Wil's homemade Italian style meatballs.
Luckily I have a Kitchen Aid mixer which makes the whole process easier. Depending upon how many meatballs you want purchase half ground beef (the good lean stuff) and half grund pork in quanities that will do the trick. A pound of each and you will be able to make a dozen good sized meatballs.
Add the meat to the mixing bowl, if you have to mix by hand make sure you use a large enough bowl to save making an overflow mess later..
Add to either bowl the following: four eggs (or less if smaller batch), sprinkle in a good sized portion of Progresso Italian seasoned bread crumbs (this takes touch and you need to offset to much bread crumbs with water to gain the right consistancy to form the meatballs later), but the bread crumbs and eggs will keep the meatballs from breaking up to easily, both are necessary ingredients.
Next add seasonings such as oregano, basil, majoram, rosemary, thyme, sage, salt and pepper - all to taste.
Finley chop one or two medium sized onion (this is a cooks preference, personally I don't use many onions) and add to bowl.
Now for my secret, finely slice but not chop several garlic parts (like they did in Goodfellas while cooking in jail, the razor balde is not necessary - just a very sharp paring knife that will allow you to slice the garlc thin (for me the more the merrier when it comes to garlic) add the garlic to the mix. Next add a quarter to half a cup of grated parmesean cheese (again according to batch size). Now you are good to go onto the cooking stage..
Next on low with a wide pretzel like blade mix everything in the mixer or if you have to do it by hand then use a large bowl and hand knead until everything is throughly mixed, adding water as you go to gain the consistancy you will need to shape firm but not dry raw meatballs.
Once the ingredients are all well mixed I slowly run warm water from my tap to keep my hands wet as I shape the meatballs to the preferred size. You don't have to make softball sized meatballs to make them good, more like billiard ball size is fine.
I place each meatball none touching the other in a glass baking pan thinly coated with olive oil. Making 15 large meatballs will require two glass baking pans. You can also you metal sheets but be sure to lightly coat them with olive oil.
Preheat your oven to 350 and bake for 50 minutes or so (longer for huge meatballs). If you have a big pot of spagetti sauce simmering add several of the meatballs after they are cooked into the sauce and place the rest in a separate bowl and lightly cover with hot sauce if you are gong to serve imediately. If you don't want a flat spot on one side of the meatballs turn them over halfway thru the cooking process with a pair of prongs.
In the meantime have your sauce prepared and simmering hot and your pasta cooked to taste and also hot but not under hot water where it will continue to cook - spagetti el dente is always popular.
Serve with grated romano or parmesean cheese and fresh Italian bread and butter. Wine is optional.
Bon Appetit. wil...:drink:
We need the Don Wilheim to show us how to make godfather meatballs
...and Rob I agree about making waffles, definately not all its cracked up to be.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, egg yolks, vanilla, and 1/4 cup melted butter. Whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture until a batter is formed. Take care not to over mix the batter.
In medium bowl, with a hand-held electric mixer or whisk, whip the 3 egg whites until they just begin to hold a loose peak. Scatter the sugar over the whites and continue beating until they hold a soft peak. Using a rubber spatula, fold a third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten the base. Fold in the remaining whites.
Brush the inside surface of the iron with butter. Pour in enough batter to lightly cover the surface of the iron, about 1/3 to 3/4 cup, depending upon the size of the iron. (Take into consideration that the batter will spread once the lid is closed.) Cover and cook until golden brown and slightly crisp, about 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter. (If the waffle iron is well seasoned or nonstick it is not necessary to brush the inner surface each time before cooking the waffles.)
WTF?
Cant you just blend it all together and pour it in?
just spent all day makin FRESH lasagna....inlaws in from outta town hit broadway 4 a matinee and i got to stay at home in peace and cook...two trays freshly polished off...nothin more relaxin than some cold ones, good tunes, and some fresh cookin goin on