Meatballs and Sauce, A Sunday Tradition – Wednesday’s Dinner –
Tonight is Wednesday and we had meatball sandwiches for dinner; on Sunday, I made a pot of sauce and added meatballs to the sauce. Making sauce on a Sunday is a normal thing to do in my home.
An Italian Sunday dinner is usually, tomato sauce with meatballs, sausages, bracciole, and spare ribs. The meats can vary, but typically, there is a good chance it’s all of the above in the sauce, especially if it’s a special occasion. Disclosure, special occasions can be anything in an Italian family; well that is the case for my family.
A special occasion can be a holiday or a birthday, or:
“Aww James made the soccer team – Congratulations! “
Usually, Italian Sunday dinners begin at 2:00 in the afternoon; these dinners are called “il pranzo”, which begin with appetizers. Bunches of appetizers are placed throughout the table such as; olives, soppressata, that is a dry Italian sausage, fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, and marinated artichoke hearts; bread is also on the table.
We all sit and enjoy the appetizers before the pasta comes out; the pasta can be anything like penne, rigatoni, ravioli, and homemade pasta. On holidays and special occasion, baked ziti or lasagna will be served.
The pasta is served with the meatballs, Italian sausage, bracciole, and spareribs; accompanying the main course is a vegetable; like an escarole, or broccoli rabe. A salad is also on the table, however, it is eaten last. (On a side note, check out the picture of me when I was a baby…most likely that day was a Sunday and my aunts, uncles, and grandparents were getting ready for Sunday’s il pranzo. Do you notice that each plate already contains the appetizers…I vaguely remember my family doing that.)
This feast that I described, is shared with immediate family members, and extended families such as sisters, brothers-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. If I prepare a traditional Italian Sunday dinner for just my family; my husband and the kids – it would most likely be served in the early part of the evening; I would not serve appetizers and in the sauce would be a minimum of meatballs or a maximum of meatballs and Italian sausages. Although I do enjoy sausages and spareribs in a tomato sauce; sadly, the family can do without.
So on Sunday, I made a sauce – but the intent was for it to be eaten during the week, and Wednesday is as good a day as any. I was planning to serve the meatballs with pasta on the side; but everyone wanted sandwiches instead, so on the side, I made a salad.
[lt_recipe name=”Italian Tomato Sauce Recipe” servings=”Can be used for a family of four and you have enough for another meal during the week or can be frozen. (Two weeks tops)” prep_time=”20 MINUTES” cook_time=”3 TO 4 HOURS” total_time=”4 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES” difficulty=”Easy” summary=”Italian Tomato Sauce ” print=”yes” image=”http://www.mangiamangianotalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/20170827_162312-480×396.jpg” ingredients=”Three cloves of garlic – chopped;½ of an onion chopped;Two or three large cans of tomato sauce the 28 ounces (I am loving Red Pack brand) no BPA liner in the cans) I use the Crushed Tomatoes – but all their products or types of sauce is fine. ;One large pot ;One tablespoon of olive oil;Salt and Black Pepper;Basil I good pinch of dry and fresh – (about 3 leaves of fresh basil- if fresh basil is not available you can skip this ingredient) ;” ]Heat the oil – then add the onions and garlic, let that sauté for about minute keep a good eye, do not burn the garlic. Once the garlic and onion soften add your cans of sauce ( you can add water to the cans, to clean out any tomato sauce left on the bottom) about one inch of water swirl it around then add to the pot. ; Stir the sauce add a good pinch of salt (I use sea salt) a smaller pinch of black pepper.; Stir some more, then add a nice pinch of the dried basil and 3 leaves of the fresh basil – whole or sliced/chiffonade – roll all leaves like a cigar then slice. ; Bring the heat on the stove up a bit to medium-high. Keep stirring once the sauce come up to a boil, lower the heat to the lowest possible setting on your burner.; Place the lid of the pot on top of the pot, but do not fully cover it, leaving the lid half on half off. This sauce will cook about 3 or 4 hours, within the time every once in a while stir the sauce, taste the sauce and if it needs salt please add small pinches or two of salt.;[/lt_recipe]
[lt_recipe name=”My Meatball Recipe” servings=”Family of four twice in a week” prep_time=”20 MINUTES” cook_time=”4 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES” total_time=”4 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES” difficulty=”Easy ” summary=”Delicious and good all in one bite” print=”yes” image=”http://www.mangiamangianotalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/20170730_150132-480×384.jpg” ingredients=”3lbs of ground chuck sirloin or the meatloaf ground chop meat, which is beef, veal and pork;Three eggs;Stale bread (1-day-old) one or two slices (using stale bread eliminates breadcrumbs) if you rather use breadcrumbs – use ½ of cup, add a little more if needed.;½ of cup of milk;Five to seven cloves of garlic finely chopped;2/3 of cup of grated parmesan cheese;Salt and black pepper;Some parsley chopped – one tablespoon. ;” ]Break up the bread and mix with the ½ cup of milk (place to the side).; Place the chop meat in a large bowl add eggs, garlic, cheese, and parsley then bread mixture with the milk. Season with the salt and black pepper – 1 pinch of salt and a smaller pinch of black pepper.; Mix with your hands until the eggs, cheese, and bread are combined well enough and it smells divine, (no need to overdo it though, I think it can get tough, less than 5 minutes). ; Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil. ; Making the meatballs take a large pinch of meat and form into the size of golf balls (I wouldn’t go bigger than that) with 3lbs of chop meat it should yield 38 to 40 meatballs depending on the size. Line them up on those baking sheets like little soldiers. In an oven at 350 degrees, bake the meatballs until slightly brown, about 15minutes to 20 minutes, when done add them to the sauce. As I do this, I also blot the extra oil/grease on a triple ply of paper towels (they are a bit hot) so add to the sauce and allow them to simmer for the rest of the duration. ; Prior to serving, with a slotted spoon, skim any oil or grease that has risen in the sauce. ; There you have it, sauce with meatballs… now earlier I mentioned about additional types of meats all of those need to be browned as well, once browned you can add it to the sauce; with these additional ingredients, I would use two or three more cans of sauce. ; In the sandwich, you can add more cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, or ricotta.;[/lt_recipe]
Mangia, Mangia…No Talk!!!