The Perfect Meatball....

So I was surfing the web for yummy recipes, when I came across a chef that I wasn't familiar with. His name is Fabio Viviani and he's an Italian chef that has signed on to Yahoo to demonstrate his best Italian recipes. OH my goodness! His demonstration was easy to follow...and I found myself writing his amounts and portions on some scrap paper to later try. Well--today was the blessed day.

And, what a great day it was. My meatballs turned out amazingly delicious and I can't wait to make them again!

http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/the-perfect-italian-meatballs-2606824.html

I followed Fabio's directions on making the perfect tomato sauce first, because you have the perfect tomato sauce to cook the perfect meatballs in. It was sinfully simple. I browned a handful of garlic in olive oil and cooked 4 cans of stewed tomatoes down to a concentrated marinara sauce. The liberal amount of oil kept the sauce from burning and the garlic, which was previously cooked till it was a carmelly-color, just boiled in the tomato juices. Salt and pepper were the only seasonings besides the yummy garlic. I had no idea that it was going to be so simple...it just took time. Fabio said you know when he sauce is done was when the oil turns red. I never knew that!

While it was cooking down, I put 1lb of ground beef in my Kitchen-Aid mixing bowl with 2 cups of Panko bread crumbs, 3/4 c. ricotta cheese, 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 small onion--finely diced, 1 egg, and 2-3 cloves of garlic. I let the mixer do all the work. I shaped the meatballs smaller then Chef Viviani. [I also made a second batch of meatballs and froze them for a quick dinner on another night.]

I followed his instructions of adding a cup of water to the sauce as the meatballs are cooking for 15-20 minutes. The water cooked down into the marinara quite a bit. When I served up the meatballs on a bed of noodles, mixed with olive oil and Parmesan cheese, there wasn't a lot of sauce to add to each plate. The flavors were still amazing and the naked noodles were not lacking in the fanfare.

I'm so glad I gave this recipe a try, because it was a fast family favorite. I teamed the pasta and meatballs with a Spinach salad; topped with fresh raspberries, jicama, red onion, mandarin oranges, and drizzled with a Fuji apple dressing. It was Fantastico! Thanks, Fabio!