National Spaghetti Day!

January 3, 2024

Tomorrow, January 4th, 2024, is National Spaghetti Day – and who doesn’t love pasta? On New Year’s Eve, my wife made homemade spaghetti sauce and served it over al dente spaghetti. It hit the spot just like it has for more than a millennium. Whether noodles were first brought back from the Far East in the 12th century or developed in Sicily is disputed. What is without dispute is that a warm bowl of spaghetti is comfort food.

National Spaghetti Day!

Whether it’s National Spaghetti Day, a cold winter’s night, or a hot summer afternoon, spaghetti is always welcome. Regardless of whether we make it at home or head out to an Italian restaurant, Americans love spaghetti. “The US will consume over two and a half million metric tons of pasta over the course of a year, a significant proportion of which will be spaghetti!” — National Spaghetti Day.

Unfortunately, making spaghetti at home can be messy. It isn’t so much the pasta, but the sauce. My wife’s homemade sauce left some dried sauce splatter on the stovetop, the skillet, and a few utensils. When I cook, I clean up as I go. Of course, that’s not for everyone. Personally, I like to have some paper towels and a bottle of Bar Keepers Friend Soft Cleanser at the ready. After all, who really wants to clean up right after eating a full spaghetti dinner?

Pasta Sauce Stains Don’t Just Go Away 

So, what do you do if you do have crusty pasta sauce stains? Here are some ideas:

Bar Keepers Friend Cookware Cleanser is formulated to remove burnt-on food. Yes, even spaghetti sauce. It can even make old, stained cookware, silverware, and dishes look brand new. So, if you’re having guests over for a spaghetti dinner and want your place settings to shine, this is your answer.

If you have a granite or stone countertop with pasta sauce stains, you know how the red sauce seems to sink into the stone. BKF Granite & Stone Cleaner & Polish is just what you need to combat those stains. It will clean marble, granite, and quartz countertops, and its pH-balanced formula will safely clean all of these natural stone tops.

Some Stains are Tougher

When cooking down ground meat, it’s common for it to burn or scorch your pans. This is particularly true of stainless steel skillets. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done this. Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish to the rescue! It not only cleans that crusty stain from the bottom of your skillet, but it also polishes it!

One of the messiest places to hide burnt-on pasta sauce is in the crevices of your stovetop. “Even if you clean your stovetop after every use, it’s easy to overlook spills that fall through your stove’s metal grates – and as you know, not all cleansers are created equal. If you’re wiping down your stovetop with a cleanser that isn’t breaking down grease and grime, it can build up over time – leaving your stovetop with caked-on splatter and drippings. Although incredibly important, you’ll find (with our tips) that the process isn’t difficult at all. Here’s how to clean a stovetop with Bar Keepers Friend.” — How to Clean a Glass Cooktop

Don’t Forget the Original 

Now, let’s not forget the original Powdered Cleanser. It’s still one of the best cleaners to tackle tough stains. And did you know BKF comes in a spray? MORE Spray + Foam is the same formula as the powder cleanser but without micro-abrasives.

My Wife’s Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Here’s my wife’s recipe. I hope you enjoy it.

• Dice fresh mushrooms, onions, and garlic, then slowly cook them in a skillet on low heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. My wife cooks it down for at least 30 minutes to get the moisture out of the mushrooms.
• Mix a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, a 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes, and 6 ounces of tomato paste in a pot. Add a splash or two of water to bring it to your desired consistency. Cook this over a low heat for an hour or so.
• Cook ground meat or sausage in a skillet over low to medium heat. My wife uses a small amount of canola oil spray and an iron skillet. She cooks vegetarian sausage until it’s browned.
• Mix it all, adding the sausage last and then Italian spice to taste.

Enjoy!

How will you celebrate National Spaghetti Day?

About the Author

Randy Clark is a speaker, coach, and author. He publishes a weekly blog at Randy Clark Leadership.com. Randy is passionate about social media, leadership development, and flower gardening. He’s a beer geek, and on weekends (after COVID-19) he can be found fronting the Rock & Roll band Under the Radar. He’s the proud father of two educators; he has four amazing grandchildren and a wife who dedicates her time to helping others. Randy is the author of the Amazon bestseller The New Manager’s Workbook: A crash course in effective management.