My contributions to Thanksgiving this year.
Part 1.
Italian meatballs
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced (optional - I don't use it, I don't like onions very much)
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 eggs
1/4 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional - some people don't like "heat", so I leave it out)
1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onions in hot oil until translucent, about 20 minutes.
Mix beef and pork together in a large bowl. Stir onions, bread crumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and Parmesan cheese into meat mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.
Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
I put the meats in italics because sometimes you can buy what is known as a "meatball/meatloaf" package in the meat section of the supermarket. It's usually a pound of meat, and a mix of 1 part beef, 1 part pork, and 1 part veal. You would just buy the two packages of that to make the two pounds.
Authentic (Quick) Italian Tomato Sauce for Pasta (Spaghetti Sauce)
Ingredients
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 or 5 cloves fresh garlic
small bunch of fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 (28-32 oz) carton/jar of whole, chopped tomatoes or puree
about 1 1/2 level tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher or sea salt
1 tbsp of Italian seasoning
1 tbsp of Oregano
Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano to grate on top
Pour the oil into a large sauté pan (not a deep pot) over medium high heat.
Crush the garlic and add it to the oil (if you want a spicy sauce, you can add some hot pepper, fresh or flakes, at this point). Sauté the garlic until it just starts to brown, then add the parsley.
Turn the heat up to high. Now, add the quality puree (passata) or chopped tomatoes, and quickly cover with the lid for about 30 seconds, until the squirting subsides.
The sauce will thicken quickly, so do not overcook it, and have it become too thick; about 5 to 7 minutes should be sufficient.
Taste the sauce, if it doesn’t taste delicious, it probably just needs a little more salt and you can add some black pepper if you like. Turn off the heat and add the spices and stir well.