I have to say that the response to my first attempt at the Foodie Blog was very good. Number one, I am a bit suprised, and number two, very gratified at the nice comments. Lauren Lavilla at Verandas actually thought that I had some real talent for writting. That may be true, (and thank you Lauren) but more likely it is that after being in the food and beverage catering business for almost 40 years, there is such an accumulation of "stuff" in my head that it is finally finding a way out...and that writing it down may be a benefit to both me and anyone who would read this blog. As a man of Irish descent, I feel secure that there will be no rush to compare my writing to say, Joyce, Yeats or Wilde, but I am definately having fun with this. So lets see where it takes us!
 
I thought about the Red Curry Shrimp recipe that we posted on the blog last week...and the irony of it. As I said, Irish descent, from Pittsburgh and of very middle class means. My Mother (God bless her, she will be 87 in September) probably was told by her mother that since she was getting married to my Dad, she ought to learn to cook!! So, if it was Friday night at the Lohman household it was Mrs. Pauls fish sticks, Saturday was beans and franks, Sunday might have been Swiss steak. Week nights were stuffed bell peppers, spaghetti with some meat in the sauce, meatloaf......you get the idea.

The whole idea that Red Curry Shrimp was a weekday meal(and that I even had coconut milk and red curry paste in the pantry) completes a big old circle!!! So while, few eat shrimp on a nightly or even a regular basis, I believe, that  many people still to this day enjoy well prepared comfort foods, using good fresh ingredients.
 
So, in the upcoming weeks I am going to include my take on Chicken Cacciatorre, Meatloaf, the best Meatballs around, Fried Chicken, great simple soups, a great Chinese Chicken Salad and some homey desserts to top it all off. Additionally, I will mix in summer favorites; featuring hamburgers, fresh summer fruits to name a few...Wow, I have a lot of ground to cover!!
 
Before we begin with this week's recipe, I want to talk briefly about a favorite peice of equipment in my kitchen. It is my Kitchen Aid Mixer. Some of you may have one, so for those of you who do, no further explanation is needed. But even the many folks who do have them may not have explored all of the capabilities of the mixer. I have added the pasta attachment, ice cream maker, juicer and most recently the meat grinder. The recipe that we are going to look at this week will utilize the the grinder accessory.
 
The meat grinder, with little hassle will give you the opportunity to grind fresh hamburger meat, make your own sausage, meatloaf and on and on. I buy chuck roasts on sale, grind what I need for fresh hamburger and freeze the rest. Same with pork; buy both chops and shoulder roasts on sale, grind and freeze or coarsely chop and freeze... As you will find with the following recipe, using either the meat grinder or just chopping with a food processor will work just fine... so here goes with this week's recipe.
 
Featured Recipe: Monday's Meatballs
 
This recipe is one of my favorites - in fact I'm not sure why I'm giving it up so easily! It will take a bit of time and it is definately not low-calorie... so if that is an issue, you may want to wait for next week's installment. Don't fudge this one... use the real, full flavored, fat laden whole milk ricotta!! And yes there are two kinds of pork in the recipe - believe me the end result is worth it.

• 10........ounces boneless pork shoulder(leave some fat on!!)--  ground
• 10........ounces beef chuck (20% fat) ground
•  6.........ounces day old country bread
•  2.........ounces pork fat--finely chopped ---if you leave 10-15% fat on the pork shoulder, you can eliminate this
•  2.........ounces proscuitto--finely chopped...make sure it is well chilled, it will chop easily
•  1.........cup loosely packed, fresh flat leaf parsley...coarsely chopped
•  1.........tablespoon kosher salt- divided
•  2.........teaspoons dried oregano
•  1-1/2...teaspoons fennel seeds
•  1.........teaspoon dried chile flakes
•  2/3......ricotta cheese- best would be to go to an Italian market and get fresh, but supermarket full fat is fine
•  3.........eggs-lightly beaten
•  1/4......cup whole milk
•  1.........(28 ounce can) San Marzano whole tomatoes with juice....(Don't use crushed or puree...it is generally cooked before canning, you loose a lot of flavor!!)
•  1.........Handfull fresh basil
•  1.........Block Parmigiano-reggiano for grating
•  ...........Best-quality olive oli for finishing

1) Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with olive oil (not the good stuff). In a large bowl combine the pork, beef, bread, pork fat (if using),
  proscuitto, parsley, 2 teaspoons salt, oregano, fennel seeds and chile flakes and mix with your hands just until the ingredients are evenly mixed. Set aside.
 
2) In a seperate bowl, whisk together  the ricotta, eggs, milk just long enough to break up the large curds of ricotta. Add the ricotta mixture to the meat mixture
   and mix until it is incorporated. The mixture will feel wet, loose and a bit tacky....don't freak...these are not your mother's meatballs!! Pinch off a small peice
   and flatten into a small disk (1/2 ounce or so) and cook it up in a small fry pan.....taste and adjust the seasonings if you would like.
 
3) Form the mixture into 1-1/2 inch balls, each weighing about two ounces and place on the prepared sheets. You should have about 30 meatballs.
 
4) Bake, rotating the sheets from front to back for about 20-25 minutes, or until the meatballs are lightly browned. Remove the meatballs from the oven and
  reduce the heat to 300 degrees.
 
5) Sprinkle the tomatoes with the remaining salt and pulse in a food processor just until the are still a little chunky...don't make tomato soup out of them!!!
 
6) Pack the meatballs into a large or 2 smaller roasting pans. Pour the tomato sauce over and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Braise for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or
   until the meatballs are tender and have absorbed some of the tomato sauce.
 
7) Remove the pans from the oven and uncover. Distribute the basil leaves throughout the sauce.
 
8) For each serving, ladel the meatballs with some of the sauce into a warmed bowl. Grate the cheese over the top, drizzle with olive oil and eat.....
 
One final thought....this is a bit of work, so if you are going to make this recipe probably making double or triple the recipe is not a bad idea. Freeze the extra and when you do thaw them; bring them back to life by simmering in your favorite red sauce until warmed thru. They are great with pasta and my kids love  them as little meatball sliders. Just get your favorite little Italian rolls, layer some provolone on them, add the warmed meatballs draped with sauce, top with parmesan and enjoy.
 
That's it for this week....hope you enjoy it. Next week we will look at a some ideas for Fourth of July cookouts!!