Spaghetti and Meatballs

It's been a very special week in the world of (G)astronomy. Thus the timing is right to share the dinner I made on the very ordinary Monday last March that I chose for my marriage proposal. It was a covert operation, so the meal couldn't be too extravagant--the shopping and cooking had to be done in a single day and be finished by 6:00 p.m. This was no easy task for a plodding cook like me. Nevertheless, I wanted to make something special. I started off with rosemary quick bread, a favorite from the early days of our relationship. For the entree, I settled on spaghetti and meatballs. I definitely wasn't going to trust just any cookbook for a recipe of such importance--it had to be America's Test Kitchen. As expected, the homemade tomato sauce was perfect, and the massive meatballs were delectable. I'd like to think that she would have said "yes" even if dinner hadn't been delicious, but I'll never know...

Recipe by The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Quick Tomato Sauce

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• Salt

Cook the oil and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat until fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the crushed and diced tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in the basil and sugar, and season with salt to taste.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

• 2 slices high-quality white sandwich bread
• 1/3 cup buttermilk (to substitute normal milk, mix in 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice and let it stand for 5 minutes)
• 3/4 pound (80% lean) ground beef
• 1/4 pound ground pork
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt and pepper
• Vegetable oil
• 4 cups tomato sauce
• 1 pound spaghetti

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. While the water is boiling, begin to prepare the meatballs. Remove and discard the crusts from the bread, then tear it into small pieces. Pour the buttermilk over the bread crumbs in a large bowl and use a fork to mash the mixture into a smooth paste.

Add the beef, pork, Parmesan, parsley, yolk, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to the mashed bread. Stir the mixture gently until combined and uniform. Gently form the mixture into about twelve 1.5 inch diameter meatballs.

Pour the oil into a large skillet until it measures a depth of 1/4 inch. Heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the meatballs in a single layer and cook until nicely browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and discard the oil left in the skillet. Place the skillet with any browned bits over medium heat and add the tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Reduce the heat to low and add the meatballs. Continue to simmer, turning the meatballs occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Drain the spaghetti, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water, and return it to the pot. Stir in several large spoonfuls of the tomato sauce (without meatballs), and toss to coat. Divide the pasta among the individual bowls. Loosen the remaining sauce as needed with the reserved pasta cooking water, and top each bowl with the desired amount of sauce and several meatballs. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

Yield: 4 servings
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Substitutions: I couldn't find ground pork, so I just used a full pound of ground beef. I also ended up using bucatini instead of spaghetti, because it was what we had on hand, and who doesn't like noodles that double as drinking straws!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Of all the recipes I made for The Gastronomer's 2008 Christmas present, these bell peppers may have been her favorite. She frequently requests that I make them again, and once when I was out of town she ate them for four meals straight. The original appeal for me was the apparent intricacy of stuffing meat inside a vegetable, but in fact they're a classic American dish that's quite easy to execute. The recipe's success can be largely attributed to the following theorem:

ground beef + cheese + ketchup = delicious

which has been experimentally confirmed over 10^9 times. However, there is some added complexity here which is far above the intellectual level of a fast food hamburger.

Recipe by The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

• Salt
• 4 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers (6 oz each)
• 1/2 cup long-grain white rice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 3/4 pound ground beef
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained with 1/4 cup juice reserved
• 5 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (1 1/4 cups)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Pepper
• 1/4 cup ketchup

Cook the rice by any method you choose. While it is cooking, cut off the top 1/2 inch of the bell peppers and scoop out the insides (it's easy to do with your hand). Bring a pot of salted water to boil, then add the peppers and cook until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Remove the peppers from the water and drain.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beef and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl with the rice, and add the tomatoes, 1 cup of the cheese, and the parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and the reserved 1/4 cup tomato juice. Place the peppers, cut side up, in a 9x9 baking dish. Divide the filling mixture evenly among them. Spoon the ketchup mixture over the tops, and sprinkle on the remaining grated cheese. Bake about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is browned.

Yield: 4 servings
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Substitutions: We often leave out the parsley when making these, and have also tried using Parmesan instead of Monterey Jack Cheese with good results. Adding some extra garlic to the meat mixture never hurts.

Smokey Joe

Eager to help me properly assume the role of Man of the House, The Gastronomer purchased a Smokey Joe grill and some top-notch grilling tools for me last Christmas. After browsing cookbooks and the internet for basic grilling tips and consulting with my dad, I stopped by Target to purchase some charcoal. I combed the store but could not find the charcoal anywhere. When I bumped into a store manager and asked if he could help me out, I was met with an incredulous look. "I don't know if we have any--it's not grilling season." Seriously? Sure, it was February, but isn't it always grilling season in California?

Fortunately, it turned out that they did have a couple of bags of charcoal, shoved into a corner in the Lawn and Garden section. Perhaps the age of this charcoal explained why I struggled so much getting it to light--or maybe I just didn't use enough lighter fluid. In any case, eventually I got my little pyramid of coals burning, and when the coals were covered in ash it was time to throw some meat on the grill. I started simple for my first grilling adventure: burgers and Trader Joe's hot Italian pork sausage. I mixed some salt and pepper into the ground beef and made an indentation in the top of the patties, as recommended by my cooking bible; no preparation was necessary to make the sausages taste amazing.



I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't be able to tell how long to cook the sausages without a meat thermometer, but it turned out it was readily apparent from their nice blistered appearance when they were ready to consume. In general, burgers cook for 5-8 minutes, depending how hot the fire is, and sausages cook a bit longer (10-12 minutes). One problem with the Smokey Joe is that if you're grilling more than a few things, there's a good chance the coals will cool down before the cooking is finished. However, it's quite ideal for feeding 2-4 people. On this occasion I melted some cheese on the burgers and toasted brioche buns on the grill, and we enjoyed a delicious protein feast.