Hey Hunter,
I am going to make your pasta sauce and meatballs later this week. You said to use "pound and a half of good ground meat." What kind of meat did you use? I am thinking about ground chuck and ground pork.

Hey. Good to hear. You can do either. I usually do not mix the pork into the meatballs because I use other pork meat (ribs, sausage, etc) in my sauce and I don't like to overdue the pork taste. I like more "meaty" meatballs if you will (with a good garlic and parsley taste). If you drop a few ribs or riblets in the sauce, straight round is recommended.

But, if you are just making meatballs (without other pork meat), feel free to do it that way. I have mixed ground pork before and it's just fine (not 1/2 1/2 though - 2 to 1 ground to pork.)

Good luck.

What do you eat the meatballs and sauce with? Rice? Bread?

quote:

What do you eat the meatballs and sauce with? Rice? Bread?

Bella, Bella....you're killin' me.

Hint: Anything that rhymes with wackaroni, digatoni, or minguini

quote:

Originally posted by Bella Donna:
I am going to make your pasta sauce and meatballs later this week....

quote:

Originally posted by Bella Donna:
What do you eat the meatballs and sauce with? Rice? Bread?

Ummmmm.... Bella... you called it "pasta sauce", and then wanted to know if you should serve it with rice or bread? ??

quote:

Originally posted by Hunter:


Bella, Bella....you're killin' me.

Hint: Anything that rhymes with wackaroni, digatoni, or minguini

Reread your post. There is nowhere that states pour over pasta.

you are priceless Bella

My understanding was that the meatballs and sauce was a dish on its own and you use the leftover sauce to put over pasta.

Bella, how can I say this delicately.... Ummmmmmm, do you get good grades?

Why does it matter? This thread is about meatballs and sauce

And about what you should put "pasta sauce" on.

This is Hunter's recipe:


Well, there are obviously hundreds of variables that people do. Like I said I normally cook it around noon, for eating around 4 or 5 hours later. Trust me on that part. It really comes together. The family sauce - as I do it goes as follows:

I don't do measurements (as we say in the old country ), so approx.

Extra virgin olive oil in the main sauce pot. I do not use "grilling or light oil" because I find the sauce or the garlic/onion tends to stick on the bottom and you can burn it, if not real careful with stirring - and I hate to babysit the stove. The EVOO really coats it, and it does taste better of course.

Chopped 1/3 or 1/2 an onion first, then mix in garlic (I use a lot). If you like more onion flavor, then use more and less garlic. I love garlic! and only use a little onion.

Pour good can of crushed tomatoes (not all canned tomatoes taste the same) There is a difference. Pay the extra 50 cents a can for good tomatoes. Like I said, I use Pastene. Usually 2 cans. I do not strain, it all goes in. I add maybe 1/2 can of water.

Salt, Pepper, 1/2 cup of dry red wine. cook on Med.

While that is going, I prepare the meatballs: pound and 1/2 of good chopped meat, chopped garlic, fresh parsley, 2 eggs, bread crumbs, a little salt. You can add to this, but I don't like "Busy meatballs"

Fry the meatballs in wide deep pan. Light coating of EVOO, so the meatballs don't stick. Very light heat (low/low-med). I'm not cooking them - they will be too hard if you cook too long, I just want some browning and to keep the MB's tight.

I drop the MB's in sauce.

I then use 6 or 7 good pork spare ribs. Anything pork and on the bone works! It's just for flavor. I basically sear them and drop them in sauce.

Sauce with the meat will cook low/low-med for an hour or so. I then turn it off completely.

My little trick comes an hour later. I cut up 2 vine or a few plum tomatoes in quarters and drop them in the sauce. I love a slab of fresh tomato with my macs. This creates an amazing puree built into the sauce too. I then cut up some fresh basil. Basil loses a lot if you use it too soon and it cooks out too long, so I drop it in towards the end while it is just sitting.

30 minutes before we are ready to eat - I turn the sauce back on. The "sit time" is the key.

"Season more to taste - if you want"

Whew! - Now I'm hungry. Maybe this should have been a separate topic.

Enjoy!

OK OK - After this line: "Season more to taste - if you want"

Add this line: THEN POUR OVER YOUR FAVORITE MACARONI PASTA!!!

Although, I have just nibbled on the sauce and meatballs by itself (for leftovers). Like a great soup - It is THAT good!

Also a great base for: Eggplant, Chicken or Veal Parm, or skip the meatballs and use ground beef for a meat sauce - for lasagna. On and On....

But of course it is first and foremost a macaroni sauce.

Thanks for the clarification Hunter.

One more clarification: is this mainly for MACARONI or can it be put on other pastas? (just making sure)

Bella, you're taxing your brain a little too much, I think.

there has to be a big @$$ gong around here somewhere

I'm just being extra certain that I don't screw this recipe up and not have to dump a pot of stuff away because it wasn't meant to be eaten with tagliatelle or something

quote:

there has to be a big @$$ gong around here somewhere

"JP Morgan, whaddya say? Why did you Gong Miss Bella Donna?"

"We'll be right back with more Stuff!!!"

No one under 35 will get that.

Bella, you have to be joking, right? You're not serious.

You would think that you might have to throw food away if the pasta sauce wasn't poured over the correct shape of pasta???

And you wonder why I asked earlier about your grades....

What do you think is MORE OPTIMAL: pouring chicken alfredo over ABC shaped pasta or over fettucini?

To the point of having to throw one of them out?

mmmmmm... ABC's...

Probably not...but I learned to ask questions before doing