I suspect that the spaghetti in a commercial Cincinnati two-way chili is not exactly al dente, but more like al squishy. But I have no urge to find out.
The only time I’ve seen someone use ketchup on spaghetti was on an episode of “Honey Boo Boo”. shudders Yes, it looked as disgusting as it sounds.
Taco Bell actually has spaghetti? Please tell me I’m being whooshed. (I haven’t been there in ages)
Uh, yeah it was a joke. 
Taco Bell doesn’t have spaghetti with or without soap.
Sorry, you’re thinking of “Sketti.”
I’m surprised no one seems to have recognized the line “noodles with ketchup”.
I first heard that in HBO’s Band of Brothers where one Italian-American soldier told that to a white boy American soldier who said something about how much he liked spaghetti.
I can’t imagine the army would have served a very authentic spaghetti to their troops. The Italian-American soldier seemed to realize it was not a very good imitation of real spaghetti.
Spaghetti is one of the very first dishes I learned how to cook. I was about 13 years old. It is so easy to make and it’s plenty tasty too.
Everyone should know how to make spaghetti. Even if you get the sauce from a can or bottle.
Ragu brand makes some really good sauces. They may not be terribly authentic. But for a dollar or two, their sauces are very hard to beat. You would have to be a very good cook to prepare a sauce from scratch that would be better than their sauces.
I usually use their sauce and that makes the preparation of spaghetti incredibly quick and easy. For anyone living on a limited budget (like students), it’s a great dish to serve once a week or so. Extremely inexpensive.
It’s quite famous as a line from the end of Goodfellas.
Also, tomato sauce is ridiculously easy to make. You don’t have to be a good cook to make sauce better than Ragu.
Seems like a hassle to make, what with having to peel the tomatoes and getting rid of the seeds and glop, and then having to reduce it for hours. Much easier to start with canned tomato sauce and tomato paste, and make the spaghetti sauce from there. They even used canned tomatoes and canned tomato paste in The Godfather.
Every Italian household I’ve even been in, including my FOB Dear Grandmother used canned tomatoes. There’s no shame at all if you use a quality product.
My sin is that I don’t drain it. I know exactly how much water to add, such that it all gets absorbed. There’s nothing to drain!
Well, that’s the problem. I don’t have HBO and would not have rercognized that “line.” My guess is that you never eat spaghetti in a restaurant.
Unless you’re using sun-ripened tomatoes fresh from your own garden, canned tomatoes are vastly superior. The greenhouse tomatoes at the supermarket were probably picked days ago and have been sitting around ever since.
Tomato paste adds a whole 'nother level of flavor and sweetness. For each big can of tomatoes, I always add a small can of paste.
I’ve heard it’s okay to use dried oregano in tomato sauce, but not dried basil. While fresh basil is certainly wonderful (I use it in salads for sure), I flavor my tomato sauce with a homemade blend of dried oregano, basil, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, and the results are wonderful.
The other sine non quas are extra virgin olive oil and fresh chopped garlic. I also like to stir in some hot red pepper flakes to give the sauce a little bite.
The other ingredients (e.g., ground beef, pork, calmari, mushrooms, onions, green peppers) vary, depending on my mood. One thing that’s really great is to stir in a whole tin of anchovies along with the olive oil they’re packed in. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! :o
I make my own cans.
I’ll second that, along with some minced pine nuts.
Or, a pasta de la sardna (or however it’s spelled) with sardines.
I am personally revulsed at the thought of anchovies, but that’s MY taste. That’s way too exotic a spaghetti enhancer for me. I’ll settle for tomato sauce, meatballs, Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning.
It’s best if you take an extra minute or two and saute the anchovies until they break up. Tip the tin into the pot and do the fish first; then stir in a bit more olive oil and some chopped green pepper, onion, and garlic. Once they’re lightly sauteed, add the tomatoes, paste, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Don’t overcook the sauce; it just needs to be heated gently until it’s hot enough to be combined with (and then ladled over) the al dente pasta.
Yeah, I agree. No offense to anyone who likes it, but I prefer just plain crushed tomatoes with a bit of garlic and olive oil (don’t even need any herbs) to any of the Ragu sauces. They’re just way too sweet and over spiced and over cooked for my tastes.
Who said anything about starting with fresh tomatoes? I, too, almost exclusively use canned. They’re almost always better than any fresh tomatoes you can get at the supermarket. For smooth and thick sauces (like Ragu consistency) 6-in-1 brand can’t be beat, in my opinion.
Labrador Deceiver said it’s easy to make tomato sauce from scratch. Tried it once. Once.
I don’t see “from scratch” in his quote or your quote of his quote. I assume it must have been edited right when you quoted it or something. Anyway, “from scratch” isn’t difficult, but almost always will produce lackluster results, unless you have really fresh and the right tomatoes.
It is easy. You can peel and seed tomatoes in just a few minutes.
Regardless, I usually use San Marzano tomatoes in a can, which still counts as scratch in my book. I also think making biscuits from flour someone else has ground counts.
ETA: I didn’t edit the word “scratch” from that post, for the record.