“Here's what we've decided to do to make our lives a little happier ..
We're starting a new tradition called Spaghetti Saturdays.
Starting in November, we'll be cooking spaghetti and meatballs on the 3rd Saturday of every month. There will be jazz playing, and the flickering of candles, as we sit down to eat together, along with anyone who'd like to join us. You can bring something if you want to, but nobody will frown if you don't. You can stay for a long time or a short time.
We have 4 cats and 2 dogs that will want to say “Hi.” There might be cards and board games, possibly an ongoing puzzle. Of course, there will be dessert.
This is our attempt to spend more time with the people we love so very much.
You're invited.”
Our invitations are ready to be mailed, inspired by an article I read not long ago.
A Philadelphia couple, who have children and both work from home. This is their beautiful idea to combat, not only to the isolation working from home can bring, but also the blur of busyness their days can quickly become, which leaves little time for socializing.
Theirs called Friday Night Meatballs happens once a week, and is a sit-down meal. They operate without a fixed guest list (brave!) welcoming long-time friends, new acquaintances, Internet friends, and friends of friends.
My husband & I loved the idea, deciding once a month is where we're going to start. A meatball seems a bit naked without spaghetti and sauce, and our get-togethers will have more of an open-house feel. We'll start with a short (ish) guest list and see how it goes.
Reading more on the web, this isn't a new idea by any means. There are as many variations as communities of people getting together. Some of the ideas I thought were fun included tacos, pizza, Sunday brunch, chili, red beans and rice, macaroni, and cheese, and bring your own meat for grilling.
Much more to come
But in the meantime, any favorite recipes for meatballs and/or sauce you'd be willing to share? Have you tried your own version of their tradition? Any tips on entertaining?
xoxo
ps: Fun recipes and stories from Spaghetti Saturdays
97 Comments
[…] few months back, good friends of ours had an idea…. they planned a Spaghetti Saturday, with hopes to make it a monthly event . We were delighted with the first invitation and look […]
I love this, Alison. We also have a monthly potluck dinner with a group of friends. It’s the highlight of our month.
Oh Kelli .. thank-you so very much for telling me of your potluck dinners.
From one kindred spirit to another .. I so understand when you say it’s the highlight of your month. It is for us as well.
Ali
This sounds like a fantastic idea.
I hope you really enjoy it!
There’s something so comforting about a plate of spaghetti and meatballs
What a great idea, I have not heard of this before, but do love the sound of it. I love spaghetti and meatballs something so comforting and ideal for this sort of thing. I hope it goes well x
This is an amazing idea! Wow! What a great way to get to know people and build the community stronger!
I love the idea of a Spaghetti Saturday, although I would happily eat spaghetti every day of the week!
I have a tried an true easy breezy chunky spaghetti sauce recipe we mix in the blender and then simmer on the stove. 4 large tomatoes (any variety), 1 can of tomato paste, 2 tbsp Italian seasonings ( 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp salt or less, 1/2 tsp sugar). Remove the stem from the tomatoes and pour everything into your blender and pulse until desired consistency, toss in a pan and simmer until ready to serve. You can add red pepper if you like a little spice and a little water if it’s too chunky.
Enjoy.
This sounds delish! Thank-you so much, I’m all ears when it comes to easy and breezy ideas. Next month I’m going to give it a try. x
That’s a fantastic idea. I always think of what to cook so for me this has made things easier. Now onward, will try to cook spaghetti every Saturday. Yummy!
I love this idea, it makes for a real time for all the family to get together, eat good food, listen to Jazz and have a wonderful time.
It does sound awesome doesn’t it and there is nothing quite like a delicious plate of spaghetti.
It is so important to spend time with people, friends or family. This is such a fun and creative way to get people to come over. If I were closer, I’d join in on Spaghetti Saturdays. I understand the reason behind this. I have 5 kids and as they get older I will want to create something like this so we can be sure to spend quality time together at least once a week.
Currently something fun we have is Breakfast Monday where every Monday night we have breakfast for dinner.
This is a brilliant idea, I’ve only recently discovered I like spaghetti bolognase! I really do appreciate eating together as a family and this is one of the best ideas to doing it!
This is such a lovely idea! Really. I hope it goes well, I’d love to do something like this ourselves. Also..Spaghetti and meatballs are DELICIOUS!
Spaghetti Saturdays sounds like such a fun idea…a great way to devote a day to yummy food and good company 🙂 x
Yummy! I love meatballs though I have not made them in a long time. My mom dips hers in flour and them adds them to the pot and lets it get brown and then adds sauce. Now you got me thinking. Definitely a recipe to make soon.
What a great idea to brown them first! I bet it would add another (wonderful) layer of flavor
What a lovely, neighbourly idea 🙂 the Philly couple are brave opening up their home to everyone ever, even people they’ve not met, though someone once told there is no such as thing as strangers, just friends you haven’t met yet ? I don’t have any recipes for you, seeing as I’m by no means a chef, but here’s to you having many fun-filled spaghetti Saturdays x
That is such a lovely idea. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of always being busy unless you make time to slow down.
I was actually discussing with my partner last night how we need to entertain more so perhaps we could do this too as his spaghetti bolognese is a marvel to behold. I’ll try and get his recipe if i can to share!
Such a wonderful idea to get together with friends, sharing a good meal. Very important to find time to spend with loved ones! 🙂
This is a great idea! If I lived closer, I could always bring a bottle of wine, because, wine always goes good with spaghetti with meatballs and friends! I hope this becomes enjoyable for you!
This sounds like a lovely idea 🙂 I’ve suggested it to my partner to have something set like this and his all up for it! Especially with children I imagine it can be really nice to spend quality time as a family
We often go out to dinner on Saturdays. Its one of my fave traditions. But we could do Spaghetti Sundays.
I love this idea. I think too often we get wrapped up in the craziness of life and forget the little things!! Good for you for starting a great tradition!!
I love the idea of Spaghetti Saturdays. It’s so nice to be able to sit down and eat with others, so many of the time I’m just eating on the go.
What a wonderful way to socialize with family and friends. My friend and I use to cook for a large group of people every week. It was a very rewarding experience. Working at home can certainly make a person feel isolated. I think you have solved that problem! Enjoy your social meal time and company!
What a fantastic idea. My grandparents held a sort of open house lunch every single Saturday. They never knew who would show up and there where always at least 10 people there on any given Saturday. When people didn’t have plans or wanted to see old friends they would just drop by at my grandparents house for lunch on Saturday. They had a huge round table out on the patio, it was roofed but open to back yard on one side. The table had a huge built in lazy-Susan where all the food was placed and everyone made it turn round and round to serve themselves (I remember I loved doing this as a kid). It was so much fun and I would love to do something similar. I love that you have a theme for it and spaghetti is always easy to cook for a crowd.
Thank-you for telling me, I can just picture sunny Saturday afternoons with everyone gathered on the patio. I love that they were the place to go when everybody wanted to catch up. The lazy-Susan is a genius idea!
I love this idea so much. With two very needy kids and 2 dogs that might be just as needy, my husband and I could use some date time too!
This is such a great idea. How many at the most have you had at one dinner? I am just curious how many people decided to take you up on your offer.
Hi Ladonna
We average 10-30 each month, with a different mix every time, depending on who can make it that month. If everyone on the guest list came we’d be close to 80! Ali
oh my goodness this is such an amazing idea. We often go months without realising that our friends and family haven’t been in our our precedence so this makes such a great way of changing that!
You read my mind. I also thought of doing something similar at home to create our own little traditions and do like a rotation among st our friends. Great idea!
Very cute idea! I love spaghetti and meatballs, I can eat it every day! It’s my comfort food.
I grew up in a big Italian house, so I grew up on homemade pasta, meatballs, and sauce. It’s a secret family recipe, but I remember on Sundays we had a BIG Sunday dinner and anyone was welcome.
What a fantastic idea! I’m sure there will be a lot of people who would like to join you. I should organize something similar!
I love this idea and my favourite is spaghetti bolognaise but the hubby doesnt like so we rarely have it! boo!
Without a doubt, one of the most amazing ideas I’ve come across so far and it’s something my family and I would love to do. We just started working from home and we can relate to the challenge of being cooped up at home and not being able to spend as much time outdoors. My kids would love this get together too!
What a sweet idea to invite friends to your spaghetti saturdays. I agree that working from home can feel isolating. I am making meatballs today, so thanks for the reminder to take the meat out of the freezer!
My husband makes an awesome spaghetti. I am not sure what all he puts in it, but I love it. I will have to get the recipe from him.
They do make a homemade spaghetti sauce because I have some allergies with the ones in the store, and it is so good. I think that it’s a great idea to have a spaghetti day. It’s easy to make and it taste great.
Wow! Amazing. Kids will have fun eating this. A good treat from busy parents.
I love this awesome idea. This spaghetti recipe seems really interesting and delicious.
This is so cool! Every month a friend of mine cooks any pasta, or noodle related on every 18th of the month! It’s because it was her daughter’s birth date! How fun is that!
We have Spaghetti Saturdays at our house ever since we got a pasta maker for Christmas! Our favorite pasta recipe is just a spaghetti egg noodle! Simple and delicious! The only meatballs recipe that ALL of my family members like is chicken meatballs with Parmesan and sometimes even rice cooked into them! Although if we’re doing pasta, I skip the rice. And cheese-stuffed meatballs are a HIT!
Your post made me smile! I took the liberty of perusing your “About” section, and you’re so inspiring! Reminded me to take time to do what I love and to maintain a healthy balance in life*
Pets and dessert? I am so in! What time? I love spaghetti, so I can’t wait to see your creations. I know they will be tastier than my noodles and sauce from a jar.
It’s great to start new traditions and who doesn’t love spaghetti. Looks delicious!
What a fun thing to do! My church is very into living in community, so this would fit right in! If I lived close, I’d stop by for spaghetti and dessert and pets!
Looks like fun, a really good idea. As a vegetarian I would choose a vegetarian or vegan theme if I was to do this!
This is great! It was a tradition in my family when I was a kid that Sunday Night was pasta night. And anyone was invited. I haven’t done this now that I have my own family. Thinking I should!
This is such a lovely idea! Sociable and builds a solid friendship group to socialise with. Great thinking!
Sometimes the simplest of meals can be the most satisfying. I love spaghetti and meatballs and love your monthly idea for a get together! I suggest you make everyone where white shirts too, so you can have an art show afterwards to see who has the best stains! 🙂
The best stains .. too cute! Yes
Sounds like such a lovely idea! Growing up (and even now) my family always had a tradition of Soul Food Sunday where my grandmother would cook the BEST food ever! Until now at 25 I still look forward to Sunday’s for that very reason!
Soul Food Sunday sounds wonderful. Especially when cooked by a grandma. Nobody knows the keys to our hearts (and tummies) better than they do!
wow nice recipe with tempting photograph. Being a vegetarian I will put brocolli instead of meatball.
This is a lovely idea and a great way to get people round on a regular basis. Growing up we used to have spaghetti every single firday so now I cannot stand it haha once a month is definitely a better idea so you don’t get fed up of it
This sounds like a great idea. I haven’t done something like this nor had a tradition but it would be nice to designate a date for food and friends
I love this idea! My son and i have “pizza Friday” where we sit down and have a little quality time together. I love the idea of setting time aside for friends and family.
This is such a lovely idea, what a great way to spend time with loved ones 🙂
What a fun and cool tradition to start! I love finding ways to make moments a but more special . . .
This is a very unique and generous idea. I love the open attitude of cooking dinner for friends and also the fearless way that you have decided to compile your guest list…..it may even extend to friends of friends……… That couple you mention ..the ones from Philadelphia that both work from home , well I can understand why they may feel isolated so what better way to reconnect with friends and make new ones than having an “Open House” dinner once a month. Fab idea!
What a nice, neighborly idea. And actually, yes, I do have a great sauce recipe to share, though it’s not my own: http://www.completelydelicious.com/tomato-basil-marinara-sauce/ I just canned that recipe last week and it’s really fantastic!
Oh Whitney .. thank-you so much! I can’t wait to give it a try! ✌?
This is a great idea, it really gives something special to a Saturday Night, going to copy this!
I like the idea of a monthly event and what a great way to bring your close friends and family together and to welcome new people into the fold. I am glad that you have found a tradition to uphold x
This sounds like such a great idea here. Doing a meal is always a way to bring people together. And haveing things for them to do while they are there is important. And spaghetti and meatballs is always a crowd pleaser to bring people together. I am really interested in seeing what you are going to be doing with your desserts. I don’t have my own marinara recipe, although I do have a cookbook that has a nice one that I liked. And I don’t have a great meatball recipe either. I will be curious to read what other people use to make meatballs.
Seems like a nice tradition . Tradition me us more close with each other . You had a great idea , we can see now some of a tradition that were here before is one by one feeding of the modernization . Start making a ne tradition with a good cooking idea is a beautiful story .
I really loves the idea of bringing together people. What a great tradition to start. I do not have any marina recipes, although my husband might. He does the cooking in our home and he loves to experiment.
This is a wonderful idea for more family time! Something everyone loves and on a set night, so no excuses!
That is a great idea, would definitely recommend and try to apply this at our home as well. This would definitely help in bringing families and communities closer, make new friends and establish a better and peaceful community. Great initiative!
Wow this looks so yummy, ahh I love pasta
This sounds like my home on Sundays. I love to make homemade sauce with homemade bread as well as some kind of pasta for the whole family and friend gathering. It is quite fun to listen to Sintra while enjoying cooking a meal for my closest family and friends. I especially like to sip some red wine and toast the loved one I missed most who can no longer be here but started the tradition, my little Italian spunky grandma , Ellen.
Spaghetti and meatballs always hits the spot. It’s one of those meals that reminds me of being a kid. My mom made if for us all the time. Now that I’m older, I appreciate that it tastes delicious and is pretty affordable.
Everyone at my home love spaghetti. I made this twice, first as written and it was GREAT! But then I did some mild modifications. I used all ground beef, added red wine instead of water and added 1/2 tsp of oregano and rosemary plus 2 bay leaves. Put it in my crock pot for 4 hours and it was OUTSTANDING! I even had a true Italian guy tell me it was an outstanding sauce. I served it over spaghetti.
The idea of having a gathering of friends, family, etc at least once a month is a great idea. I have two suggestions that I will have to try and that you can use if you choose My suggestions are to have the dinner party outside and maybe have a projector with a funny movie playing. Thanks for sharing the ideas.
Oh I love the sound of this! Spaghetti Saturday sounds like fun! We don’t really have at traditions in that way, although I would love to start one!
Great idea. I love Spaghetti, chuck in a few meatballs and I am there. Its a great food for me as a marathon runner so I do like to carb up now and again for the energy 🙂
We love food named days too. Pizza night, taco tuesday, Fish n chips fryday (get it?!) It DOES make a difference to the atmosphere of the family. They do say that a family that laughs together, stays together 🙂
This is a great idea! I should try this with my friends in the Philippines. I wish to attend your Spaghetti Saturday someday. I would like to meet your furbabies too!
That would be a nice theme. We have can have spaghetti actually everyday. However, I think it would be cool to assign one day of the week for it. Spaghetti and meatballs are always a winner in my house.
To reconnect with friends and family in this busy, internet driven world, we have to make the effort and commit to it. Your Spaghetti Saturdays is a brilliant idea.
What I would give to have spaghetti saturdays in my house – I adore all spaghetti dishes but the hubby isn’t too fussed. Well, I am having my way this weekend let me tell you!! x
I love this idea bonding with family and friends while enjoying delicious foods. I believe that if you want less complicated and stressful life you have to surround yourself with positive people. Those who can lift up your spirit and no drama. I love catching up with family we are all so busy working and paying bills. More often we forgot that there is always ways to enjoy life. I love the idea of Spaghetti Saturday.
This is such a great idea! Today it seems like so many people and families are too “busy” to all get together, have a meal, socialize, etc. and setting up a regular day every month helps to bring people together. I know my family and I tried this out but parts of our family were, you guessed it, too busy to meet up every month, so that’s the downside. However, making the most of the family that does meet up with us and spend time with us makes this such a wonderful time and will create memories with myself and my kids that will last forever!
LOL This reminds me so much of when I was just newly engaged. My husband would make us spaghetti dinner if he cooked. I think it was one of the only dishes he knew how to make. That makes me laugh now because he’s competent in the kitchen now thank goodness. Not complaining just reminded of that time and how we have not had spaghetti in months now!!
It may not be a new idea, but I am loving it. I hope when I run the idea across my husband that he is open to starting a similar tradition. I do believe our homes should be a place of hospitality.
It’s a wonderful idea! I think it’s awesome that you can get together with the people in your life every Saturday just to spend some time together, catching and enjoying good food. From what I’ve been reading, it’s been very successful!
Such a lovely meal when you have it by candle light. This is very similar to my wife & I’s pasta Thursday every month. It’s a day that we always look forward to.
I have a similar tradition in my Toastmasters Club where every month, all the members unite at some place and share their life and tales with amazing food! Though no one in my group is such an amazing host like you, so most of the time we meet in restaurants!
Oh Ana .. thank-you for telling me. I love this idea!
This sounds like an amazing idea. I know it’s not a new thing, but it is pretty cool you are doing it and who doesn’t love pasta? I love entertaining and this has given me an idea for getting the family together every other week. One of my favorite recipes is pasta in meat sauce. Delicious!
Hey. I like the idea of a fixed day for getting together. I love meat balls and spaghetti and have my fill growing up. I love to cook food and have my own versions of meatballs. A Punjabi style ( Chilli Meat balls), a chinese style and a seafood meatball. while some may dislike them being traditionalist but then if you can experiment then why not.
This is a great idea. We Love Angel hair spaghetti with crunchy meatballs. It’s delicious sends it has the textures that everyone loves. Once we get our new home, I’ll plan something like this.