In the Kitchen: Spaghetti and meatballs with Karen Polello-Frogner

She’s traveled to Italy twice, hitting all of the hot spots – Rome, Florence, Venice, Cinque Terre, Capri, Pompeii, Pisa and then some.

A four-day cooking class, held in a restaurant in a villa in the Tuscan town of Panzano in Chianti, was a highlight. But it didn’t quite compare to cooking in Spokane as a young girl at the side of her Italian-American aunts.

“They’d spend days, weeks, getting ready for the holidays,” said Karen Polello-Frogner, who was born here, moved away in second grade and returned frequently for family gatherings and other special occasions.

“Italian food is what I was raised on,” she said. “Like anything, you pick what you like and tweak it from there.”

Polello-Frogner learned to cook by watching her relatives on her father’s side as a child, then adjusting recipes as an adult. She makes classics such as spaghetti and meatballs with homemade tomato sauce as well as an olive-based appetizer she calls the Best Italian Appetizer Spread.

She developed the spread to suit her taste, writing in her submission to “In the Kitchen With …” that she “didn’t want the typical, cream cheese-based spreads” so she created this one, a twist on traditional tapanade, minus the anchovies.

“Being Italian myself, I do a lot of Italian cooking and wanted an appetizer to serve with my meals,” she wrote. “This is spicy, somewhat tart (and) packed with a lot of flavors, but not as heavy as the cheese spreads. It is very flexible and can easily be adjusted to one’s own taste.”

Plus, it’s super-easy to make – as long as you have a food processor.

“The main thing is to do it all in small batches,” Polello-Frogner said. “You don’t want it to get mushy.”

Parmesan goes in last.

“It’s usually better if it sits awhile. But you can serve it right away, too,” said Polello-Frogner, who likes to add extra garlic and chili pepper.

In general, she said, “My family tends to cook a lot spicier food.”

They also tend to eyeball ingredients.

Even today, Polello-Frogner wrote, “I’m not one for recipes and usually cook by taste. … Even the appetizer I had to write down as I made it.”

She credits her roots for that kind of cooking.

“My dad was full-blooded Italian,” she said. “I was an older child before I knew there was a difference between a wedding and a funeral. It was always a big celebration. Everything was centered around family and food – whether it was the beginning or the end of something.”

Her uncle – her dad’s older brother – and her paternal grandparents were all born in Italy.

They hailed from Consenza, located in Calabria just above the toe of the boot on a map of Italy. While she’s well-traveled in the land of her forebears, Polello-Frogner hasn’t made it there yet. She hopes to, someday.

In the meantime, she treasures her memories, especially those of her late Aunt Helen.

“She was always cooking something,” said Polello-Frogner, who moved back to the Inland Northwest in 1990 after about 25 years in the Seattle area. “(Aunt Helen) had several kids of her own and several grandkids. They would have to borrow chairs from the church just to seat her immediate family.”

These days, Polello-Frogner, 64 and a retired nurse in Nine Mile Falls, prepares her signature Italian dishes mainly when company’s coming “because they always request them.” That usually includes her two adult sons and four grandchildren.

Her husband, Gordon Frogner, 69, a retired state parks worker from Redmond, helps carry the heavy dishes, laden with noodles and meatballs, to the table. They’ve been married since 1973, and he accompanied his wife on those two trips to Italy. His background is Norwegian.

Best Italian Appetizer Spread

From Karen Polello-Frogner

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons dried basil

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons chili paste

1 teaspoon sugar

1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained

1 (8-ounce) can sliced pepperoncini, drained

1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained

1 (16-ounce) can sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained

1 (6-ounce) can black olives, drained

1 (8-ounce) jar pimento-stuffed green olives, drained

1 green pepper, finely chopped

1 small or medium onion, finely chopped

1 cup grated Parmesan

In a small mixing bowl, add ingredients through sugar and stir until well combined.

In a food processor working in separate batches, chop all ingredients through onion to a medium to fine consistency, emptying each batch into a large bowl and lightly mixing.

After all ingredients through the onion have been chopped, add vinegar mixture to bowl of chopped ingredients, and lightly stir until mostly mixed. Mix in Parmesan cheese.

Transfer to covered glass or plastic container, and let sit several hours or overnight for flavors to blend.

When ready to serve, lightly stir and place in dip or spread bowl. Serve with a variety of crackers, or toasted bruschetta bread slices, to spread mixture on.

Note: The amount of each ingredient can be adjusted to taste. Polello-Frogner considers this recipe “mostly a guideline.” Several varieties of olives can be used to mix it up.

Mama Karen’s Spaghetti Sauce

From Karen Polello-Frogner

2 (29-ounce) cans tomatoes, crushed or diced or both

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

15 ounces red wine (use tomato sauce can to measure)

3 to 4 tablespoons Italian dry seasoning

2 tablespoons dried basil

2 tablespoons sugar

1 package dry onion soup mix

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 to 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes (depends how spicy you like)

1 small onion chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped (optional)

Sliced mushrooms or canned (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste

Combine all ingredients except for tomato paste in large heavy pot. Stir together, simmer over medium heat with lid on for 2 or more hours. During the last 15 minutes add the tomato paste and stir until mixed in. Serve over your favorite pasta and with Mama Karen’s Meatballs. (Recipe below.)

Mama Karen’s Meatballs

From Karen Polello-Frogner

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 pound sausage of choice (Italian, regular, turkey)

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon tarragon

1 package dry onion soup mix

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 eggs

1 tablespoon chili paste

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained and minced

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Nonstick cooking spray

Parmesan or Romano cheese, for serving

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix meats by hand in a large mixing bowl until evenly distributed, then set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the rest of the ingredients through Parmesan and beat on slow speed until well mixed.

Add meat mixture to bowl of stand mixer and combine until incorporated. Take care to not overmix.

Spray broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add a little water to the bottom of the pan.

Scoop palm-size portions (about 3 to 4 ounces) of meatball mixture into hand and roll to form balls, place on sprayed broiler pan, leaving room so they aren’t touching each other.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until meatballs are starting to brown. Gently remove them from broiler pan and place in pot of simmering spaghetti sauce. (See recipe above.) At this point, the meatballs won’t be done. They finish cooking in the sauce.

Cook for about 1 hour in spaghetti sauce, occasionally stirring lightly with spatula.

Remove meatballs from sauce, place in serving dish and keep warm. Serve with spaghetti sauce and your favorite pasta. Garnish with Parmesan or Romano cheese to serve.

Yield: About 17 large meatballs