Saturday, December 20, 2008

The Meatballs/Polpette alla Casalinga

These are the meatballs. You know, the special *birthday* meatballs. The ones everyone likes, but they take a while to make. The real deal. The meatballs are from the same book as the pumpkin pie (see below).

2 slices French of Italian or white bread torn into small pieces

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 pound ground chuck

1/4 pound sweet Italian sausage (you may have to buy a whole pack at Kroger, but you can grill the extras).

6 T grated Parmesan

2 T finely chopped parsley

1 T olive oil

2 T finely chopped garlic

1 t finely grated lemon peel

1/4 t ground allspice (actually, mom and I leave this out)

1 1/4 t salt

freshly ground pepper

olive or vegetable oil

1 batch of tomato sauce (recipe above).

Soak pieces of bread in milk for 5 minutes. Then squeeze them dry and discard the milk. Mix in large bowl the bread, egg, ground beef, Italian sweet sausage (cut out of the casings), Parmesan cheese, parsley, 1 T oil, garlic/lemon/all spice, salt and a few grindings of pepper.

Kneed mixture vigorously with both hands until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Shape into 1" diameter balls. Lay them in one layer on a baking sheet or tray. Cover with wax paper when done (or cling wrap -- whatever you have). Heat up one fourth a cup of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet until a light haze forms on top of it. Fry the meatballs about 15 at a time, always shaking the pan or gently turning them with a spoon to keep them brown and round. In 7-10 minutes, the meatballs should be thoroughly cooked. As you cook them, throw them in the pot of sauce. Add oil to the meatball fry pan as needed/scrape pan as needed.

One batch for one restrained King meal. If you want leftovers, you might make two batches. :)

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