One of the things I’ve learned since becoming an adult is that every family makes spaghetti and meatballs a little bit differently. When I was growing up, my mom used as many vegetables as possible and skipped the meatballs entirely, preferring to cook some ground turkey directly in the sauce. It was awfully good, but still, I found myself coveting other approaches.

When my sister got married, her husband introduced us to his family recipe, with basic beef meatballs and Parmesan cheese and tiny bits of chopped carrots in the sauce. My own husband’s childhood spaghetti night involved canned marinara and links of Italian sausage.

Being someone who is always in pursuit of the next great dish, I’ve not settled down into one particular approach to the classic dish of spaghetti and meatballs. Sometimes I make chicken and ricotta meatballs; other times I’ve opted for a trio of ground meat and Italian bread, lightly soaked in milk.

Last weekend, however, I made Damaris Phillips’ Red Wine Spaghetti and Meatballs, and I might be ready to put all other recipes to the side and settle down with this one. Her sauce is dense and rich (hello, one stick of butter!), the meatballs are tender but with structural integrity, and the trick of adding red wine to the pasta water is just fun.

Make this recipe for your Weekender and start a brand-new spaghetti and meatballs tradition!

Marisa McClellan is a food writer and canning teacher who lives in Center City Philadelphia. Find more of her food (all cooked up in her 80-square-foot kitchen) at her blog, Food in Jars. She’s the author of the cookbooks Food in Jars and Preserving by the Pint.