The New Southern is a movement grounded in cultural change where we are honoring and humanizing our differences through the lens of creativity. Today, lets honor a little comfort food that is great for the weekends or a holiday show stopper. This is a casual meal that goes beautifully with Austin Hope or Daou (Two of my favorite cabs) when we are entertaining guests. My mom spent the holdays with us a few years ago and to have her in my kitchen helping me cook was a gift (See the video). We laughed, we cried, we honored the moments that marinated with old family recipes. Growing up with both parents having diverse cultural backgrounds, our common ground in celebrating life and love was and is through food… so from my home to yours…. I am sending you health, happiness, connection and much love through this meal.
RECIPE | HERE’s TO Grabbing Life By the MEATBALLS!
(Serves arounD 4-6)
1 lb Ground Beef (I use 90% lean)
1/2 lb Ground VEAL
1/2 lb Ground Pork
1 White Onion (Finely Chopped)
2 Large Eggs
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon of Minced Garlic
1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
1 teaspoon Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup Milk (I use skim, but any is fine)
1 1/2 cups Bread Crumbs
1 cup Finely Grated Parmesan
1 cup of Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 lb Spaghetti or Penne
4 Jars RAO’s Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce
In a large glass mixing bowl whisk together the Eggs, Milk, Chopped Onion, Oregano, Garlic, Thyme, Salt, Pepper, Parmesan, Chopped Parsley and Bread Crumbs. Loosely stir the mixture and then add all the meat (Beef, Lamb, Pork) . With your hands, knead the meat and the mixture until it is evenly consistent and all combined.
With Extra Virgin Olive Oil evenly coat the bottom of the skillet (quarter of an inch) on medium to hight heat. Roll the meatballs into golfball sizes and fill the skillet. We want to sear the sides and get them golden brown. The meatballs won’t be cooked all the way through and we will bake them next.
Take a cookie sheet and cover with tin foil. Place all the meatballs on the cookie sheet. I normally only use one cookie sheet to do this. Turn the oven on bake or convection bake 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
While the meatballs are baking, warm up the Rao’s sauce on the stove (I use 3 Jars for this). And, if the meatballs are done… add a few of them to the sauce for extra flavor.
Pasta Time!! In a large pot bring water to boil on the stove and add a pinch of salt and some olive oil to the water. Cook pasta until al dente or to your preference and drain in colander. While pasta is draining, take the pasta pot and put it back on the stove over low heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 5 tablespoons of sauce. Stir this and then add all the dry pasta to this mixture. Combine pasta and mixture thoroughly.
Next, MANGIA and ENJOY!!!
