Hey, Joe! Pooch he say he wants-a two spaghetti speciale, heavy on the meats-a ball!

One of my all-time favorite Disney movies which also makes me think about spaghetti.
Source

I have a couple confessions to make. Number one, I love spaghetti. Number two, I am a spaghetti snob. If I'm going to eat spaghetti, it's gotta be good. I hate it when it's just kind of thrown together. Spaghetti is a special recipe! When I hear 'spaghetti' I think of romantic dates, Italy, quality, Lady and the Tramp for crying out loud! Spaghetti should be made specially, and when it's not, it's totally unappetizing to me. I can handle spaghetti and meat sauce, but I infinitely prefer spaghetti and meatballs. Thus, I have an excellent recipe that I use whenever I'm feeling like gourmet spaghetti. Okay, it probably doesn't qualify as gourmet per se, but I think this recipe is especially delicious. Yes, that was a Nacho Libre reference. ;) 

Like last time, I took a recipe and modified it. This recipe was originally taken from The Shared Table by Don Pintabona. 

This is what the cover looks like. 

The recipe in the book is called Mom's Meatballs for Gravy and it's on page 15 if you're interested in the original. Here is mine. :) 

Molly's Meatballs

...and the award for the world's most unoriginal recipe name goes to....

Ingredients

~ 2 pounds of ground beef

~ 4 eggs

~ 1 cup of bread crumbs (Italian or regular; I make my own with crackers and random spices)

~ 3/4 cup of water

~ 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

~ 1/4 cup of parsley flakes

~ 1/4 cup of sweet leaf basil 

~ 1 teaspoon of salt

~ 1/4 teaspoon of pepper

What I did

1. Place the fully defrosted meat into a large bowl.

2. In a smaller bowl combine the eggs and water. Pour that mixture into the bowl with the meat and then mix it all together. You can use a spatula or spoon, but I prefer using my hands (I don't think I need to say this, but just so I can say I did, wash your hands before you handle any ingredients). 

Right: This is what the meat should look like once you have added the eggs and water to it. 

4. Add the breadcrumbs, cheese, and spices into the main meat bowl. You can mix them together in a separate bowl and then add them, but this is the way I do it. 

5. After you have added all the dry ingredients and spices, mix it all together with your hands until the meat looks like this...

6. Now comes the involved part. Get a long cookie sheet and line it with foil. Then put a rack on top. The purpose of the rack is to keep the meatballs from cooking in the fatty grease that will run off of them while they're baking. 

7. Take a regular kitchen tablespoon and scoop out the meat. Roll is around in your hands molding it into a ball. It shouldn't be too big or it will take the interior too long to cook. Don't make it too small or it will be dried out while baking. 

This is the proper size for the perfect meatball. :) 

8. Space the meatballs out just a tad. I hate using exact inches, so just know this: the meat will not spread out like cookies but they will expand a little so don't mesh the meatballs right up against each other. 

This is how far apart I spaced mine and they turned out perfect. 

9. Once you have the meatballs on the baking tray, bake them at 375 Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes. You want to make sure that they are soft which means that the middle might be a tad bit pink which is ay-okay. The taste and texture will be so much better if you don't bake them until the interior is completely brown. If you do this, they will be rubbery and you will want to spit them out. No one likes a rubbery meatball. 

Here is how the middle should look. 

10. Once they are finished baking, remove the meatballs immediately from the baking tray with a pair of tongs or a fork. They will be tender so be careful! Place them in a covered dish. 

The finished product! 

I typically serve these with regular spaghetti and red sauce. I think the most important ingredient to this recipe is the sweet basil. It gives it the perfect amount of flavor but it's not so much that it leaves a ridiculously strong aftertaste. I'm completely biased when I say that these are the best meatballs I have ever put in my mouth. :) I hope you enjoy eating them!