this meal in quite a while. Although, I can still remember sitting in my bedroom upstairs. I could just smell it the second the onions hit the pan. I immediately would jump out of my bed and run downstairs. We could a lot of meals starting out with onions, but somehow, I can just tell when it’s spaghetti and ham being cooked for dinner.
Spaghetti and ham isn’t just my favorite meal because it’s delicious. The first meal I would think of if somebody said “family meal” would be spaghetti and ham. It’s what my mom cooked when all of my siblings and I were growing up (there was 6 of us). It was a cheap meal that my mom could just whip up for dinner after a long day of work. This meal has a lot of memories for me. Most of which were being with my entire family. This is important to me because I know I will never have the experience to sit with all of my siblings and both my parents at one table. I hold it close to my heart. Whenever we’re eating spaghetti and ham, we always bring up grandma.
This delicious meal came from my grandma. My mom told me she always used to cook it (at least twice a week). When I interviewed her she said, “it reminds me of my childhood, not all of the memories were delightful, but I always remember having spaghetti and ham while sitting at the dinner table. It was stress free.” I believe my mom likes this dish because it’s so cheap and easy. There are very few steps to it and it’s pretty hard to mess up. When I told my mom this, she just laughed and replied, “you’re not wrong. It is easy and cheap, but it also comes from your grandma which means a lot”. My mom told me she believes I like spaghetti and ham because I grew up eating it with my siblings. I think this is a very valid point because I don’t see any of my siblings very often, and one of them did pass away not even a year ago. I think this makes me appreciate the memories this meal brings to the table, quite literally.
Spaghetti and ham is not my mom’s favorite meal though. When I asked my mom the question “what is your favorite meal, and why?”, she replied “chicken stir fry because my beautiful daughter is an awesome cook and makes it look good”. I just laughed and told her she was being a suck up because she missed me. I do cook this meal a lot though. For me, it’s a
simple dish to cook. It may take somebody 40 minutes to prepare this dish and cook it. While it only takes me about 20 minutes. After we got on the topic of stir fry and healthy dishes I asked her the question, “how mad do you get when I buy organic ingredients?”. Boy, I wish everybody could’ve seen the look on her face. It was funny. She just rolled her eyes and replied, “a lot”.
I’m sure the readers are dying to know what’s in this meal and how it’s made. This recipe would be good for about 5 people. I would start of by boiling a big pan of salty water. Once the water was to a boil I would throw in about a pound of spaghetti and cook it till it’s kind of chewy. Next, I would strain the water. While the spaghetti was cooking I would sauté one large onion in a skillet with about two tablespoons of olive oil (or whatever oil is handy). Once the onions are translucent, two cups of chicken stalk are poured into the same pan along with a bunch ham chunks. The ham is usually whatever is leftover in the freezer from the last time the family cooked ham. This mixture would simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Once the water is strained from the pasta you have to work quickly, or the pasta will stick. I scramble two eggs in a separate bowl and then stir that into the spaghetti as fast as possible to prevent scrambled eggs. Then I will pour in the onion, ham, and chicken stalk mixture, along with two cups of dried parmesan cheese and about a table spoon of parsley. Once everything is all mixed together, you put the cover on it and leave it to the side for about five minutes to allow the spaghetti and ham to thicken. Things that aren’t actually a part of the recipe, but I love to add in are a dash of garlic powder and some freshly grated parmesan cheese. This recipe is a big part of my life. I remember each and every step by heart and definitely don’t need the recipe in front of me while I’m cooking.
I will always hold this meal close to me. Whether I’m in the middle of cooking it or thinking about it because I have to write an essay about it. It makes me realize that meals can be more than just a plain old meal, that nobody remembers. As I really thought about this dish, it made me think about all of the memories there are behind it. This made me tear up a little bit. Spaghetti and ham will most likely always be my favorite meal at the end of the day.
Recipe:
- 1 box of spaghetti.
- 1 cup of parmesan cheese.
- 2 tablespoons of parsley.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- 1/2 pounds of ham.
- 1 large onion.
- 1 cup of chicken stalk.
- 1 egg.
Boil a pot of water and add salt. Add onions and oil to a separate pan on medium high heat. Sauté until onions are translucent. Put the spaghetti the boiling water. Reduce heat and cook until tender. Add chicken stalk and ham to onions and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain the spaghetti and mix in egg quickly to prevent scrambled eggs. Next add the chicken stalk mixture, parmesan cheese, and parsley. Let sit for about 5 minutes and enjoy.
