While traditionally, we would have cooked a rib roast for Christmas dinner, my girl developed an aversion to beef, which would make her physically ill if eaten. As we thought about it, we decided we really wanted to keep things simple. As such, we opted for spaghetti and meatballs.
Now I admit, I'm not the kind of guy that makes his own spaghetti sauce or noodles, though I certainly would like to. However, what I do take the time to do is make my own meatballs. This recipe I concocted originally started out with beef, veal, and pork, but had to be tweaked as the above noted issues with beef were discovered. As such, there are two options here for those of you who may want to attempt this.
INGREDIENTS (MEATS)
1 Pound 80 / 20 Ground Beef (Option 1)
1/2 Pound Ground Veal (Option 1)
1/2 Pound Ground Pork (Option 1)
1 Pound Ground Turkey (or Chicken) (Option 2)
1 Pound Ground Pork (Option 2)
The remaining ingredients consist of the following:
2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil (Chopped)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley (Chopped)
1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1/2 Cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Cup Fresh Romano Cheese
1 Cup Plain Bread Crumbs (Separated into two 1/2 Cup measurements)
4 Slices White Bread
1 Small Container Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Egg (Whisked)
2 - 24 Ounce Jars of Spaghetti Sauce (We use Rao's Tomato Basil)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
In a large flat dish, I use a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish, pour your Heavy Cream until you have 1/8 an inch of full surface coverage. Then add your four pieces of Bread.
Let these soak for five minutes, then flip them.
Let them sit in the pan while you move on to the following steps:
Add your meat to a large bowl, and your chopped Basil and Parsley.
Now add on top of this your Minced Garlic.
Tear up your Bread pieces into small bits, and add them to the bowl.
You should have some remaining Cream at the bottom of your dish, which you're going to also scrape into your bowl.
Add both your Parmesan and Romano Cheese, and 1/2 Cup of your Bread Crumbs. Stir to combine.
It should keep a soggy consistency.
Add your Salt and Pepper, sprinkling it around the bowl, versus dropping it in one central location.
Then add your remaining 1/2 Cup of Bread Crumbs. Again stir to combine.
The mixture should look a bit drier than before, so bring back the wet by stirring in your whisked Egg.
The mixture should now be perfect for forming into meatballs.
With this recipe, you should be able to roll out eighteen balls that are about two inches in diameter.
You will need to sear your meatballs, and for this, I use a large electric skillet set to 350 degrees. Alternatively, you can use a non-stick pan on the stove, but this method will take longer because you don't want to overcrowd the pan. Additionally, you want to preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Adding my three tablespoons of Olive Oil to the skillet surface, I let this warm, and then spread it across the entire top with a pair of tongs.
Now I add the meatballs, and let them sear about two to three minutes on each side.
I'm not trying to cook these through. Rather, just get a nice brown color along all sides.
Meanwhile, I've popped the lid on one of my spaghetti sauce jars, and dumped it into that same 9 X 13 pan I used for my bread - After cleaning it, of course.
Add the meatballs to the sauce.
Then top them with your second jar of sauce.
Cover the pan with foil, and place it in your preheated 350 degree oven for one hour.
These would be perfect on their own to top on any type of spaghetti, or to make delicious meatball subs with. However, for me, if going the spaghetti route, I like my sauce to have a bit of substance to it. This means, I'm also making meat sauce, which in essence is the majority of the steps above. Again, you have two options on the meat mixtures.
INGREDIENTS (MEATS)
1 Pound 80 / 20 Ground Beef (Option 1)
1/2 Pound Ground Veal (Option 1)
1/2 Pound Ground Pork (Option 1)
1 Pound Ground Turkey (or Chicken) (Option 2)
1 Pound Ground Pork (Option 2)
The remaining ingredients consist of the following:
2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil (Chopped)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley (Chopped)
1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
2 - 24 Ounce Jars of Spaghetti Sauce
In a large pot add your meat, and turn the heat on medium. Then add your Garlic.
Next add your Basil, Parsley, Salt, and Pepper.
Stir this all up to combine it.
Then cook your meat until brown, stirring frequently to break up the bits.
Add both jars of sauce, and stir it to combine thoroughly.
Everything should come together nicely.
Cover the pot with a lid, and reduce the heat to low. Let this simmer while your meatballs cook. After completing the steps above, this was about forty-five minutes for me.
As you get down to the remaining time of your meatballs cooking, you want to make your noodles. When you start will depend on how much time you plan in advance for this. We like to use the fresh pasta in the cold section of our grocery store, so for us, this is simply a matter of boiling water, and letting it cook for two to three minutes. Makes all the difference using fresh pasta as compared to dried.
With the meatballs done, it's time to get busy on constructing a massive pile on a plate, and topping it with some more of that Parmesan and Romano cheese.
Then all that's left to do is get you some, and dig in!
Now, like I said above, we use Rao's Tomato Basil sauce. If I were so inclined to make my own sauce, which I am, I would personally start with Martha Stewart's copycat recipe for the brand's marinara. From there, I would taste, and tweak into my own Frankenstein.
Her ingredients call for the following (and I put this here more so for myself for future reference):
4 - 28 Ounce Cans Whole Tomatoes with Basil (preferably from San Marzano)
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
6 Tablespoons Minced Onion
4 Cloves Garlic (peeled and minced)
Coarse Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
12 Leaves Fresh Basil (torn)
Pinch of Dried Oregano
She then provides the following instructions:
Remove tomatoes from can and place in a large bowl, reserving juices. Crush tomatoes using your hands; remove and discard the hard core from stem end, and any skin and tough membrane; set aside.
Place oil in a large, nonreactive saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, and cook until soft and just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic, and cook until softened, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and reserved juices; season with salt. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 hour.
Stir in basil (if using), oregano, and season with pepper; continue cooking 1 minute more. Remove from heat and serve.
Right off the bat, I can tell you I would simply substitute the four cloves of garlic for four teaspoons of jarred minced. As for the Oregano, I would equate a pinch to about 1/8 a teaspoon.
It's not helpful that she provides no measurements for the salt and pepper. These can make or break any dish if too heavy handed, or on the opposite spectrum, not generous enough. For me, I'd start with a teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 a teaspoon of pepper, and increase from there to (a maximum) of two teaspoons salt, and one teaspoon pepper.I'm not looking for a sodium fest here.
I would also consider, after tasting, to add some sugar to help bring out the natural sweetness of the tomatoes. Again, starting at 1 teaspoon, and going from there.
Lastly, after adding the basil, oregano, and pepper, I would let this sit covered (off the heat) for an additional thirty minutes (if not overnight). I want these herbs to infuse into the sauce, not be an afterthought. However, I do agree that you don't want to simmer these with the sauce for the hour cook time, as this could make the flavor unbearable.
Since I am adding these at the end, I also want to substitute fresh oregano for the dried. A standard rule of thumb is to use 1/3 dried to fresh. So since her recipe calls for a pinch (1/8 teaspoon) of dried, I'll start with 3/8 fresh.
Everything, at first, is going to be a season to taste experiment, so we'll see where we end up when it's all said an done. Of course, that's a post for another day.
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