My Go-To Meatball Recipe

I don't know what it is about me that I'm obsessed in finding that perfect meatball recipe. I have a few meatball recipes on my blog, but this one is probably my favorite (and I know I always say that out ever recipe I put on here).

This recipe is originally called "Grandma Maronis Meatballs 100 Year Old Recipe" and I saw it on an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay (and yes, I know I keep saying I can't stand Bobby Flay but I just can't help but watch that show). 

I've made this recipe about 5 times now and here are a few tips: use fresh bread crumbs, if possible; I only use 3 large eggs and one large finely diced shallot instead of the onion. Also, add half of the milk first and mix; if the mixture seems slightly very moist but still holds it's shape, then don't add the remainder. You want your meatball mixture to be slightly on the wetter side. Lastly, I add a half cup of grated mild cheddar because I just love it in the meatballs. 

INGREDIENTS (makes 16 meatballs)

• 1 pound ground chuck
• 4 ounces dried bread crumbs
• 4 large eggs
• 4 ounces whole milk
• 6 ounces grated Romano
• 3 ounces grated Spanish onion
• 2 ounces finely diced fresh garlic
• 2 ounces finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 2 ounces finely chopped fresh basil leaves

DIRECTIONS 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in large bowl. If mixture seems a little loose add more bread crumbs.

Roll meatballs loosely about the size of a golf ball and place on baking sheet. Place them close to each other so that they hold their shape. Place into preheated oven for approximately 35 to 40 minutes.

Once they are done, you can add them to your favorite sauce and simmer them in the gravy or serve over spaghetti and marinara sauce. Enjo
y!

Linguine with Butter, Pecorino, Arugula and Black Pepper and Seared Jumbo Shrimp

This is one of Giada's recipes I saw on the Food Network about a week ago and it seemed easy enough. The only changes I made was that I used a mixture of Pecorino Romano and grated Manchego cheese, and I used spaghetti instead of linguine. I also cut the recipe in half because it's just me and baby fetus right now. I topped the spaghetti with seared jumbo shrimp that I quickly marinated in a little store bought pesto. This is a quick meal that I whipped up after a full day of travel and it certainly hit the spot and baby Blaha loved it!

INGREDIENTS (4 servings)

• Salt
• 1 pound linguine
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups very finely grated Pecorino Romano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup coarsely chopped arugula
• 12 Jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined
• store bought pesto

DIRECTIONS

Place shrimp in a ziploc bag and add 1/4 cup of your favorite store bought pesto. Marinate in the fridge 15 to 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the linguine and cook until it is al dente, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, sear or grill the shrimp until just done.

Immediately toss the hot pasta in a large bowl with the butter to coat. While tossing the linguine, gradually sprinkle the cheese, pepper, and enough of the reserved cooking liquid evenly over the linguine to moisten. Add the arugula and toss to combine. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt.

Divide the pasta among 4 plates and place 3 seared shrimps on each plate and serve.

Turkey Meatballs

After four tries, I've finally come up with the perfect, flavorful and juicy turkey meatballs. Yes, you heard right: turkey. I believe that the key to these meatballs are fresh breadcrumbs, none of that store bought stuff. I also think that the cheese adds additional creaminess. The recipe is a combination of a Dave Baggs ground beef meatball recipe slightly altered by me. The reason I do turkey instead of ground beef is because there are members in my family that don't eat red meat.

Use these turkey meatballs in a meatball sub and top with your favorite marinara sauce or use them in spaghetti (make it whole wheat spaghetti if you want to add more fiber and protein to your diet) and you will have yourself a really good, hearty meal and you won't even miss the ground beef!

INGREDIENTS (makes 24 to 28 meatballs)

• 2 to 2-1/2 lb. ground turkey
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes or 4 Tablespoons of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups fresh, soft breadcrumbs
• 1 cup grated mild cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients until they are well distributed. Don't worry about overmixing. Place it in the fridge for 30 minutes to let the breadcrumbs absorb all the flavors.

Form turkey mixture into golf-sized meatballs.

Place them in a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn meatballs over and bake another 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. At this point you can store them and use them the next day (I find that leaving them in the fridge overnight makes the meatballs taste better the next day) or place them in freezer bags and freeze and store whenever you need to use them.

To make fresh breadcrumbs: place 1/2" pieces of French bread or thick white bread in a food processor and whiz until you get your breadcrumbs.

To make a very simple marinara sauce: saute 1 large minced garlic clove in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 30 seconds. Add 1 teaspoon fresh oregano and 1 bay leaf. Let it saute 30 more seconds. Add one (28 oz) can of "6 in 1 Tomato Sauce" and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and several grinds of black pepper. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if needed.

Pasta, Eggs and Bacon

I have been in a cooking funk lately, and I think it has to do with me being preggers. I just had no motivation to cook. All I was craving was oatmeal and fruit, but my cravings seem to change on a weekly basis. Then, suddenly, today I wanted bacon! If you recall, just the smell of bacon would make me nauseous during the first trimester of my pregnancy, but today I was craving it. To make matters worse, I was craving spaghetti alla carbonara and that's definitely something my doctor would not recommend I have. Authentic carbonara is spaghetti with lightly beaten eggs (or egg yolks) that are just barely cooked with the heat of the pasta, giving the pasta a shiny, eggy sauce that is nowhere near scrambled. Some people shy away from this dish because the eggs are not fully cooked all the way. So, I had to come up with my own variation and that's why this is pasta, eggs and bacon because it's nowhere near authentic carbonara, but dang, was it tasty!

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

• 1/4 pound spaghetti
• 4 thick cut bacon slices, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more for sprinkling
• Coarse salt and fresh black pepper
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• pinch of red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt is very generously and add your spaghetti and cook 8 minutes or according to package directions.

In the meantime, cook bacon pieces in a skillet just until nicely browned and crisp. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Reserve 1 teaspoon of the bacon grease. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half and 1/4 cup Parmesan, a tiny pinch of salt and some fresh ground black pepper.

Place the reserved bacon grease back in the pan (no need to clean it out) and reduce heat to medium. Add the garlic and cook gently until it becomes fragrant. Your pasta should be done by now. Drain the pasta and add the pasta to the skillet. Raise heat back up to medium-high and working quickly, add the egg-milk mixture, the bacon bits and the peas. Keep tossing the pasta until all strands are coated with the egg sauce and keep cooking and tossing until the eggs just begin to set and just barely start to scramble and there is no raw egg left. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Sprinkle a little more Parmesan and just a tiny pinch of red pepper flakes. This makes a great breakfast dish, too!

Spaghetti with Caramelized Shallots

I haven't been watching much Rachael Ray on Food Network lately only because she had begun to annoy me (just like Paula Deen). I truly don't know what it is about these ladies that annoy me, perhaps it's that they use the same catch phrases all the time. But anyway, I digress.

What caught my eye about this recipe from Rachael Ray is that the spaghetti just looked too easy to make and it only had a few ingredients. The recipe below is for 4 people; naturally I halved it since it's just 1 and 3/8th's right now. And since I ran out of Parmigiano I used the leftover Mizithra, but next time I will definitely add the fresh Parmigiano.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 10 shallots, halved, then thinly sliced
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
• A generous handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

DIRECTIONS

Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a high-sided skillet. Add garlic and shallots. Season with salt and pepper, then gently cook to caramelize them, 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, heat a large pot of water to boil for pasta, salt the water very liberally, then add spaghetti to rolling boil. Cook to al dente.

Add three ladles of starchy pasta water, about 1 1/4 cups, to the shallots and stir.

Drain pasta and add to shallots. Add the parsley and cheese and more black pepper, to taste. Toss 1-2 minutes for liquid to absorb and serve.

Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter Spaghetti

When my brothers and I were little, my dad and Elaine used to take us chichinos (our tias gave us that nickname) to the Old Spaghetti Factory on special occasions. It was probably one of our favorite places to go, next to Disneyland and IHOP. We LOVED going there and I think my brothers, Tom & Bobby, look forward to playing the Pac-Man video game they had in the lounge.

Then a few years ago this landmark restaurant was closed to make room for fancy schmanzy restaurants and high-end hotels. But luckily this year OSF re-opened (I'm thinking the economy had something to do with it). The restaurant is half the size it used to be; the charm it used to have is gone, and Pac-Man is no where to be found. But at least we have an affordable restaurant back in downtown SD. This dish is one of OSF's signature dishes. The secret is being patient in browning the butter and of course in using this wonderful Greek cheese, mizithra.

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

• 4 oz. butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup Mizithra cheese, freshly grated
• 1/2 pound spaghetti or angel hair pasta
• Chopped parsley, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

First, cook your pasta in a large bowl of salted water. Cook according to package directions.

Cut 1 stick of butter into 4 pieces and place in a sauce pan. Place the pan on a burner on medium heat. Bring butter to a slow boil (about 5 minutes).

Once the butter begins to boil, stir constantly to prevent residue from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As the butter cooks, it will start to foam and rise. With a spoon remove as much foam as you can by lightly skimming it off.

Once most foam is removed, cook until amber in color (about 1 to 2 minutes). It will have a pleasant caramel aroma. Turn off the heat and remove pan from burner. Let the sediment settle to the bottom of the pan for a few minutes.

Pour the brown butter through a fine sieve into a small bowl. Do not disturb the residue at the bottom of the pan.

Drain pasta and divide into two servings. Spread 1/4 cup of Mizithra over each pasta serving. Top with 1/4 cup of hot brown butter. Sprinkle chopped parsley and enjoy!

Spaghetti and Meatballs, Part Deux

You know, I'm kind of digging Chef Anne Burrell. She has a new show on the Food Network and she's very down to earth, funny, her food is fabulous and she seems to have ADD, but it works for her. She made this homemade meatballs and marinara sauce on her last show and I just couldn't believe how simple and easy she made it seemed. So, of course, I had to try it, and yes, it was easy. It was simple. It's true what your mom says: sometimes the best food comes from the simplest ingredients. Anyway, if you plan to make this recipe, I suggest your start early because the marinara does need to simmer a few hours. Don't forget the Chianti, because spaghetti and meatballs begs for it!

INGREDIENTS (makes 18 - 20 meatballs)

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, 1/4-inch dice
• Salt
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• Pinch crushed red pepper
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup water
• Marinara Sauce, recipe follows

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil, about 1 tablespoon, add the onions and bring to a medium-high heat. Season the onions generously with salt and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. The onions should be very soft and aromatic but have no color. Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl combine the meats, eggs, Parmigiano, parsley and bread crumbs. It works well to squish the mixture with your hands. Add the onion mixture and season generously with salt and squish some more. Add the water and do one final really good squish. The mixture should be quite wet. Test the seasoning of the mix by making a mini hamburger size patty and cooking it. The mixture should taste really good! If it doesn't it is probably missing salt. Add more. Add more anyway.

Shape the meat into desired size. Some people like 'em big some people like 'em small. I prefer meatballs slightly larger than a golf ball. Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil and bring to a medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked all the way through. Add them to your big pot of marinara sauce. If not using right away, they can be frozen for later use. Serve with pasta and sauce or just eat them straight out of the pot!

Marinara Sauce (makes 2 quarts)

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 pound diced pancetta
• 2 large Spanish onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• Kosher salt
• 1 Bay leaves
• 4 large garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
• 4 (28-ounce) cans Italian plum San Marzano tomatoes

DIRECTIONS

Coat a large saucepot with olive oil and add the pancetta. Bring the pot to a medium-high heat and cook the pancetta for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, season generously with salt and stir to coat with olive oil. Cook the onions for 6 to 7 minutes stirring frequently. The onions should become very soft and aromatic but have no color. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes stirring frequently.

Pass the tomatoes through the food mill. Be sure to pass all of the pulp through the holes leaving only the stems and the seeds, and be sure to scrape the pulp off of the bottom of the food mill. That's all of the big money stuff! Add the tomatoes to the pot and rinse out 1 of the empty tomato cans with water and add that water to the pot (about 2 to 3 cups). Add the bay leaf. Season generously with salt and TASTE IT!!!! Tomatoes take a lot of salt. Season in baby steps and taste every step of the way. Cook the sauce for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and tasting frequently.

Use the sauce right away on pasta or for any other tomato sauce need. This sauce can also be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for a few days and freezes really well.

Recipe courtesy Anne Burrell

Spaghetti & Meatballs a la Baggs

This past Christmas my sister-in-law, Lindsey, made us the most delicious spaghetti and meatballs from an old Baggs family recipe. The recipe is quite easy; it's just the waiting (for the sauce to be perfect and meatballs to simmer) that's excruciating to a hungry crowd. This is one of those recipes you can make the day before and the flavors will only get better the next day. Also, you can use ground turkey, if you prefer, and the meatballs will be just as juicy.

INGREDIENTS

Sauce

• ¼ cup minced onions
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• ¼ tsp cloves
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tsp sage
• 3 ½ cups canned tomatoes
• 1 ½ tsp oregano
• 2 sm. Cans tomato paste
• ½ tsp basil
• 3 cups water

DIRECTIONS

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil until opaque. Add remaining ingredients and simmer at least one hour.

Meatballs

• 2 lbs ground chuck
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 eggs beaten
• 2 Tbs dried parsley
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 cups soft breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 cup grated American or mild cheddar cheese
• 2 packages spaghetti

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients, except spaghetti, in mixing bowl and mix well. Shape meatballs and brown quickly in olive oil. Add to the sauce about 1 hour before serving. About 12 minutes before serving, cook spaghetti according to package directions. This will serve about 8 people.

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

This dish is said to have orginated with the streetwalkers in ancient Naples, when they neede a quick hot meal. That is why it is called puttanesca. The name puttanesca is a derivation of puttana, which in Italian means "whore." According to one story, the name purportedly comes from the fact that the intense fragrance of this sauce was like a siren's call to the men who visited such "ladies of pleasure." I don't know how true this story is, but it sure makes a great conversation starter!

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

• 1 lb.linguini (or spaghetti or buccatini)
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. anchovy paste
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 3 cups (two 14.5-oz. cans) canned diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 Tbsp. oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, minced
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
• 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried)
• 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp. brined capers, drained and rinsed
• Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Saute the garlic, anchovy paste, and pepper flakes in a saute pan over medium heat. Stir, cooking for 30 seconds—it will smell strong because of the anchovies.

Add tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, brown sugar, and vinegar; stir to combine. Simmer sauce until slightly reduced, 10–15 minutes. Add the olives, herbs, capers, and salt (if necessary) to the sauce, plus some pasta cooking water if it seems thick. Simmer a couple of more minutes.Transfer the sauce to a large shallow bowl and top with the drained pasta. Toss until pasta is evenly coated with sauce. Serve and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top...don't forget to serve it with garlic bread.

Spaghetti a la Bolognese

Instead of going out for cocktails or a wine tasting on a Friday night, sometimes my husband and I like to stay home. This gives me an opportunity to create recipes I found on the internet and test them on my husband! Since I'm an avid reader of Simply Recipes, I saw a Quick Bolognese Sauce recipe. I also found a Simple Bolognese recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, who has her own show on the Food Network. And since I usually like to experiment myself, I combined both recipes, more or less, and came up with a pretty good tasting bolognese sauce.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 pounds ground chuck beef
• 3/4 cup medium-bodied wine, such as Chianti
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 to 1 cup low sodium chicken broth (if necessary)**
• 4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
• 2 pounds cooked spaghetti

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and cook until transluscent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic; saute for another minute. Add the bay leaf, celery and carrot and saute for 5 minutes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes.
2. Raise heat to high and add the ground beef. Saute, stirring frequently and breaking up any large lumps and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Stir in the wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in tomatoes; cook until flavors come together, about 40 minutes. **If sauce gets too thick, add low sodium chicken broth 1/4 cup at a time until desired consistancy is achieved.
3. Lastly, add the basil leaves, salt (if necessary) and black pepper and cook an additional 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving and finish bolognese with Pecorino Romano.

Serves 8 hungry Hobbits or 6 humanoids.

Spaghetti with Mizithra

If I have one weakness when I diet, it is pasta. Fussili, spaghetti, penne, angel hair, you name it, I love it all. But there is one pasta dish that I miss ever since The Old Spaghetti Factory closed its doors in San Diego in January 2005. They had a great yet simple dish called Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese. OSF states that "Homer lived on this toothsome treat...while composing the Iliad." If that's true, then I better start composing my great epic poem. This spaghetti has a sauce of browned butter, garlic and mizithra cheese, which is a hard goat cheese. Talk about simple yet intense flavor. I looked up the recipe online and I was suprised how close it came to the actual dish. So if you're craving spaghetti, try this recipe. For the spaghetti you will need: (serves 6)

• 1/4 c Olive oil
• 2 Garlic cloves, minced
• 4 TBSP. unsalted butter
• 1 lb Spaghetti, cooked/drained
• 1/2 c Parmesan, freshly grated
• 1/2 c Mizithra cheese, freshly grated
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 c Parsley, chopped for garnish

1. Boil the pasta until just barely tender. 2. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan and add the butter. Cook until butter begins to foam and slightly brown. Add the chopped garlic and saute for about 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant but don't let the garlic burn. Set aside. 3. Drain and toss the spaghetti with the olive oil, butter and garlic, then add the remainder of the ingredients: parmesan, mizithra, chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Italian Sausage Meatballs

Sunday dinners to me usually consist of spaghetti and meatballs because, as a child, my parents used to take us to the Old Spaghetti Factory in Downtown, San Diego. Unfortunately, the restaurant is closed now but my childhood memories still prevail. Last night I made my husband's favorite: Spaghetti and meatballs. I bought the ready-made meat sauce at the Mona Lisa deli counter. I also picked up about a pound of ground sausage--if you don't have an Italian deli near you, just get your favorite red pasta sauce and a package of Italian Sausages. Remove the casings from the sausages and mush it all together like ground meat). First turn on oven to 400 F. Then mix the ground sausage with 1 egg, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 2 TBSP pasta sauce, 1/2 TSP. kosher salt, and ground garlic, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes to taste. If the mixture is too loose, add a bit more breadcrumbs. You want the consistency to make 8 large (about 1-1/2" diameter) meatballs. Fry the meatballs on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes per side. You don't need to add oil to the skillet because the sausage meat should have enough fat in it. (If you are using lean sausage, then add one teaspoon of olive oil). Next, line a baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly spray with PAM or olive oil. Place the meatballs in the pan and bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes, or until cooked through.

While the meatballs are baking, start to boil a large pot of water for the spaghetti. Make sure to season the water with a large dash of kosher salt. Once the water boils, add your pasta (1/2 lb for 2 people, 1 lb for 4 people) and cook based on package directions.

Place the of meat sauce (or your favorite pasta sauce) in another sauce pan and start to simmer it on low.

Take the meatballs out of the oven and add them to the simmering sauce and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Your pasta should be done by now, make sure to drain it well. Once drained, place the pasta back into the same pot it was cooked in and add about a teaspoon of olive oil to keep it separated. Now you are ready to serve. Place a mound of spaghetti and top with your meat sauce and two meatballs. Garlic bread goes well with this meal and so does Lambrusco wine. Believe me, this will be your favorite Sunday meal!

This meal will serve 4 very hungry Minnesotans.