Day 11: Spaghetti & Meatballs

On a night when I want dinner on the table by 5:00, spaghetti and meatballs is perfect!  I usually make a huge pot of sauce (and meatballs) on a Saturday or another day off then freeze the leftovers in batches to pull out on rushed evenings.  Randy could eat a good sauce right out of a bowl with a spoon.  When he used to work third shift, he would sometimes just eat a small bowl of my leftover spaghetti sauce for "breakfast" when he got home for work.  So being married to an Italian makes it imperative that my homemade sauce be excellent!  The recipe is almost never the same, I change it up based on my mood or what we have in the house--meatballs, meatless, chunky, smooth, extra garlic, extra basil, extra cheese?  Yes, please!  The fundamentals of a good sauce stay the same, however.  I always have Randy taste-test throughout the cooking process (which is an all-day affair) and he is more than happy to oblige!  The core of the recipe was handed down to me by my mother, and I adapted it from there.

Spaghetti Sauce
olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
dried Italian herbs (basil, oregano, parsley)
1 bay leaf
28 oz tomato sauce
28 oz tomato puree (here's where you can add variety--buy diced or crushed tomatoes instead for extra texture)
18 oz tomato paste
24-30 oz water (or chicken broth)
1-2 tsp sugar
red wine
handfuls of grated parmesan cheese
salt, pepper
fresh Italian herbs (basil, oregano, parsley)

Start with the onions and garlic and olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.  Add the dried herbs (to taste) and the bay leaf.  Cook down until the onions are translucent.  Add the tomato products and water and stir to combine and break down the paste.  Add the sugar.  (This kills the bitterness of the tomatoes--baking soda will also work.)  This is the point where you might want to add the meatballs if you are using them.  They will cook all day in the sauce.  Let these ingredients come together for a while, simmering on the stove.  Somewhere during mid-day, add some red wine (a few turns around the pan), salt, pepper, and cheese.  You can also add more dried herbs if you want.  Let the sauce continue to simmer.  Only about 30-60 minutes before you want to serve, add the fresh herbs.  Fresh herbs should always be added last and late so they keep their bright body and flavor!

Italian Meatballs (This recipe is for 1 lb meat, double or triple the recipe accordingly.  The measurements are so easy, I never measure anymore!)
1 lb ground meat
1 egg
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs (if you use plain breadcrumbs, just add Italian herbs to the meat)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 TB onion flakes
salt, pepper, parsley

**You can add the meatballs to the sauce uncooked, if you are cooking the sauce all day--they will cook thoroughly in the sauce by themselves.  My husband prefers a sear on the outside of his meatballs, so I do a quick turn in the skillet before I add them to the sauce.  Then in the same skillet, I cook up some ground sausage to add to the sauce.  I then deglaze the skillet with a red or white wine and pour that into the sauce as well.