Spaghettie And Meatballs

This year our ward times changed so Max and I have church from 9am to noon, and the family from 1pm to 4pm. It seriously is so wonderful! These days, this short afternoon is one of my favorite times of the week... having the house just to max and me while everyone else is at church. One of my 2009 goals was to be a better cook, so Max and I decided that we should use the time alone to sharpen up our culinary skills and make dinner each week so that it's ready when the family gets home after 4.

This week I made spaghetti and meatballs. We've had spaghetti a number of times in our home, but I can't ever remember having it with MEATBALLS. And I love meatballs, they remind me of romania. So I grabbed this recipe off the internet, and thought I would share because it was fairly successful, plus it's Tuesday. Tasty Tuesday!
The best part of yesterday's sunday dinner is that most of my family was sluffing the latter part of church, so Sam, Andie and my mom all helped make the dinner too. I was chef de cuisine, Sam was sous chef, Andie the sauté chef, Max the pâtissier, and mom the roundsman. My favorite part was when Andie added the crushed red pepper to the hot oil and we all had a coughing fit because of the strong smell. Another favorite was either me or my mom randomly bursting into song... "and then my poor meatball rolled out of the door..." throughout the entire production.

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INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound spaghetti
• Salt, for pasta water

MEATBALLS:

• 1 1/4 pounds ground sirloin
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, a couple of handfuls
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt and pepper

SAUCE:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup beef stock, available on soup aisle in market in small paper boxes
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• A handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 10 leaves fresh basil leaves, torn or thinly sliced
• Grated cheese, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano, for passing at table
• Crusty bread or garlic bread, for passing at the table

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place a large pot of water on to boil for spaghetti. When it boils, add salt and pasta and cook to al dente.

Mix beef and Worcestershire, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Roll meat into 1 1/2 inch medium-sized meatballs and place on nonstick cookie sheet or a cookie sheet greased with extra-virgin olive oil. Bake balls 10 to 12 minutes, until no longer pink.

Heat a deep skillet or medium pot over moderate heat. Add oil, crushed pepper, garlic and finely chopped onion. Saute 5 to 7 minutes, until onion bits are soft. Add beef stock, crushed tomatoes, and herbs. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.

Toss hot, drained pasta with a few ladles of the sauce and grated cheese. Turn meatballs in remaining sauce. Place pasta on dinner plates and top with meatballs and sauce and extra grated cheese. Serve with bread or garlic bread.

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this is where I got the recipe - it's a rachel ray

my suggestion would be to add more spice to the meatballs, I didn't think they had enough taste. My family seemed to like them, but I need a meatball exploding with flavor. Perhaps I was just craving some deli kat, which I'm running dangerously low on.