Italian Meatball Recipe

 Italian Meatball Recipe:

• 1 1/2 cup of bread crumbs ( this can be home made from toasted Italian bread or store bought) 
• 1 pound of ground meat, (you can substitute any meat, we prefer Turkey 100% lean.)
• 4 oz. grated cheese Pecorino and Parmigiana
• 2 Tsp of salt
• 1 Tsp of pepper
• 2 Eggs 
• 10 stalk or pieces chopped parsley 
• 2 cloves of garlic 
• 1 or 1/2 cup of water - depending on the quality of your bread crumbs. 

Mix all together, form balls (secret to keeping them nice and together, drip some warm water onto your palm of your hands as your rolling the balls.)  Then once you have your balls ready, fry them in a pan of very hot vegetable oil or canola oil. (some people like to substitute oils, we find this works best for us.)  Flip them till they are golden brown as you can see from today's meatball making.   

If you  have any questions, feel free to email me at margaret@italianamericangirl.com 

Happy Sunday! 

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Italian American Girl Recipe - Eggplant Polpettone - Meatless Version

There's nothing like meatballs to go with the traditional Italian American Sunday dinner, which includes pasta.  But one thing about summer, my mother always made an eggplant version of a traditional meatball. I shared this photo via Facebook and it literally went viral in minutes and I had many requests from our community to share my mother's recipe, so here it is:

Eggplant Polpettone -

• 1 eggplant (light purple)
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups of bread crumbs
• 5 spoons of grated cheese ( Romano preferred)
• 1 tsp. of salt to taste
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 7 leaves of basilica chopped

Boil the eggplant in cubes till tender, drain them and squeeze water out.  Combine the bread crumbs, eggplant, eggs and all other ingredients.  Mix until it's completely evenly combined.  Begin forming balls about 3 inches long and 2 inches thick.  Fry in vegetable oil till brown.  Si Mangia! Let us know how your versions turn out.  

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Italian American Sunday Dinner: Making Meatballs

Sunday dinner and my mother makes the best meatballs in the United States.. sorry she does! Here are a few montage photos of her making them. The recipe is also secret.. maybe we'll get her to give it up and so we can share with the Italian American Girl audience. LoL. Enjoy! Tweet

What Ever Happened To Sunday Dinners....?

I can speak for myself and say that I am extremely lucky. Come hell or high water..which is pretty likely these days..there is always dinner on Sunday at my parents. By dinner, I don't mean like 5:00 or 6:00 pm its more like 1 or 2:00 pm. My father is a creature of habit and loves that my mother cooks him sausage and meatballs in the sauce. (Yes, its sauce.) Then following a fantastic plate of pasta. Sometimes, if I have an event to go to or someone invites me out for a Sunday I always do a second guess about attending, because I almost feel like I am missing out if I miss dinner at parents.

Their house is like the headquarters for everyone. I might be there, then my sister shows up with her kids and husband, followed by my brother or my other brother who might be visiting with his family. Sunday dinner, doesn't mean its just about food. I mean, Sunday dinners are like the meetings of the knights of the round table. There are some serious conversations that occur and pretty deep ones at that. We usually sit around the table for hours with revolving courses and especially coffee at the end of our meal.

Sunday dinners are one of the major characteristics of our family's values. No matter what, you are expected for dinner and you usually should attend..its in your best interest. ;) (according to my father.) Now, that I look back at my life growing up as an Italian American, I really cherish the fact that my parents kept my brothers and sister and myself super tight. The core of our values revolves around our family and respect for one another. Who would of thought that pasta and a few meatballs could be so meaningful? I'm lucky and wish more Italian Americans could experience Sunday dinner. Tweet

Lasagna and Real Sauce, It Just Doesn't Get Any Better.....

I am very lucky. Most Americans are so busy with their schedules that making dinner is really the last thing we worry about at night. We settle for frozen dinners, salads, take-out and or any other readily available garbage sold in our food stores. Well, tonight as I arrived to my parents house, I was greeted at the door with an unbelievable smell of sauce, lasagna and my favorite meatballs. Now, the great thing about being Italian is that it doesn't matter what day of the week it is, there is never a reason for cooking great--its a requirement!!

Part of my healthy regiment is due mainly to my upbringing. I work out and lets face it with Italian DNA, its hard to keep weight off...so I have to work extra hard to stay at a healthy weight. Our menu in my household growing up was always more of a vegetarian one, southern Italians are not big meat eaters. We rarely do anything beefy or broiled. We eat lots of versions of salads, rice, beans, pasta, fish and fruit. Aside from that I ban any kind of beef and my mom to accomodate me (cause that's what Italian mothers do) she specially makes me turkey (lean breast) meatballs. Let me tell you...so good. So, I wanted to brag a little about my gourmet tonight and share just a few pics of the preparation of making lasagna and the sauce. My mom is the rockstar of cooking!!! Love her.

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