When John Meehan married his wife, Dee Dee, in 1954, neither of them was a good cook. But thanks to a recipe that appeared in the 1954 Duluth News Tribune cookbook, she made great spaghetti.
In the Air Force at the time, John was soon shipped off to Germany, where Dee Dee later joined him. During their four years living in Germany, they would have the spaghetti three times a week. John, who loved the dish, recalls putting on weight during those years.
"We don't remember the ingredients, but do remember this recipe called for all the ingredients to be strained," John said. "We added meatballs to this spaghetti sauce ... loving it."
After they left Germany and started raising a family, Dee Dee opted for an easier spaghetti recipe. In time, the recipe she had copied from the News Tribune cookbook was lost.
"We thought we had memorized it, but we didn't," John said.
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John made a career in the Air Force, and the coupled traveled the world until he retired in 1970. They returned to northern Minnesota and settled in Gilbert, Dee Dee's hometown.
Over the years, they've wondered how they could get that spaghetti recipe again.
"We thought we'd like to try it again," said John, now 77.
At the News Tribune, we found the recipe in a yellowed copy of that 1954 cookbook. The cookbook, along with the other cookbooks published annually from 1954 to 1974, were recently donated to the Taste section by a reader who was going through her late mother's things. The spaghetti recipe was not among those submitted by readers in the recipe contest that spurred the cookbook. Rather it was featured as a dish for a spaghetti supper party. Make the sauce and meatballs in advance, then put guests to work cooking the spaghetti, tossing the salad and heating the garlic bread in a do-it-yourself get-together, the story suggested.
"For some mysterious reason, most people seem to think work is fun in someone else's home, and it's a sure way to put everyone in a party mood in a hurry," the story said.
