Thursday, June 15, 2006

Because, Yoooooouuu... Asked For It!

Since I've had so many requests (uh... 1) for the turkey meatballs I mentioned a while back, I'll now reveal the secret formula. Or recipe as normal people would refer to it. Deep breath... here goes.

1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 cup onion, chopped finely (nothing I hate more than a chunk of onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup catsup
1/8 tsp. pepper
A liberal shot of Frank's Hot Sauce
A handful of your fave fresh chopped herbs, but let's go with basil and flat leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste.

I know, I know. You're saying "What... no egg? No breadcrumbs?"

"No!" I say.. no need.

Back to business... Throw it all in a bowl... mix thoroughly but not overly. Form into balls about the size of a golfball. Brown in a pan on all sides with a little olive oil, then finish cooking in a simmering pot of homemade tomato sauce for an hour or so.

DONE!

Did you just say "How do you make homemade tomato sauce?" Deep breath... here goes.

Mince one or two cloves of garlic and put in a pot with some olive oil. Don't be stingy with the olive oil... it's good for you. And don't burn the garlic. Add to that a dash of red pepper flakes. Add a can of crushed or diced tomatoes.

Now here is where things can differ depending on your taste. Personally I am not a fan of the 'thick as mortar' tomato sauce that you see on TV shows or in magazines. I like it to to coat the pasta not smother it. Because of that I usually put a squirt of water in the can of tomatoes after I have emptied it and sort of swish it around a little to get all that tomato-y goodness off the can and help thin everything out. Add that to the pot.

Next... add a good handful of chopped fresh basil and parsley... you can save some and toss it in at the last minute as well. A goodly pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper, a little more oil to thin it out, and let the whole thing simmer on low with a lid for at least an hour... the longer the better. Just make sure to give it a look-see and good stir every so often.

If you've used diced tomatoes and want a smooth sauce, whiz it in the pot with the hand blender (my wife calls it the "Thunderstick"... which sounds like her lucky bat)

Next up... Flank steak sandwiches. That one is for you Chris.

5 comments:

Shinny said...

Thanks for the recipe! Now if I can only get my home improvement projects to a point that I again have time to cook, I will give this a go. It doesn't sound too complicated, which is so very nice, so I could start it and then do a project and hopefully not forget that I have this going on the stove. ;)
Thanks again. Can't wait for more recipes.

Anonymous said...

Holla! Meatballs rule! Thanks for goin' old skool and posting this sweet delish recipe. Can't wait to get my flank on…the bbq that is.

Rosemarie said...

Great recipe!

I was just lurking her from Kristin's blog. My daughter LOVED the meatballs.

Keep those receipes coming ;)

Shinny said...

I mixed and cooked the meatballs last night. Since I had the turkey thawed, however we were too tired to make the sauce. So I am hoping that I can get to that tonight. They smelled wonderful cooking so I am looking forward to the consuming of them.
Thanks again for the recipe.

Sherry said...

AND you cook? No darn wonder K keeps you around. ;-)