Happy Hump Day, blog world!

This week has been a slow one, but the beautiful, cooler weather more than makes up for that. I’m going to get right down to the food today because I’m finally sharing my husband’s amazing spaghetti and meatballs with you!

But first, let’s take a look at What I Ate Wednesday Tuesday.

Breakfast: the first hot oatmeal of the season—apple cinnamon flavored with raw almonds (recycled picture)

Lunch: leftover spaghetti and meatballs (recycled picture)

Afternoon snack: some cantaloupe and a slice of pizza one of our visiting suppliers brought in (couldn’t let it go to waste, obviously)

Dinner: “brinner” of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and fruit

And now for the (soon-to-be) famous recipe!

Miele Spaghetti and Meatballs

Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 (28-oz) cans peeled San Marzano tomatoes (we almost always use Cento)
• 1 large can tomato sauce or puree
• 2 small cans of tomato paste
• 1 onion
• 1 green pepper
• 5 stalks of celery
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• ¼ cup Parmesan-Romano cheese
• 1 bottle of red wine (not all of this goes into the sauce!)
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• olive oil
• red pepper flakes (optional)

Sauce Directions:

1. Begin by chopping the onion, green pepper, and celery (reserve ½ cup for meatball mixture)
2. Open 2 large cans of San Marzano tomatoes. Crush with hands and place in large pot.
3. Fill 1 of the cans with water and pour in the pot.
4. Add celery, onion, and bell pepper to pot (if you prefer, you can also sauté the vegetables prior to adding the tomatoes)
5. Add large can of tomato sauce or puree
6. Add sugar, Italian seasoning, cheese, and 1 ½ – 2 cups of red wine
7. In a separate pan, add olive oil (¼ cup), tomato paste, and minced garlic. Sauté until paste turns to a dark red color (make sure not to burn). When finished, add to pot.
8. Simmer until ready to serve (several hours).

Notes from the chef: I usually cook all day (at least 6 hours) on a low simmer. Periodically I will add water to make the consistency of the sauce I want. Depending on the type of pasta you are serving this with (penne, farfalle, rigatoni), you may prefer a thicker sauce. Typically, I serve mine with Angel Hair pasta and prefer a thinner sauce that will absorb into the pasta. 

Meatball Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 lb ground veal
• 3 tsp. Italian seasoning
• ½ cup of reserved trinity (onion, celery, bell pepper)
• 1 clove minced garlic
• ½ cup Parmesan-Romano cheese
• ½-3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• salt/pepper (about a ½ tsp of each)
• ½ tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

Meatball Directions:

• Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. The desired consistency will allow for the meatballs to retain their shape and stay together. Depending on the exact amount of meat used, you may need to add/subtract breadcrumbs/eggs.
• Preheat oven to 375°.
• As for cooking the meatballs, I have used a variety of techniques, all successful in their own way:

1. In a large baking pan, drizzle olive oil on bottom and place formed meatballs in pan. (I tend to make larger meatballs; typically I will get 15 or so out of the mixture.) Place meatballs in the oven for 40 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature and add to sauce pot. I prefer to add these with about an hour or 2 left in the sauce cooking process on a low heat. If cooked too long, they call begin to fall apart in the sauce.
2. Another variation to the above process is cooking the meatballs for 30-35 minutes and then either turning up the heat to 425 or putting them under the broiler for several minutes to brown them (you would have to flip them once during this cooking time).
3. Another variation includes adding water or wine to the baking dish (enough just to go part way up the side of the meatballs) and covering the meatballs with foil. I utilize this method most often because it keeps the meatballs moist and usually keeps them from sticking to the pan.
4. Finally, a more labor intensive method. I have cooked the meatballs stovetop in a large pan, browning them on all sides and cooking them through. Then, leaving the drippings from the meat (if it isn’t too fatty), I will cook my paste/garlic mixture in this same pan that is added to the sauce.

More notes from the chef: Now, I am not really one to follow measurements in the kitchen, likely why I cannot bake well. So, my sauce tends to be a little different each time, but is ALWAYS amazing. Now, all that is left is enjoying to rest of the wine while the sauce cooks and figuring out what to have for dessert. 

P.S.—I learned that having a splash guard on my sauce pot is a good idea because this concoction tends to pop sauce while it is cooking. A normal person would probably just reduce the recipe instead of cooking for an army of people, but since this is an all day cooker, I like to make a lot to give to family and have for leftovers during the week. Meatball sandwiches generally make an appearance later in the week.

So, there you have it: my husband’s amazingly delicious spaghetti and meatballs. Though we usually end up giving away and eating all of the leftovers, this sauce would also freeze quite well. It’s the perfect comfort food!