Sunday night dinner with the guys

So tonight was inspired by my friend Giuseppe and him being homesick.  I told him, "let me cook you a nice sunday dinner, old school style."  So I made a meal for a couple of the guys that reminds me of almost every Sunday of my life.  Every Sunday morning I would wake up to the delicious smell of the Sunday sauce at work and meatballs of pork, veal and beef being fried to a char on the outside and still pink on the inside, just so it would be cooked through enough in the sauce.  Getting a chance to dip the bread in  some sauce as an palate pleaser before hand while my mother (stunningly pictured here holding me with my Godmother in the background) wasn't looking was also a perk.

So this meal started out with some beef ribs, seared on both sides with a sizzle.  Make sure the pan is hot and you're using a "Stick" pan (yeah who uses that anymore).  The reason a non stick pan doesn't work is that you want to get those little bits of meat to stick to the pan in order to flavor the sauce in the upcoming steps.

So next you are going to add 1 whole onion chopped along with what I used about 6-8 cloves of garlic.  I added it to the same pan in order to deglaze it and grab all those bits of juice off from the bottom.  Then I let it work its way down for 5-10 minutes.

While that was working its way down I got the four cans of  whole peeled plum tomatoes unpopped and got ready to get my hands dirty (along with my blender).  Tradition would allow me to simply crush them with my hands until I painted the walls red (because they explode like IED's when you squeeze them).  But this time for time sake I placed them in the blender for a quick chop up.

Now that the tomatoes were prepared I put a can of tomato paste in with the garlic and onions in order to gain a depth of flavor to the sauce that is missed by most quick cooked sauces.  The trick is to let it crisp up just a bit before adding the sauce.

Once you've let it earn its stripes, its time to add the sauce, and be gentle it will contribute to greatness so you don't want to spill a drop!  Of course throw in your salt, pepper, red pepper and fresh basil from the garden if you have it.  Like always you want to bring it to a boil then lower it to a simmer and cover it.

From here on out it's a waiting game.  This particular sauce took 4.5 hrs to reduce down and get to where I wanted it.  Don't forget we are going to add the meatballs and the spare ribs back into it after we let it simmer in order to get that meaty flavor we all know and love.

Now its time to make the meatballs.  This recipe usually calls for 1 part ground beef, 1 part ground veal and 1 part ground pork.  Since veal is hard to find on this island (seriously can someone butcher me one please) I just did equal parts pork and beef.  From here you throw in a handful of breadcrumbs, two eggs, a quarter cup of cheese (I used pecorino-parmesan mix), 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley, 3-4 cloves of garlic and some good forearm muscles for incorporating it all together (my favorite part).

Once its incorporated you roll them up into balls of your liking.  These ones I believe are polpino (smaller meatballs) as opposed to some ginormous ones you could make if you have a creative imagination or go to buca in NYC.

Next step was frying them up on all sides, again making sure its not cooked through all the way but letting them get charred on the outside (this requires using a higher heat and attentiveness, oh and a lot of wrist twisting).  Once that is done take them out and plate them for their photo shoot...

The cats outside were waiting for one to drop...

Next was chicken cutlet time.  This was going to be my appetizer for the evening.  Nothing different here, simply slice those breasts thin and set up your eggs and breadcrumbs (complete with a quarter cup of cheese, parsley and salt and pepper if they're not seasoned already.  Then you fry them up on medium heat.

 I also, as always made my bread cutlet as well with the leftovers.  There is nothing wrong with being frugal, especially when it tastes great.

 Make sure to cook the Spaghetti, or any pasta for that matter, Al Dente!  It makes a big difference on how it tastes.  Also as you can see pictured below I have the spaghetti already incorporated with some of the sauce and have a bowl on the side with extra sauce for dipping and adding on top of course!

Add a dollop of Ricotta to the side of any pasta for a creamy delight you'll love, Sicilian style.

And there you have it, the spread, the boys and full stomach's by the end of the meal.  A true Italian Sunday dinner.  I want to thank my guests Ellery, Daniel, Joey and Giuseppe for coming over and enjoying it with me and bringing great company as well.  Buon Appetito!