12 February 2009

Making Spaghetti & Meatballs with the Barefoot Bloggers




As part of our continued saga of being part of the illustrious group the Barefoot Bloggers Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake has chosen Real Spaghetti and Meatballs from Barefoot Contessa Family Style. A recipe is chosen and the BB's blog about our results on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month.
I couldn't find any ground veal at the grocers I visited but these meatballs were droolworthy without it. Mixing the ingredients with a fork kept the meatballs so light and tender. This recipe is a keeper!!

The Barefoot Bloggers have made 67,848 Friday dinners for Jeffrey!!!!

Today was the last day for submissions to the BloggerAid cookbook...but it is still not too late if you can manage it. A program has been chosen where all the funds raised from the sale of the cookbook will be channeled. Stay tuned for more on this site tomorrow. We are very excited!!

**Spaghetti & Meatballs**

For the meatballs:

1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (4 slices, crusts removed)
1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 extra-large egg, beaten
Vegetable oil
Olive oil

For the 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

1 1/2 pounds spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
Freshly grated Parmesan
***********************
Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs.

Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan.

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 hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan . Best Blogger Tips

26 comments:

  1. Could I have a plate for supper ;-P? It looks really good!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  2. I never realized how lucky I was to have ground veal readily available to me, but as I'm reading all the BB entries I'm starting to get that impression.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jeffery must be as big as a house by now. I should a meat blend a try for meatballs. I always go with ground beef or turkey but the more I read, I figure it can't hurt to try.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow Val- beautifully photographed and inciting instant hunger as usual!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Always a winner in my house!!! Looks delish VAl!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congratulations on the cookbook. The meatballs look great too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Gorgeous meatballs! oh and that terrific sage cap ;) beautiful Val!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I know that according to the comments I leave I love a lot of things and have a lot of favourite foods, but spaghetti and meatballs will always make me happy and satisfied.

    ReplyDelete
  9. My Italian background corroborates the ingredients in the meatballs and sauce -- so I know it was delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is my favorite spaghetti & meatball recipe.

    Congrats on the cookbook.

    ReplyDelete
  11. That is one gorgeous plate....chicken with spinach pasta looked great too........

    ReplyDelete
  12. Who can say no to a dish like this.. one plate is not enough.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh man, I had a wimpy dinner and now seeing this, I'm craving spag & meatballs. Your recipe looks great! I've not used nutmeg in meatballs before; I bet it brings a new flavor into the dish! YUM!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow! These meatballs look scrumptious! Something so simple can be so good!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Meatballs are so much better when you use two kinds of meat. Great recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Lovely meatballs there Val. We make these every few weeks or so and still remains a favourite with my daughter. Of course she helps too!

    Cheers
    David

    ReplyDelete
  17. Woke up this morning wanting spaghetti and meatballs. This is perfect!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh I would love to try Ina's meatballs! Yum.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Its like you read my mind--I've had spaghetti and meatballs on the brain lately. This looks like just what I wish I had ready for dinner tonight!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Looks great!! I would love a bite right now, :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Is there a more content guy than Jeffrey with all these lovely dishes Ina makes for him?

    ReplyDelete
  22. I think this will be a keeper for me, too. Very yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I better make this soon. The boys would drool over this.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Gosh, Valli, I thought I was just a week or so behind in reading, but I guess time got away from me, because I don't remember reading this post about spaghetti and meatballs! The Barefoot Bloggers sounds like a fun group...and Ina's recipes ALWAYS seem sooooo good! I'm going to cruise over to Amazon after I send this note, and perhaps pick up one or two of her books! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  25. I made these tonight and they were fantastic!! These are the best meatballs I've ever eaten AND made myself! The sauce was also fantastic - perfectly flavored - yummy yummy yummy!

    We will have to freeze 2/3 the meatballs though b/c they are way too many for us to eat all at once! Now I have some meals for another day.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Those meatballs are tasty looking!

    ReplyDelete

Welcome to my home. Thank you for choosing to stay a while and for sharing our lives through food. I appreciate all your support, comments, suggestions, and daily encouragement.

Val

This blog uses comment moderation therefore SPAMMERS, SELF-PROMOTERS and ADVERTISERS will be deleted.