(Wait – “real” meatballs? As opposed to, what, mock meatballs made from Ritz Crackers?)
There’s only one problem with these meatballs. No matter how many I make, I never have leftovers for the freezer.
Feeding my crew is a somewhat daunting task. The more time consuming a dish is, the more the five of them always like it. And the more they like it, the more they eat. And the more they eat, the less chance for me to have extra so I can save work on a lazy day and pull something dazzling out of the freezer.
I try. I really do. This time I started with five pounds of ground meat. That’s two-and-a-half times the original recipe. Plus I made the meatballs a smidge smaller than I usually do, hoping to fake out the dudes. I figured they’d eat the same number of meatballs as usual, but I’d wind up with almost half left to freeze and defrost on a snowy day.
I’m serious. Literally – meatballs as far as the eye can see.
“So how’d that work out for ya, Slick?”
Yeah. Not so good.
Started with 50 meatballs. Ended up with 12 leftovers. (Hmmmm….50 minus 12…cross out the 5, make it a 4…10 minus 2 is 8…) That’d be 38 meatballs – gone! I ate two. TWO! Couldn’t even fathom cutting into a third. Which means my five housemates here scarfed THIRTY. SIX. MEATBALLS. Really, it’s absurd for me to freeze a dozen meatballs. That’s snack fare for an oinker or two. Which is exactly what happened the next afternoon when the lucky first-home, first-served customers got off the school bus. By 3:30 p.m., there was zippedy-doo-dah evidence of meatballs.
Delish meatballs they are. The recipe calls for a mix of ground beef, pork and veal (although I usually omit the veal and double up on the pork). I think they’d probably be stellar with all beef as well. They’re light, flavorful and simple to make. I get a little crust on them in a pan, drain ’em, and toss ’em into a big pot of sauce to finish cooking. And now, of course, I’m hungry. For meatballs. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out this afternoon.
Book: Barefoot Contessa Family Style
Chef: Zack, Andrea & David
Active time: 45 mins Inactive time: n/a Potchke factor: 1.5
Very cleverly written.
I’m sitting here preparing the fresh breadcrumbs for my batch!
All agreed …..too delish
Many memories of my mother making meatballs for the seven of us…with an Italian father we had pasta and meatballs often…and she’d put the tiny ones in her lasagna and also soup which I think now I see called Italian wedding soup but we just called hers ” meatball soup”!
Brought a smile this early morning to read your post.
Gracie!!
Love it! Thanks so much for sharing, Suzanne!