Let's talk spaghetti and meatballs

I only wear a white shirt when I eat spaghetti and meat balls so that I can just bleach it afterward.

Pretty standard American fare anywhere in the country..

Damn, that looks good right now OP.

Better than pizza.

Well, you start by throwing away your colander . . .

I like to slurp the pasta, getting the sauce all over my face, then licking my chops.

Overly complicated. Easier to just have a meat sauce where the meat is spread evenly through the sauce. Why go through the extra work of cutting up the meatball and then mixing while eating?

It's one of my favorite dishes, but I haven't had it since my Mom died, 5 years ago. Her meatballs were awesome, and I haven't attempted to make my own. You really do want homemade meatballs, preferably, made by a loving mother, aunt or grandmother.

What's supposed to be so mysterious and "iconic" (to use an extremely overused buzzword) about spaghetti and meatballs? Just look up a recipe and go from there either online or in some cookbook. It supposedly isn't well known in Italy as it was developed in the US probably in Italian restaurants and mainly for non-Italian customers. Italians use less sauce on their pasta generally speaking than Americans who tend to drown the pasta in sauce. That said, Americans generally now are becoming more aware of sauces for pasta other than tomato or tomato-meat sauce. I've also read that the idea of serving bread with pasta is not usually done among Italians because the pasta itself is regarded as a form of bread. Tomato or "red" sauces are more of a southern Italian and Sicilian thing as is pasta or macaroni itself. Northern Italy favors more sauces other than red ones although they use red there too. Arborio rice comes from the north. OP, any simple Italian cookbook will tell you all this and your local library undoubtedly has at least one.

easy peasy recipe- boil spaghetti until tender. drain spaghetti. fry hotdogs. add in spaghetti. put on plate. mix in lots of ketchup and enjoy.

My favorite! I make it a few times a year and always make enough to freeze. I like small, golf-ball size meatballs. I season with onions, garlic, basil, oregano and black pepper. I use a 3:1 mixture of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and mix all together with a beaten egg. The secret is to brown them first and then cook in the sauce. I rarely ever eat bread, but for spaghetti and meatballs it's a must. Sometimes I will make garlic bread, otherwise just have it with butter. I like to add a fork twirl of spaghetti to the bread and have an openfaced spaghetti sandwich. And you need the bread crust to mop up the last bits of gravy from the pasta bowl.

If I ate this every day I would definitely type fat.

I once had to make 150 meatballs for a party, so I just bought 4C seasoned bread crumbs (on sale) and added hose, garlic powder and s&p to the ground beef. People were literally raving about them. That's my go to recipe now, because if it ain't broke and all that.

^those not hose, because that would be chewy.

Usually I agree with R7 - But the Caroline Manzo meatballs are the best I've ever had!

ingredients:

1 cup chopped onion 2 cloves garlic 1/4 cup chicken broth 1 lb. ground beef 1 lb. ground pork 1 lb. ground veal (or lamb) 1 1/4 cup panko style breadcrumbs (or 2/3 cup regular plain breadcrumbs) 4 eggs 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 1 teaspoon Crushed Salemme Pepper (or 2 teaspoons regular red pepper flakes) 1/2 cup chopped parsley 2 teaspoons kosher salt olive oil

Place the chopped onion, garlic cloves and chicken broth in a blender or food processor and blend well. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients as well as the garlic-onion mixture and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Put a couple drops of olive oil on your hands and begin to roll the mixture between your palms to the desired size meatball which you place on a cookie sheet; when your hands start to get sticky, wash them off, re-oil them, and begin again until the meatball mixture is gone. Fill a large skillet with about 1/4 inch of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, place the meatballs in the skillet in batches, without crowding the skillet. Cook them for 3-4 minutes, then flip them and cook them on the other side, about 2 minutes. Drain them on paper towels. Continue until all meatballs are browned. If you plan to eat them right away, make your sauce and heat the meatballs through in the sauce. If you plan to freeze them, allow them to cool thoroughly before doing so.

When I was 8, my grandfather took me to Le Pavillon, then the leading haute French restaurant in NYC, for lunch and told me I could have whatever I wanted. I asked for spaghetti and meatballs. The waiter was not amused. I next requested hotdogs and baked beans. We quietly left and went to the last remaining Horn and Hardart.

^I might add that my cousin Jimmy would happily have eaten a whole veal kidney to impress Grandpa.

Best stuff ever

That's warm, R8, loving. I don't mind cheating … a jar of sauce, a thawed bag of little meatballs available in packs in the frozen food cases. Worth a try.

I've always loved meat sauce, either home or commercially made. Years later I read an Internet page about various pastas, some better with a heavy sauce than others. I dunno', I like 'em all. But the page is fun. Take a look.

NEVER drain the pot against a lid.

I just had a Banquet frozen dinner.

My Italian grandmother drained her pasta against the lid. Without using the colander meant one less thing to wash after dinner after having been in the kitchen all day. The meat balls she made were always made with just beef, no pork or veal. They were fried until almost done, then finished in the sauce. Pork sausage with fennel added to pot of sauce. These were browned well first. Sometimes we had braciole. Recipes for this vary, even among family members. Ditto for meatballs . No saucing the pasta in the pot, although I admit to liking the pasta sauced that way. We ate bread with the meal, and sopped up any sauce on the plate with it. We are talking about genuine Italian bread, NOT the soft stuff sold in the supermarket. Salad followed the meal, served on the same plate. Our family never, and I do mean never, had sauce out of the jar until years after she died. The stuff out of a jar is so gross. Make your own, it will be delicious, no matter the recipe.

And we called it sauce, not gravy.

My partner whipped this up just last night!

You make it easily (store bought sauce and meatballs) or you can make everything from scratch yourself.

Always loved it growing up and always will.

I just made it last Saturday. Lasted me up until Wednesday. I always make a huge pot to share with family.

[quote]easy peasy recipe- boil spaghetti until tender. drain spaghetti. fry hotdogs. add in spaghetti. put on plate. mix in lots of ketchup and enjoy.

Oh, fank you! You fixded my 'sketti!

I never got the appeal until I had it at Antonuccis on East 81st Street. So good. But I’ve never liked it anywhere or by anyone else.

Love spaghetti!

34 is the personification of uncool. LMAO!

We don't have this meal in Europe. Somehow, it doesn't look that appealing, these big, oily meatballs. Can't it just be spaghetti bolognaise...

I put my meatballs in the oven

Spaghetto bolognese is more or less the same thing anyway R29, and the meatballs don't have to be oily. You can make them with turkey, or better yet half lean beef, half turkey.

Guess what I'm having tonight, bitches!

I don't know why, but I never make spaghetti and meatballs. I guess I don't think of it, but it's any easy, inexpensive meal... so now I'll start making it.

Every country in Europe has their own version of meatballs.

While in Italy you probably wouldn't be served meatballs on top of pasta, it would not be strange for the two to be served at the same meal.

For those of you with an instant pot, it's a one-dish meal: meatballs, pasta, and sauce together in the pot along with one cup of water on the bottom, seal it, cook for, I believe 12 minutes, and you're done.

At the Wynn hotel buffet they serve Frank Sinatra’s family recipe of this dish but with penne as I recall...good!

Maybe they got it here

Like most American dishes, it's best served in aspic.

It's how Lady finally got some action from that hottie Tramp.

r37 What the hell is "ground parsley?"

r35 I've tried that. The pasta has a tendency to get overcooked, and since there's no way to check for doneness, you're kind of stuck with it. I've done it with meat sauce and sausage, but not meatballs.

I dug out my Mom's cookbook, and I think I'm going to attempt making her meatballs this weekend.

Loving the old cookbooks before gays got all gayed up about frou-frou … it's pasta boys, just "boil spaghetti in water, salted go taste. Remove spaghetti, drain. Serve on a platter, cover with sauce.

Meatballs with parmesan cheese or without?

Italian bread crumbs or plain?

Milk or stock?

Plain beef or a mix of ground meats?

R44, use what YOU like. They will be fine. Finish in sauce and they will be even better. That also can cover up any flaws. Some add pine nuts and raisins. I don't. I add plenty of chopped garlic, fresh parsley, Italian bread crumbs, sometimes cheese. Never milk or stock. I don't see the need for it. If the mix seemed too dry, maybe from too much bread crumbs, maybe I would use it. I use a mix of very lean beef with some 20% fat beef mixed in. Too fatty a blend and they taste like tallow and the fry pan fills up with grease. Yuck!

I also add good oregano.

I never cared for it. My mother made it once when I was a child and my father hit the roof.

Why did he hit the roof? Did she sauce it in the pot?

No, he was against my mother serving us any wop food.

Your dad sounds adorable R50.

LA will be a bit cooler today so I might make some meatballs and sauce with penne

Meat balls and Spaghetti are not served together in Italy, purely an American invention. That said, its even worse in the UK where they call it Spag Bowl? Basically the Italian American version made even shittier. Boil pasta, pour over jar sauce. Its like something frat bros make after a night of drinking. Tastes like Chef Boyardee from the can. They don't respect Italian food or understand high quality of ingredients are what make a simple dish taste so good. They think Italian food doesn't need the care they would give other types of food like French or Indian.

The "spaghetti and meatballs isn't Italian" twats are the most tiresome twats, right up there with the "French pronunciation" twats. We *know* it's different from Italy, you are impressing no one with your "knowledge."

Is spaghetti and meatballs an Italian thing?

R55 no it’s an “eye” talian thing.

I haven't made meatballs myself in such a long time. I use either ground turkey thigh or a ground beef/ground pork combo (can't taste the veal), plus egg, milk/bread panade, Parmigiano-Reggiano and/or Pecorino Romano, finely chopped garlic and parsley, S&P. This recipe from Mad Hungry is close to my idea the sauce you want for spaghetti and meatballs. I don't use onion, is the only difference.

delish

Spaghetti and meatballs as served in the USA are not authentic, true, but as my Italian grandmother explained to me, it isn't Italian but we like it, too.

People these days don't make it correctly. If the meatballs and the sauce aren't properly spiced, it's a dish with no flavor. Many restaurants try to make it cheap and it's bland.

[quote]That said, its even worse in the UK where they call it Spag Bowl?

What is it about the British? I could understand bad food during World War 2, but there is no excuse for bad food in today's internet world.

A few years ago, I was in London and went into an "Italian" restaurant. I ordered spaghetti Bolognese. When it came, it was spaghetti with minced beef and watery sauce. What is so difficult that the British can't cook? I mean NONE of them seem to know basic cooking.

I am a big onion fan, but just not in meatballs. Ground beef (or mixture of beef and pork), eggs, plain bread crumbs, pecorino romano cheese, chopped parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Sauce is puree, paste, salt, and garlic powder.

No basil in the sauce, R62?

I don't usually use basil, but now that you mention it once or twice I accidentally bought puree with basil and it was quite good.

Trader Joe’s has turkey meatballs frozen..anyone?

Turkeys were not meant for meatballs. It's just not the same.

The Italian side of my family makes it pretty similar to r21's. We put a little sauce on the pasta in the pot though, and have the salad on the side.

I use a recipe from my exes old Williams-Sonoma catalog. Stuffed with mozzarella. As for the sauce, l like Hunts or Prego unless I make my own.

i just did a half pound of linguini. Boiled 10 minutes. Drained pot against a lid. Covered with half a jar of sauce, stirred.

Don't oil or butter the pasta, just add a small amount of sauce to the pasta in the serving bowl or pan.

There seems to be two schools of thought -- highly flavored meatballs in a simple sauce, or simple meatballs in a highly flavored sauce.

I prefer school A, r71.

Atsa some spicy meatball!

[quote]Remove spaghetti, drain.

SACRILEGE!

R43 clearly cannot cook. One must finish the pasta in the sauce, never throw it on top.

yum yum yum

It is like noodles, yes? And it is accompanied by a red sauce which is comprised of mostly tomato sauce & paste. There are some spices used and some people use onions and even garlic! These all go inside the red sauce, which is simmered. Meatballs can be good or not good. Some people use the bread crumbs that are too many, so meatballs are squishy. Some people use too much meat, making balls too heavy and tasteless. One should add some breadcrumbs and spices in the meatballs for the correct texture and deliciousness.

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How do you like my English? I think I did pretty good.

Yeah - the English are really bad at Italian food. And pretty much everything except meat and potatoes - and curry. Unless you go to high end restaurants. Much better than 20-30 years ago but still sadly lacking. Growing up in a city in US with lots of Italians, I’m spoiled I guess.

Pasta is a side dish in Italy. Italians eat a lot of fish. And vegetables like broccoli rabe.

R77 will you be ghost writing Ziva David’s autobiography next, yes?