From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These meatballs appeared on dinner tables with great regularity during the 1970's. The recipe appealed to moms because it was quick and easy to prepare, and children loved the spiny meatballs for their novelty and taste. As it cooks, the rice pokes through the meatballs and resembles porcupine quills. This is a bare bones version of the recipe that has many variations. I've slightly altered the original recipe myself. I use 2 cans of soup rather than the one called for in the original recipe because I want to have enough sauce to use as a gravy on the mashed potatoes that I serve with this dish. I also add grated cheese to my meat mix to add a bit more flavor to the meatballs. This is a great weeknight meal. It will take some of you on a stroll down memory lane. If you have never made the meatballs and have young children at your table, I urge you to give this recipe a try. Here is how these novel meatballs are made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I hope you appreciate whimsy. The origin of a Spanish tapa, a small snack that is served with drinks, is not really known. Legend has it that illness forced 13th century Castilian king Alfonso X - also known as Alfonso the Wise - to eat small snacks with the wine that had doctors had ordered to maintain his strength. After he recovered from the illness causing his weakness, he decreed that taverns serve food with beer or wine to keep the spirits from going too quickly to patrons heads. A more practical explanation is the use of a saucer or lid to keep dust or insects out of drink glasses. "Tapa" literally means lid and the first lid was probably a slab of bread or cheese placed over the glass in which wine or beer was served. A tapa can be anything from a potato fritter to a small portion of skewered meat, the only requirement is that it must be a small dish of something edible that is served with a drink. Tapa (one snack) or tapas (two or more snacks) should not be thought of as an appetizer or meal starter. If you start eating tapas, you do not stop until you are full. While many tapas can be served as a main course, the tapas portion is about 1/4 the size of an entree and it usually requires several of them to assuage hunger. Tapas are served in bars, not restaurants, and tapas bars are extremely popular in Spain. As family size has decreased, so, too, has the size of most Spanish homes, and space limitations have made it easier to socialize and entertain outside the home. Despite problems with the economy, the tapas culture in Spain is still vibrant and thriving. Albondigas appear on many tapas menus. You'll find these meatballs are a bit softer than their Italian cousins, but they are really good and the cinnamon scented sauce in which they braise is downright delicious. They have the added advantage of being relatively inexpensive and easy to make and I know you and your crew will love them. Here is how they are made.
