Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This was a doorbell kind of night here. We had invited some folks to watch the last night of the convention with us and suspected a few others would be joining us as the evening progressed. I wanted to watch all the evening's speakers, so I suspect I was a less than enthusiastic hostess. One of the benefits of living on the west coast is the early hour at which major events are televised. That, however, means that snacks or a meal must be provided as the evening progresses. I decided early this morning that I'd make a double batch of meatballs and offer pasta or Italian rolls for those who would be here at the dinner hour. Save for cooking pasta and reheating the meatballs, that freed me to watch along with the others. Early birds had pasta and latecomers got to fish their meatballs from the slow cooker and plunk them into some excellent Italian rolls. Everyone got fed. My meatball recipe is one that I learned to make as a child. Back in the day, the meatballs were made with 80% ground beef and day old bread that was grated to make smallish crumbs. I actually prefer to use day old crumbs rather than the prepackaged crumbs that are available in the grocery store. I find the dry crumbs make the meatballs too mealy for my taste, but lots of people prefer their convenience. I'll leave the choice up to you. As to the marinara sauce, you can make your own, or use a jarred sauce if that is your preference. This is a nice meatball recipe. I don't know if it is better than others that are available, but it has worked for me for years. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how these meatballs are made.




Meatballs...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 pound ground lean beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Salt and ground black pepper
2 cups fine dry bread crumbs
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, lightly smashed
3 to 4 cups marinara sauce

Directions:
1) Combine beef, veal and pork in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, cheese, parsley and minced garlic and then add salt and pepper as desired (I use 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper and 2 teaspoons salt). Add bread crumbs and mix well. Slowly add up to 2 cups water, 1/2 cup at a time, just until mixture is moist. Shape into 1 1/2 -inch meatballs.
2) Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add smashed garlic and sauté until lightly browned, about 1 to 2 minutes, then discard the garlic. Working in batches and taking care not to crowd the pan, add meatballs and fry until undersides are brown and slightly crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn and brown other sides, about 5 minutes more. Transfer cooked meatballs to paper towels to drain, then add to the marinara sauce. Mix gently and serve. Yield: 20 meatballs.

                    

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