Monthly Archives: Apr 2017

The greatest asset a woman has is her dignity.
One can always be kind of a woman one cares nothing about.
A love affair with a stupid woman is like a cold cup of coffee.
I do not like women who know too much.
I have been won always by the woman who has great ability to feel.

Spaghetti and love have a historical tie-up. The revival of Rudolph Valentino’s “Son of the Sheik” and “The Eagle” plus his good friend Beulah Livingstone who wrote a book about him shares another recipe and a memory.

Rudy was a good cook who often made his own meals and loved to entertain his friends with a good home cooked meal. Rudy before he made it big in Hollywood would often make simple meals first he would make a novel salad of a huge bowl of lettuce in which he’d cut up fresh figs and tomatoes and add cream cheese. Then he would cook the main dish lovingly. A typical dinner menu would often be Spaghetti Rudolph Valentino, Italian Bread, salad with fresh lettuce, figs, tomatoes, herbs, cream cheese and French dressing – fresh plum tarts, coffee, milk. Rudy loved to share his recipe for Spaghetti. One package (8 ounces) spaghetti, 2 tablespoons, olive oil, 2 large onions, 2 green peppers, 1 pound ground round steak, 1-2 pounds of grated Parmesan or American Cheese, 1-2 cans tomato soup, salt, pepper, paprika, and a dash of cayenne. Plunge spaghetti into a large kettle of rapidly boiling salted water. Cook until tender. Drain at once. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Chop onions and green peppers. Fry in oil until well browned. Remove. Fry ground round steak, stirring frequently until thoroughly brown. Then return onions, peppers to pan and stir in the tomato soup. Mix well, season and simmer for 15 minutes. Use large baking dish. Rub it thoroughly with garlic, then butter evenly. Combine spaghetti and sauce and turn into baking dish. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Bake in moderately slow oven (325) for 1 hour. Rudy insisted the long, slow baking made the difference.

Valentino loved cooking his beloved Italian Food. Also, he enjoyed exchanging and sharing some of his famous recipes. Here is one to try out.

One quarter pound of ground beef, 3-4 pounds of ground pork, 3 eggs unbeaten, 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, 1 finely chopped clove of garlic, 1-2 teaspoons of salt, 1-2 teaspoons of black pepper, combine these ingredients, into a large bowl and shape into meat balls. Put the meat balls in a large frying pan with a little olive oil. Leave them in the frying pan until they are thoroughly browned. Once they are done set them aside until slightly cooled. Rudy would serve them as a separate dish or include them in various meals he cooked.