Spaghetti and Meatballs

So I fell off the wagon today just a little.  Or more than a little.  It was inevitable and I blame this book.

It's supposed to be about the author's year long spiritual journey, but so far to me it's just pure food porn!  Fortunately I'm up to the part where she just left Italy so hopefully it will ease up a bit.  I'm finding it a pretty good read, considering it's not about angsty teenage vampires or werewolves.

Which brings us to today's dinner....Spaghetti and Meatballs.

I've made spaghetti with meat sauce at least a million times, but never with meatballs.  Since I was off the wagon, I figured I might as well do it right.

This is a combination of Ina Garten's and Rachael Ray's Recipes.  

It's Ina's sauce, and Rachael's meatballs.  I would have liked to have gone Barefoot Contessa all the way, but Rachael's recipe let me use stuff I already had on hand.  (no fresh ground veal in the house, wouldn't ya know it!)

Rachael has you bake the meatballs rather than frying, which I suppose is a good thing...

Then they finish cooking by simmering in the sauce for about 25 minutes.  

My assessment is they're pretty good meatballs, but I'm not feeling any new spiritual awakening because of them.  

Here are the 2 recipes for you.

Meatballs:

1 1/4 pounds ground sirloin (I just used extra lean ground beef)

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

2 cloves garlic, chopped

salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together, roll into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes.

Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. 

Serve it atop your favorite pasta and enjoy!

Wish me luck getting back on the straight and narrow tomorrow.