Spaghetti + Meatballs

How is your new year going? Mine started out energetic with some new ideas for a project I’m working on, which I hope to announce sometime in February. The insurrection on the Capitol was um, horrifying. It felt like 9/11 but actually worse. Biden will be sworn in on Wednesday which is a huge relief and I’m very excited about that, so I guess you could say this year has already had its share of ups and downs. 

So, Spaghetti and Meatballs! I had a craving for spaghetti and meatballs the other day. And coincidently Jeff told me he had a craving for a meatball sandwich, and it’s not like we just read about meatballs or anything like that, we just had meatball cravings! Ha! The recipe below is a double batch of meatballs, we had our spaghetti dinner and I’m going to freeze the rest of the meatballs for a Meatball Sub Sandwich next week. I adapted the recipe from NYTimes Cooking, which I finally gave in and subscribed. It’s only $5/month but it just irks me that it doesn’t come with the NYTimes subscription we already have. Oh well. I actually really like it with the recipe box and it has a very nice interface. The recipe doubled here makes 18 large meatballs. I changed a couple things, using Panko bread crumbs and Italian seasoning, but feel free to use regular bread crumbs and whatever seasoning you prefer. I also bake them in the oven before putting them in the sauce, which is convenient because you can make your sauce while they bake and everything comes together a bit quicker.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti + Meatballs

Meatballs

• 1 lb ground pork

• 1 lb ground beef

• 2  large eggs, lightly beaten

• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 2  teaspoon salt

•  Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce

• 2  garlic cloves, minced

• 1  teaspoon dried oregano

• 1  tablespoon unsalted butter

• 1  tablespoon olive oil

• 24 oz jar of tomato sauce

• 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or more to taste)

• 8 oz chopped baby bella mushrooms

•  Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1  pound spaghetti, tagliatelle or linguine, cooked to taste

Or you could make your tomato sauce from scratch, recipe here

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare meatballs, combine pork, beef, egg, parmesan, garlic, spices, bread crumbs, tomato paste, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly with your hands until well combined.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Shape the meat mixture into 2 inch balls, and place on baking sheet. You should have about 18 meatballs. Brush the meatballs with a little olive oil. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until internal temp reads 165°.

To prepare the sauce, in a large sauce pan or dutch oven sauté garlic for a few minutes, then add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and spices, allow to simmer for about 10 minutes over a medium low heat.  Add the mushrooms and continue to simmer another 10-15 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

When the meatballs are done, remove from oven and place some in the sauce, or on a platter. You can freeze leftover meatballs to make meatball sandwiches for another time. Place hot pasta in a large serving bowl. Pour most of sauce (reserving meatballs) on pasta, and toss to combine. Top pasta with meatballs, and serve.

Turkey Roulade with Dried Cherries and Sausage Stuffing

I’m so happy to finally be getting this Turkey Roulade with Dried Cherries and Sausage Stuffing up on the blog! I’ve been making it a few years now for Thanksgiving but you know how crazy it can get and I never have time for photos. Well here is a next day photo. I was lucky enough to find a turkey breast that was nearly four-pounds, the last couple years all I could get was a two or two and half pound breast, but with the larger size there was enough left over for a decent photograph. This is a great alternative to roasting a whole turkey if you have a small gathering or are a couple like Jeff and myself. If you end up with the smaller turkey breast whether by choice or availability, you can either buy two smaller ones or halve the stuffing recipe accordingly because it makes quite a bit, even with this larger breast I had some leftover. And if you have leftover stuffing that you decide to keep in the oven, don’t forget about it! Heartbreakingly we had turned off the oven, forgot about it and then discovered it the next day, so I had to toss it. Which is really a shame because it tastes so incredibly good not to mention all the work in preparing it. Anyways, I’m glad to be sharing the recipe with you, this could work for any holiday or celebration really. 

The recipe says to roast the roulade 15 minutes to the pound, and this is true, for me the two-pound breast was done in 30 minutes, and the four-pound in one hour. Really the most prep time is making the stuffing, then trying to roll it up in twine which is much easier with the larger breast. The only thing I’m adding to the recipe would be to brine the turkey the night before, I added lots of salt, peppercorns and some fresh herbs to it. I remember one year it came out too dry so I definitely recommend the brine. Oh and one more thing, don’t worry about butterflying and deboning the turkey breast yourself, any butcher in any grocery store or meat market anywhere in the world can do this for you, leave it to the professionals. I used to be shy about asking for such things but it is 100% acceptable to ask. If you want to do it yourself: how to butterfly a turkey breast. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy!

One more thing, the original recipe said to use the pan drippings from the roasted roulade for the gravy, and to make the gravy while it’s still in the oven, which is impossible! (I edited the recipe so it makes sense). So if you want you can make the gravy while the Turkey Roulade is resting and use those additional pan drippings from the oven pan, but I didn’t and made the gravy in the pan that the Roulade was seared in. Hope that’s not confusing, but it all works out wonderfully in the end. :)

Turkey Roulade with Dried Cherries and Sausage Stuffing (+ Gravy!)

• 3 1/2-4 pound boneless turkey breast, skin on and butterflied (I recommend an overnight brine)

• 1/4 cup butter

• 3/4 cup finely chopped onions (about 1 small onion)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery (about 2 ribs)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped fennel (about 1 small fennel bulb)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped leeks (about 1 leek)

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 1/4 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup cognac (or any kind of brandy)

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 8 ounces mushrooms, such as chanterelle, cremeni or shitake, roughly chopped

• 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, crumbled

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter until foamy. Add the onions, celery, fennel, leeks and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the dried cherries and cook until the cherries are plump, about 3 minutes. Add the cognac and reduce until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Wipe out skillet and heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms. Season with salt and cook, stirring often, until any water they have released has evaporated, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until the sausage has browned but is still slightly raw in the center, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the mushroom-sausage mixture to the cooked vegetables. Mix in the herbs and pine nuts until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and place on a clean work surface, skin-side down. Pat the turkey dry on both sides using paper towels. If the turkey breast looks too uneven in thickness, use a meat pounder to flatten the thicker portion. Season both sides liberally with salt and pepper. Place the filling mixture in the center and evenly spread over the surface, leaving a 1-inch border at the edges. Beginning at the shortest end, carefully roll the breast up, enclosing the stuffing. Using kitchen twine, tie the roulade at 1-inch intervals. Season the outside liberally with salt and pepper.

Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the turkey roulade and brown on all sides, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the turkey to an parchment-lined baking sheet and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat reads 150°, about 12 to 15 minutes per pound. Reserve the pan for gravy. Remove the roulade from the oven and form a loose tent using foil and allow to rest on a clean work surface. 

Gravy

• 3 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 2 sprigs fresh thyme

• 2 sprigs fresh sage

• 1 fresh bay leaf

• 1 large shallot, finely diced

• 1 garlic clove, smashed

• 1/4 cup white wine

• 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

While the turkey is roasting, make the gravy: Tie the parsley, thyme, sage and bay leaf together using kitchen twine to form a bouquet garni, (you can place all the herbs in cheesecloth and tie it up if it’s easier). Place the reserved pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the wine, scraping any brown bits on the bottom and reduce by half. Adjust the heat to low. Add the flour and stir until the roux has become golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock to the saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the gravy has reduced to 2 cups and coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper.

Adapted from Tasting Table