Meatballs

Another that started with my Mother's recipe. This is pretty good...

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork

1 pound ground veal or lamb (or substitute another beef)

4 eggs, whisked

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup parmegiano reggiano cheese

6 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, taking care to mix just enough to combine (don't overwork). Form into 3" diameter balls, and place on baking sheet (with parchment paper to keep from sticking). Bake for approximately 15 minutes at 350 degrees. When done, add to tomato sauce and simmer for an hour (but not much longer as they can break apart, in which case you will have a decent meat sauce!).

Tomato Sauce

This is a work in progress...it started with my Mother's recipe and I have continued to tweak it over the years. This is a very good version, but stay tuned for the tweaks...

Ingredients:

2 cans whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand (leaves some small-med chunks)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1/4 cup red wine

Pepper

Olive oil

Directions:

Over medium heat, sautee onion for 2-3 minutes in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, then add garlic and sautee for another couple of minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, parsley, red pepper flakes, sugar, salt, pepper and wine. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low and let simmer for an hour.

In my opinion, it tastes best when left to sit overnight for flavors to meld.

If the sauce seems to watery after simmering, add a little tomato paste to thicken.