General Hospital’s Kathleen Gati Shares A Special New Year’s Dish

Kathleen Gati, who plays Liesl Obrecht on General Hospital, held a recent fan event sharing a couple of her favorite recipes with fans in attendance. Liesl may love to whip up a little trouble but the actress likes to spend her spare time creating amazing dishes from around the world and she shared one of those with Soap Hub.

Kathleen Gati’s Italian Style Chili-Spaghetti Sauce

We proudly present a serving of comfort food to bring in the New Year. Here’s the recipe that Gati sent us to share with her fans along with a personal story.

A Special Message From Kathleen Gati

So it’s getting a little cooler, maybe you need some warm and cozy food for the tummy? I whip up a batch of my Italian-style chili and some fresh, warm savory corn muffins and off we go to the races! My mother made many a pot of delicious Italian-style chili, which doubled as a wonderful spaghetti sauce too.

Over the years, I have kept fine-tuning this recipe and feeding many a friend, including my roommate, Leanne, and myself when we were poor, struggling students in the big, daunting city of New York. Nothing like some serious comfort food to take the edge off and strengthen our resolve to forge on through all the challenges of our big dreams. Now, this is something I still love to cook up on those blustery autumn days. And it’s not bad in winter either!

If you are a vegetarian or vegan, you can use two pounds of vegetarian “meat” like Beyond Meat or Impossible burger meat, instead of both beef and sausage. I made this with Impossible burger meat and Michael loved it and that says a lot, he’s very picky!

I have also made this using only Italian sweet and spicy sausage and not use any other kind of meat, just a pound of each. That is truly my favorite! Lots of sweet and spicy Italian sausage! YUM! I also sometimes use this as a spaghetti sauce on top of any kind of noodle you love. I make spaghetti squash and put the chili over that, then sprinkle some parmesan on top.

Ingredients For Kathleen Gati’s Chili
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion diced
1 lb Italian sausage (sweet or spicy)
1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
8 cups mushrooms diced (any kind like crimini or portobello)
8 large garlic cloves minced
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
15 oz. tomato sauce
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp dried oregano
3 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp fresh or dried thyme
1 Tbsp fresh or dried rosemary
(either finely chopped or crushed in between clear wrap with a rolling pin)
2 tsp dried fennel or aniseed powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp allspice
16 oz can kidney beans
3 Tbsp brown sugar

Optional Ingredients:
-crushed hot chili peppers if you like it very spicy
-shredded cheddar or parmesan cheese for topping
-chopped red onions for topping

Directions For Kathleen Gati’s Chili
• In a large pot, brown onions in the olive oil.
• Remove casing from sausage, and break up into as big or as small chunks as you like. I   like bigger, bite-sized pieces.
• Gently brown the sausage in the onions.
• Add ground beef, and also break it up into whatever size you like.
• Gently cook for a bit. Pour off excess grease if so desired.
• Add all spices, garlic, and mushrooms and cook till mushrooms are semi-done.
• Add the canned crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans, and brown sugar.
• Cook on low heat for two to three hours for flavors to work their magic.
• Stir occasionally and taste, taste, taste!
• You can add additional salt, pepper, oregano, basil, sugar, hot chili flakes, or whatever you think might improve the flavor to your taste.

*Please note here that I am Hungarian blooded, and therefore cook according to my tastebuds, and spice as I go along, usually erring on the over-spicing side as I am crazy about a lot of flavor. I measured everything modestly, for your benefit, but I recommend adding or taking away spices or quantities of anything that doesn’t appeal to your taste buds. The trick is to keep tasting it till the flavor makes you happy. That’s always my rule of thumb.

• Ladle into bowls, and if so desired, sprinkle with parmesan or grated cheddar cheese, some finely chopped red onions, and some crushed hot chili peppers.
• Serve with warm savory corn muffins.
• Or if desired, cook up your favorite pasta of choice, drain in a colander, place on a plate, and cover generously with this chili-spaghetti sauce!

PASTA
12 oz linguini or pasta of choice (I use cooked spaghetti squash for myself)
4 quarts water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tbsp salt

We hope you enjoy Kathleen Gati’s New Year’s Day recipe. We can’t wait to enjoy a little comfort food after 2021. From all of us at Soap Hub…Happy New Year! May your 2022 be a blessed one.

General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on GH spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.