You don't know who you'll find in Mister Rogers' neighborhood! Growing up, I watched Mister Rogers' Neighborhood almost daily, learning valuable life lessons that are instilled in me today. Fred Rogers was known for bringing a slew of guests on his show to help children "appreciate the hard work and self-discipline it takes to be able to do something well, and the value creative work brings to our lives." Margaret Hamilton and Tony Bennett stopped by as well as legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma. But do you remember when Mr. Rogers invited Julia Child to the neighborhood?
Filmed in 1974, Julia Child of The French Chef television show (which had just finished filming 8 seasons on PBS), joined Chef Brockett and Mister Rogers and demonstrated how to make Spaghetti Marco Polo, a simple noodle dish children could prepare with their parents. Take a look at the heartwarming video of Julia Child and Fred Rogers and try not to smile as these two grown-ups take to the kitchen on a beautiful day.
The full video can be watched here.
How to Make Spaghetti Marco Polo with Julia Child and Mister Rogers
To begin, move the hot spaghetti to the table with oven mitts, being careful not to burn your hands. Child starts by sharing a neat little trick that'll prevent a wooden cutting board from getting stained. Olive oil! She uses her hands and spreads the oil onto the cutting board, noting that the olive oil will also keep your hands soft.
Once the board is ready, she chops parley, noting that using a knife is for the grown-ups.
Using two metal spoons, Child jokes about how hard it is to spoon spaghetti into a bowl. Once the noodles are all in the glass bowl she seasons it with butter, olive oil, and salt and pepper. To make sure the seasoning is right, Child uses a pair of chopsticks to taste the noodles, sharing that using chopsticks because "It's more fun". Everything is always more fun in the neighborhood of make-believe!
The seasoning is deemed perfect and walnuts, black olives, a big handful of Swiss cheese, green onions, and red pimentos are added to the bowl along with canned tuna fish and the chopped parsley. Child says the best way to toss the pasta is way up high, "just because its romantic to do so".
The three eat the spaghetti using chopsticks as Child shares that some believe spaghetti was invented in China and brought over to Italy by Marco Polo, hence the recipe name.
