Rotary’s on top of spaghetti

By Jeff Hage (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Friday, May 9, 2008

Have you ever found one of those offers that’s too good to believe?

I have another one for you, and I hope you take me up on it.

Next Wednesday, May 14, for the mere price of $6, you can get your own plate piled high with spaghetti and topped with Rod Ebersviller’s top secret spaghetti sauce.

Yes, it’s time for the Fergus Falls Noon Rotary’s annual Pasta Presentation, that time of year where the past presidents of the organization lead Rotary members in the kitchen in order to serve up for the community spaghetti and spicy meatballs.

Now this isn’t any ol’ spaghetti dinner.

The sauce recipe has been in the works now for about 15 years, Ebersviller said.

Originally hailing from the Detroit Lakes area, the sauce has been modified along the way each and every year since the Pasta Presentation first hit the scene in the early 1990s.

“I’m kind of a spaghetti nut,” Ebersviller says.

“The secret of a good spaghetti is in the sauce.”

In the case of the Rotary’s Pasta Presentation, the secret is in about 45 gallons of sauce and a goal of feeding about 700 people, Ebersviller said.

With Keith Olson serving as this year’s “Noodle General” and Ebersviller continuing as “Sauce Specialist,” Fergus Falls is in for a real treat.

“I fix what tastes good for me,” Ebersviller said.

But getting there is a long, drawn out process, he says.

“Like any sauce, it should be simmered,” Ebersviller said.

After a morning of preparing freshly chopped ingredients that includes 25 pounds of onion, 30 or so green peppers, tomatoes, bay leaves, oregano, basil, sliced green olives, some secret ingredients and quite a bit of garlic, the sauce is ready for the stove.

“The biggest secret to making a good spaghetti sauce is having just a bit of time,” Ebersviller said.

In the case of the Rotary’s sauce, it’s simmered somewhere between five and six hours. Ebersviller said the sauce is in the pots simmering by 10 a.m. Wednesday and remains there until it’s ready to be served beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Ebersviller, our resident “spaghetti nut” has an interesting take on one of his favorite meals.

“All spaghetti is good — some is just a little better than others,” he said.

I personally invite you out to the Fergus Falls Armory from 4:30 to 7 p.m. to sample some of the Rotary Club’s handiwork in the kitchen and find out for yourself how good a spaghetti sauce can be.

Along with spaghetti we’ll be serving up salad, roll, drink and ice cream.

There will be some good music in store at the event, too. Music will be provided by the middle school chamber orchestra.

Cost is $6 in advance or at the door; Tickets for kids ages 3 to 12 are $3 and will be sold only at the door. Children younger than 3 eat free.

Tickets may be purchased at Dave Peters Jewelers at WestRidge Mall; Victor Lundeen Company downtown or from any Rotarian, as well as at the door. If you need help getting tickets you can call me during business hours Monday-Wednesday at 739-7026 and we’ll get some over to you!

Jeff Hage is the managing editor of The Daily Journal. He can be contacted at 739-7026 or email him at jeff.hage@fergusfallsjournal.com.