Homemade Meatballs For Spaghetti And Meatballs Or Meatball Subs (With Optional Meat Sauce)

 

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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Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

This is one of those recopies that has been floating around the inter-web for so long, with everyone claiming it's their own, that I couldn't even begin to tell you who the originator was. I personally found it on Sugar Spun Run. Whether she created the recipe or not, I won't deny that these bad boys are good, and worthy of being shared. Of course, for my own personal preferences, I have tweaked this.

Original Ingredients

1 Cup Unsalted Butter (I use salted)
1 1/2 Cups Light Brown Sugar (packed)
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
3 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons Corn Starch (I don't use this)
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Cups Chocolate Chips (I use other chocolate)

Melt the butter, and let it sit for about five minutes. Then stir in both the brown sugar and granulated sugar until it's thickened, but somewhat grainy. You're not looking for the sugar to melt.

Add your eggs, and stir again until broken up and thoroughly combined.

Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract, and once again stir to combine. Set this aside.

It should look the color of peanut butter, being smooth in appearance, but a little grainy in texture from the sugar.

In another bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and if you desire, the corn starch.

This should be light any powdery when done.

Give it a gentle stir to incorporate it all together.

Now add in your liquid mixture, and stir it to thoroughly combine. It should be firm, but somewhat sticky.

Here's where the original recipe calls for the chocolate to be added. Sure, you can use a traditional bag of chocolate chips, and those will work just fine. As for me, I like to cut up my own chocolate, using a variety of options. For today, I'm cutting up Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares, but I've also used other chocolate, such as Kit Kat bars. They all work, and provide versatility for flavor options.

Regardless of what you opt for, stir it into your cookie batter.

Once thoroughly combined, chill this in the fridge for thirty minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and scope out two tables spoons of dough, forming this into a ball. I personally prefer to line my baking sheets with parchment paper to avoid potential sticking. Lay these out on your tray, giving enough space for the cookies to expand.

Bake thirteen minutes, and move to a cooling rack to cool. Or eat warm, and burn your face off from the gooey innards. Whatever your preference.

These are fantastic cookies, and whoever created this recipe, my hats off to you. They are probably my favorite cookie recipe I have ever come across, and worth trying for yourself.

Storing them in an airtight container will keep these cookies soft for about a week - Which is about how long they last in my house. This probably isn't too healthy, considering you get about thirty-two cookies from one batch.

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Homemade Seared Japanese Sushi Tuna

 

I'm not a seafood fan by any means. In fact, I can't really stand most iterations of it. However, my girl does, and so quite frequently, I'll make her something strictly pleasing to her taste buds.

Today, that something was seared Japanese Sushi Tuna.

This is a quality cut of meat, and being sushi grade, this is literally ready as is to be sliced and eaten raw. If you're a connoisseur of that kind of eating, then this would probably also be really good to you. However, I'm going to zhuzh it up. Let me show you.

INGREDIENTS

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1/2 Tablespoon Freshly Grated Ginger
Furikake (enough to cover the tuna)

Start by peeling and grating up your ginger. You could technically use a pre-ground powder ginger, but again, this is a quality cut of meat, so I'm going to treat it with a certain level of respect.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and add the ginger to it. Set it aside, and let it sit for about ten minutes.

Spoon the mixture over the tuna, and flip it over, repeating to coat all four sides. Let this sit for another ten minutes to allow the fish some time to absorb some flavor.

On a flat surface, sprinkle some of your furikake to provide a bottom base. Basically, what you want to have happen is that when you put your piece of fish down on it that it immediately adheres, and you don't lose any of that soy sauce mixture to the surface.

You want to reserve that liquid, as well as the ginger, so gently remove the tuna, making sure the brush off a bit of that ginger as you do.

Side Note: What is furikake?

Excellent question.

It's a popular condiment used to season a variety of things, such as rice, vegetables or fish. It usually contains a mixture of dried fish, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar, salt, and MSG. This can be readily found at Asian markets, and a popular brand is Pokekake.

With your furikake in hand, sprinkle a light layer on each side of the fish, gently pressing it down, making sure to also hit both ends.

I'm going to let the meat sit a moment while I focus on my wasabi.

Sure, you can cut to the chase and buy wasabi pre-made in most grocery stores. Or, you can go for the homemade version. Not only is it fresher, but packs one heck of a punch when compared to those prepackaged versions.

Simply take five tablespoons of the powder, and add three tablespoons of water to it. I use spring water, because I want a clean flavor, and you won't get that from most tap water.

Using a rubber spatula, mix and press the water and powder together. You may be tempted to add more water, but don't. Simply keep pressing everything together with the spatula to blend it all into a soft paste.

This is ready as is, but if you flip that bowl over and let the wasabi sit, it will trap gasses, and draw out more heat.

When finished, roll it into a ball, and seal it in plastic wrap to stay soft.

In a medium size frying pan, add a small dollop of sesame oil, and heat it over medium / high heat. As it gets hot, move it around the pan to coat the bottom. You literally want just enough oil to have a shimmer on the pan.

Add your tuna to the pan, and sear each side, making sure to also hit the two ends. This should take no more than thirty to sixty seconds. You're looking for fish to turn brown no more than one centimeter before flipping it. The goal is seared, but raw. Of course, you could cook it to whatever temp you like.

Since I was simply searing it, the quick cook time was not a conducive scenario to take additional photos.

When you've done all sides, and the two ends, remove the fish from the pan, and let it rest.

Turn your heat down to medium, and add your reserved soy sauce mixture, and stir it frequently until it thickens. This will not take long.

I served this over a piece of seaweed, with a side of sticky rice, which I sprinkled with more furikake. This was accompanied by some pickled ginger, and of course, the wasabi I made. The sauce is spooned over the fish, but could also be left on the side, or spooned onto the rice..

Again, fish ain't my thing, so this certainly wasn't something I dove into. My girl on the other hand jumped right in, and enjoyed it down to the last bite.

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