Meatballs

Meatballs!

Everyone has that special recipe that they hold near and dear to their heart.  Typically its a family favorite handed down from generation to generation.  Something so special that you’ve contemplated putting it in a safety deposit box for fear it may be lost or stolen.  But what if that recipe never even existed, even though you thought it should have?

I previously mentioned that my mom was born in Italy.   Therefore she certainly had a special meatball recipe, right?  How could a woman who cooked as well as she did not bring her version of this tasty concoction with her when she left the old country?  The meatball was born there.  So was she.  What the hell!  WHY?????

This is a woman who had hundreds of recipes written on everything from traditional note cards to the back of a napkin, but nary a meatball recipe in the lot.  I cringe at the thought that I don’t have a handed down recipe of this Italian born round mound of meat.

But wait, did she even make meatballs?  Surely I would remember this.  If she made them I probably helped.  I helped in the kitchen whenever I could and this would be no exception.  But zero memories.  Nada. Zip. Zilch.

So maybe the recipe isn’t missing….maybe it never even existed.

Ingredients:

Meatball Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds Ground Chuck
• 1/4 pound Ground Pork
• 4 slices of  soft white bread, crust removed, cubed (soaked in 4 tablespoons of milk, then squeezed to remove excess moisture)
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup of grated romano cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1/2 tablespoon ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place all ingredients in a large bowl.

Using your hands, mix all ingredients until well incorporated.  Try not to over mix as this may cause the meatballs to get tough.

Using a scoop (for uniformity) or your hand, form in to balls (roughly the size just smaller than a golf ball) and place on a wire rack on a sheet pan lined with foil.

Foil lined sheet pan. Wire rack on top. Ready to bake

Bake on a wire rack in oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown and no longer pink inside.

Baked Balls

Add as a side dish to (my) pasta or serve as is, topped with sauce (which I’ll blog about soon) and grated cheese.

Mangiare!