Traditional Spaghetti and Meatballs

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating" -Luciano Pavarotti



I love that quote, it is so true and holds a sense of comfort. No matter what, at some point in the hustle bustle of the day we have to stop and eat.  The Italians have always had it right.  Even in present day Italy every day of the week life stops for the midday meal. Between noon and 1p.m., Italians stop to eat.  Unlike here in America, there are NO drive thru's in Italy.  Italians never eat at their desks.  They either go home and prepare a meal, or their place of work or school provides a full on cafeteria with hot meals. The largest meal of the day is that midday meal.  Dinner is very late and usually consist of very light fare, eggs, cheese, olives, bread...

Italian-Americans have continued a small part of that tradition with the Sunday dinner.  In my childhood home every Sunday I woke up to the aroma's of Sunday's meal. Usually meatballs frying and the HUGE pot of sauce on the stove cooking away. The meal would take place around 3 p.m. and last about two hours.  That was the only meal of the day!  Today I'd like to share with you my version of  Tomato Sauce and Meatballs.  Every Italian I have ever met has their own recipe, usually handed down from a mother, grandmother, mother-in-law... Mine started out with my mother's sauce and slowly over the years I have developed my own recipe for it. So join me and let's go into the kitchen and cook...

Pre heat your oven to 400...(for the meatballs)


For the Sauce


6 cans 48 oz. Whole peeled tomatoes (Preferably San Marzano type)
4-6 peeled garlic cloves (left whole)
1 Onion (Very large or two medium), chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
Crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher or Sea Salt
Sugar
2 large Bay Leaves
1/4 cup Fresh Parsley
1/2 cup Fresh Basil
**optional 1/2 cup of any good red drinking wine

On medium heat saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil. In the mean time put the contents of the tomatoes in a blender to puree, you might have to do this in batches.  Add the pureed tomatoes into the sauteed garlic and onion mixture.  Once you have added all your tomatoes,  you will need to add one and one half cans full of water to the pot. Next sprinkle in your crushed red pepper and salt, to taste. Add your bay leaves and wine. Bring to a boil,  and reduce heat to a simmer, partially cover pot and stir occasionally. DO NOT add parsley and basil.  In the meantime prepare your meatballs while your sauce comes to a boil.

For the MEATBALLS: (makes approx. 36)

3lbs of  Ground Beef.....(1lb sirloin, 1lb ground round, 1lb chuck) on occasion I replace the sirloin with ground veal)
1 cup bread crumbs (seasoned is best)
3 slices of any bread soaked in milk (and then squeezed dry)
3 cloves of finely chopped FRESH garlic
3 eggs
1 cup of grated Romano cheese
3 Tbsp of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 Tbsp of Kosher or Sea Salt
Black pepper

In a bowl with the meat combine bread crumbs, bread, garlic, eggs, grated cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix together with your hands making sure everything gets combined well. Now take a little bit of the mixture and cook it in the microwave so that you can taste it for seasonings.
Every good cook checks for taste!! At this point, if it needs more salt or pepper add it, otherwise you are ready to roll!!

I like my meatballs to be uniform in size so I use the old time ice cream scoop..you can use what ever you have or not use anything at all. I use a jelly roll baking pan to bake my meatballs, anything you can bake in or on will work fine.

Scoop them all and then roll.  I use a bowl of water to wet my hands as I roll, it makes for a smooth meatball. They should be tightly placed together on the baking sheet. Once they are ready for the oven I put a 1/4 of an inch of water in the bottom of the pan so the meatballs cook evenly and stay moist.  Cook for approximately 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown in color.  Remove from the oven and place each meatball one by one in the pot of sauce.

At this point taste the sauce for salt and sugar.  If more salt is required, add it.  Next check for sweetness.  Sometimes, I do not have to add sugar because the tomatoes are sweet enough, and sometimes they are very acidic so you need the sugar to balance the acid. I usually start with 1 tbsp of sugar, and go from there. Taste it after adding the first tbsp, then let it cook in before adding in the next tbsp.

Continue to cook for another 30 minutes. In total this sauce should cook for 2 hours.

Remove your Bay leaves.

The last thing I add after turning the sauce off is the basil and parsley.  I find this the best way it stays green and looks and tastes fresh. Just mix the herbs in and Viola! you have your pot of sauce, now all you need is to cook the pasta!

TUTTI A TAVOLA, LA PASTA E PRONTO (Everyone to the table the pasta is ready!!)

Buon Appetito!!