for you, mrs. gosda

I feel like when anyone asks, "What's your favorite food?" I instinctively respond with "pasta". Now to most people, what we call pasta here in my family would be spaghetti to them, except,  I can't tell you the last time we consumed actual spaghetti. I don't even know if there is a box of spaghetti in this house, rather 8 million boxes of penne. Along with everyone else's spaghetti comes meatballs, right? Well we rarely eat meatballs, yet eat pasta (aka penne with mother's homemade sauce, and nothing else) quite frequently, probably once every two weeks in the summer when dad's gone and B's home. Our pasta is sans meatballs and instead has the pork and beef used to the make the sauce served with it, and some times Italian sausage, but since I dislike pork the sausage is out for me, yet I eat the other pork that's in there. Weird, I don't know, don't ask, I'm an odd duck.

This all being said, it seems all Italian families have spaghetti and meatball recipes passed down from generation to generation, and we probably due, yet no one ever makes meatballs so the recipe must be lost in translation. But, on the rare occasion we do have meatballs, like tonight, because my mother loves to spoil these two: 

 and since they are leaving so very soon, a pasta dinner was clearly in order so this morning I was put to work making meatballs for our little feast tonight. Now my mother hit the jackpot when she found the meatball recipe we have used since the magazine came back in I don't even know when but from the looks of how wrinkly and crinkly it is, it's been around for some time. 


So, Mrs. Gosda, here is the infamous meatball recipe for you to have and make all the meatball you desire. I promise, I will make them with you once Tess leaves because let's be real we'll both be bored out of our minds :)


Basic Meatballs
from Cuisine at home
makes 30-33 meatballs

Stir Together:
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
3/4 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 cup Whole milk (I use 2% and it works just fine)
1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth (I use a 1 bullion cube to 2 cups of boiling water)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 eggs, beaten
2 T. dried oregano
1 T. garlic, minced
1 T. kosher salt (or whatever kind of salt you have)
1 T. ground black pepper
2 t. dried basil
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes (I usually half this, or if Al's coming, fourth it. They can get real spicy)


Add; Shape:
2 lb ground chuck


Cover bottom of pan with:
1 cup low-sodium beef brother

Preheat oven to 450

Get all your ingredients out (Thanks Grams for teaching cousin and me this, also to clean as you go..something we often forget to do..whoops)

Stir together all ingredients (except ground beef) in a large mixing bowl:

Pause and take a picture of your baking assistant:

someone's a little camera shy..


Back to business..


Add the ground chuck and mix together. Coat a baking sheet or shallow roasting pan with nonstick spray. Shape meatballs (whatever size you desire, we usually make them on the rather large size). Place the meatballs on the pan so they are not touching or crowded together.

Cover bottom of the pan with beef broth. I like to give them a nice little bath, pouring the broth on top of them all. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the meatballs are just cooked through. Reserve pan juices for sauce.

Make sure you save the juices from the pan and add them to the sauce, it's a must.


Add the meatballs and juices to the sauce and try not to eat them all, as tempting as it may be.


Oh, and our little baking assistant..this is where she ended up half way through..

Clearly she is dreaming of meatballs.