Spaghetti and Meatballs

Everyone has a favorite spaghetti and meatballs recipe, right? Wrong! I had not been satisfied with really any that wasn't out of a glass jar (sad huh) in quite some time. I would try and try but was getting nowhere. But tonight - victory!

The secret (at least for my tastes) is to do the sauce in two parts - one part is the drainings from whole canned, peeled tomatoes reduced with wine and sherry vinegar (and sugar AND basil AND sage) and left to barely simmer on the stove. Take the other goodies (chopped carrots, onions, celery, (mirepoix for y'all back home) and some smashed garlic (lots!)) and broil them with some oil and pepper until the onions are browning, then add the whole, peeled tomatoes and bake for fifteen minutes or so. Mash that in with the reduction on the stove until your desired consistency is reached.

For the meatballs, I have started mixing them in the handy mixer (meat, egg, seasoning) and then baking the shaped meatballs until 120F, and then finishing them off in the pan. It helps keep the meatballs from breaking apart and is much more consistent in temperature from one to the other.

Noodles are...well...noodles. Angel hair tonight. Pretty boring!

All together with some lemon broccoli and it's a good meal for sure.

What good is cooking with wine if you can't enjoy a little? Also - photographing pasta is not something I can do yet. Looks nasty, but it really was good!