Nostalgia and Meatballs

Once upon a time, in college, I didn't eat meat. I just didn't like the taste of it. But when I finally started back on it, this recipe became one of my favorites.

These old fashioned meatballs were one of my grandmother's specialties even though we are sadly not even a little bit Italian. Combined with a quick Marinara and some pasta, I cannot think of many better meals. Hand me a restaurant meatball and I will likely hand it right back to you. The simple original Meatball recipe consists of...

3/4 lb ground beef

1/4 lb ground pork

1 cup fine breadcrumbs

1/2 cup milk

1 T fresh parsley

2 cloves garlic

2 eggs

1/2 c grated parmesan

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Gently combine all and shape into 1-2 inch balls. Saute in olive oil until well browned.

Chef Beef went to the store and found they were out of ground pork. We substituted some mild italian sausage and it might have been a little overseasoned in the end, but still quite delicious. It was served with my own Marinara:

1 white onion

2 cloves of garlic diced

(saute these in olive oil for about 2 minutes)

1 large can Muir Glenn chunky tomato sauce
1 T fresh basil

1 T fresh parsley

6 fresh tomatoes diced

1 medium pinch salt

10 twists pepper

2 T (generous pour) of mid grade balsalmic vinegar.

(simmer till thickened)

We used whole wheat fettucini which held up almost too well for the sauce. CB also made some garlic cheese toast under the broiler with a baugette he found, parmesan, and garlic butter.

The following evening, CB built big grinders with the leftover baguette, meatballs, and sauce. Normally, we are not leftover superstars (we have removed our microwave from the kitchen), but this time we triumphed. And continued to dream of being Italian.