Big Beef Balls with Spaghetti

Okay, before I get to the Big Beef Balls, I wish someone on Wall Street would get some big balls.

Dow plunges 513 points; 2011 gains are wiped out.  Really, that’s what the dow did today?  How in the world is America supposed to turn this economy around if the stock market has no faith in us?  This is crazy, absolutely, positively insane.  This is happening just because of Spain and Italy may default.  What the heck, did their markets drop this many points when we were going to default?  Really people, pull your head out of where ever you have it stuck and get your butts in gear.  We need this economy to turn around.  Not just for us but for the entire world.  Plus to top it off, on the news they said that military veterans are having a terrible time finding jobs when they get out.  Really, our veterans who have put their lives on the line to keep our country free cannot find a job.  Now tell me the government doesn’t need to get their head out of their butts and do something.  First of all, the politicians don’t want to raise the taxes on the rich.  That’s because they would be the ones who end up paying more taxes.  Really?  So the poor man, who struggles every day is supposed to allow the rich to keep getting richer and not have to pay more taxes on their money.  Well, maybe they should spend a day in our shoes and they would think twice about that.  Because if it wasn’t for us poor people the rich wouldn’t have their money anyway.  Pathetic people and all it makes me want to do is ring their necks.  Dumb, dumb and more dumb.

Okay, now that I got that off my chest, let’s move on to the real big beef balls.

Hello supper.

Big Beef Balls with Spaghetti

Ingriedents:

• Coarse Salt
• 3/4 lb spaghetti
• 1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin
• 6 garlic cloves, 2 cloves minced, 4 cloves chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/2 to 2/3 c Italian-style bread crumbs
• 1/2 c grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1/4 t ground allspice
• black pepper
• 3 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small to medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 c. dry red wine
• 1 – 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 – 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 20 fresh flat-leave parsley leaves, chopped
• 3 T capers, drained and chopped
• 2 T chopped fresh sage
• 12 baby portobello mushroom caps, chopped
• 1/2 c. beef broth

1.  Heat a deep skillet over medium heat.  Cook onions in 1 T of the extra virgin olive oil for 5 minutes.  Remove onions and set them aside to cool.

2.  In a large bowl, mix the meat with half the onions, 3 cloves of the chopped garlic, the egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, allspice, capers, sage, a handful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.  Score the meat into 4 sections and make 3 very large balls from each section.  Arrange 12 balls on a non-stick cookie sheet and roast for 15 minutes until firm but not hard.

3.  Drop the spaghetti in the salted boiling water and cook until al dente.  Drain the pasta.

4.  While the pasta and meatballs are cooking, heat another T of extra virgin olive oil in the skillet in which the onions were cooked.  Add the remaining garlic and the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.  Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper.  Add the remaining onions and back and deglaze the pan with the red wine, cook for 1 minutes, add the beef stock and hisk up any brown bits.  Stir in the tomatoes and season the sauce with salt and pepper.  Stir in the remaining parsley.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

5.  Toss the pasta with half the sauce.  Remove the meatballs from the oven and add to the remaining sauce, turning to coat.  Serve 3 meatballs per person alongside the pasta.  Spoon remaining sauce over the pasta.

 This is fantastic and I could have eaten the whole pot of pasta.