My Dad came over for Sunday dinner. I always like to serve hearty food for him plus something that will yield a lot of leftovers. I love sending him home with a bag full of goodies. Here's what I cooked up last night!
Butter Lettuce Salad with Radishes, Sieved Egg, Blue Cheese & Champagne Vinaigrette
I passed a hard boiled egg through my potato ricer. It fluffs up the egg and adds an elegant way to serve egg and it looks almost like cheese!
Slow Braised Meatballs & Bow-tie Pasta
I got this recipe from my good friend Shannon and combined it with a basic sauce recipe from the A16 cookbook. These braised meatballs in tomato sauce were soft, tender, and amazing on their own.
Courtesy of: Cuisine At Home
You can cook these meatballs ahead and then freeze them by placing them on a baking sheet. When hard, remove and store in a freezer bag.
Ingredients:
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
3/4 cub Romano or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth plus 1 cup, separated
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 eggs, beaten
2 T. dried oregano
1 T. garlic, minced
1 T. kosher salt
1 T. ground black pepper
2 t. dried basil
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes
Pinch nutmeg
2 lb. ground chuck
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400degrees
2. Stir together all ingredients (except for the ground meat and 1 cup of beef broth) in a large mixing bowl
3. Add the ground beef and mix together thoroughly
4. Using a portioning scoop or 2 spoons, shape the meat mixture into balls (about 2" diameter or 1 1/2oz each)
5. Coat a baking sheet or shallow roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray. Space the meatballs on the pan so they're not touching or crowded together
6. Cover the pan with beef broth. Bake for 25 minutes or until meatballs are just cooked through. Repeat for additional batches
For the sauce:
Courtesy of: A16 cookbook
1 28oz can whole San Marzano Tomatoes
Pass tomatoes and juices through a medium disk of a food mill
Place meatballs in baking dish and cover with tomato sauce
Cover dish with foil
Bake at 300 degrees for 1-1/2 hours
Add chopped basil and freshly grated pecorino cheese and serve with pasta of your choice.
