Pesto Veal Meatballs: Recipe

When I was growing up one of my favorite dishes was veal parmigiana. I adored the tender scallops of veal, breaded and fried then coated with tomato sauce and topped with gooey mozzarella. It wasn’t an everyday meal by any means, but I do remember requesting it for my birthday. These days when you hear the word veal it unfortunately brings to mind “veal crates.” Veal has become the poster child for the inhumane treatment of animals. But the truth is, individual confining veal pens are outlawed in many states and are being phased out altogether. By the end of this year, veal crates will become a thing of the past. But that’s just the beginning of the misperceptions about veal. According to the American Veal Association , 100% of US veal farms are family owned, most are also family run and very small scale. No growth hormones are used and the animal's tails are not docked, their horns are not removed. Recently I met with Julie Rossotti of Rossotti Ranch . Julie comes from a Swis......

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Italian Sausage Meatballs Recipe

I could eat spaghetti and meatballs every night of the week. Of course my laundry bill would be astronomical. There are cleaning products for removing every possible stain including wine, coffee, ink and blood, but no one has invented a product to remove spaghetti sauce stains. Not yet anyway. This recipe came about as part of my effort to "eat down the freezer." I had a package of two Italian sausages and some ground beef on hand, but neither were really enough to make a meal. The secret to these meatballs is a combination of pork and beef and also what you use to stretch the meat, plenty of bread and milk. The bread and milk create a very tender texture. Italian sausages have lots of seasoning and fat so you really don't need to add much more in that department though some fresh herbs are nice. I do like using dehydrated toasted onion flakes . I get them from Penzey's and they are great in dishes like this where normally I would want to saute fresh onions. They ......

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Gremolata Meatballs Recipe

Coming back from Hawaii I was so glad to have made some meatballs and put them in the freezer. It was the perfect quick meal when the fridge was empty. Just boil up the pasta and go! They were even better the second time around. I have never made the same batch of meatballs twice. I mean, I change the recipe slightly every time. But right before I left on vacation I made a recipe I plan on keeping--Gremolata meatballs. Gremolata as I have mentioned before, is made from parsley, garlic and lemon peel, and is traditionally used as a garnish. But I think it makes a terrific addition to recipes and am on a bit of a quest to see how many things I can successfully add it to. The reason I think gremolata works so well in this recipe is not the parsley or the garlic, though both are delicious. I think it's all about the lemon. Bright lemon peel really perks up meatballs which can often be heavy tasting. Using only the peel with no pith assures no bitter edge. Lemon just elevates the m......

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