finally - spaghetti and turkey meatballs

when i say to you

that i have been trying to

write this post for over two weeks,

i mean it. i've started it.

several times. only to be

cut off by small things - like

having to go to work,

go to bed, actually make dinner

for the night ahead, deal with

unexpected work crises and um,

one day, somehow cutting

off our internet connection.

so, i know it's been a while.

so long that i almost scrapped

the whole post

in a sign of moving on,

but, i couldn't do it.

we liked the meatballs too much.

--

usually when larry

goes away for work,

i try to get my act together

in time for his homecoming.

not this time.

he had been away for a

week and he was actually

coming home late on

a thursday evening - not

the middle of the night like

usual. i wanted to top

the sweet potato andouille pie

or the pulled chicken sandwiches.

instead, i found out that he

was coming home earlier

than expected, i had a very, very

long and busy day at work that ended with

10 children, pizza dough, flour, sauce

and eventually, baked pizzas for them

to eat. and, i lost my cell phone.

my only phone - especially if larry

and his cell are not in the house.

i got home from work just after

his plane landed, figured out how

to text him through gchat and

ran out to order and wait for

dinner. life without a phone

is tough. i was back home fast -

but he was already there.

and so, he welcomed me and

a bag of (good, but not homemade)

mexican food at the door.

not exactly the way i pictured it.

the next night,

i wanted to make it up to larry

(although, honestly, i think

his spicy pork tacos were fine

with him. i was the one

with the problem). i gave him

a few choices - he chose

spaghetti and turkey meatballs.

on the way to the store

i asked him to cook with me.

he agreed. he also tried to sneak

ground pork into the basket.

he did not succeed.

that night,

while i set to work

chopping and sauteing

onions and garlic,

larry squished peeled

san marzano tomatoes

from the biggest can

i had ever bought.

we added the tomatoes

to the aromatics, dropping in

a few bay leaves and while

i spent time regretting that

i didn't add wine to the pot,

the whole thing started

simmering.

i had made this recipe

once before, a few years back.

my memories of the experience

consisted of these four things:

i made them for larry after a very

long spell of all things vegetarian,

i was very hot in the kitchen that day,

it took a very long time

and the end result was worth it.

that's why i had asked for

larry's help.

this time around,

even though the company

was nice - very nice - the whole

process was much smoother and

i probably could have handled it

by myself. larry cracked eggs

into a bowl while i mixed together

milk and breadcrumbs. i incorporated them

all together with some grated romano cheese

while he stirred the sauce.

once the ground turkey was added

and the whole thing was rolled

into balls, i looked around the kitchen

and realized that everything was very calm.

i brought a pot of water to a boil

and pulled out my best kitchen friend,

the immersion blender. i've never really

smoothed out a sauce like this before -

i usually like them chunky and full,

but it was an experiment. i hadn't

followed the sauce recipe that accompanied

the meatballs, but it did call for pureeing

and i thought, maybe that's one step

i should follow. i blended everything

for a minute. just long enough to

make the mixture thick and cohesive,

but still maintain pieces of tomatoes and onions.

it was a lovely success - something i'm sure

every italian grandmother and grandchild

could have told me years ago.

when it was time to put it all together,

i was glad to have larry there to monitor

the pasta, so that i could tend to the

meatballs, which of course, by the time

i was done with them, looked nothing

like balls, more like unruly pentagons.

no matter. once they're sauced,

no one cares. or at least, no one

in this house cares.

it was a meal not so shocking,

nothing so groundbreaking

in turkey meatballs and sauce,

but for me,

topped with freshly grated cheese

and big glasses of red wine,

it was the welcome back meal

i was hoping for.

just a day late.

spaghetti and turkey meatballs

adapted from giada de laurentiis

the original recipe calls for dark ground turkey, but i used 93% lean, and was very happy with the results. we also had 1/4 pound more turkey, so i upped everything else, in addition to adding chopped garlic and oregano. these turkey meatballs are a great basic recipe - good to store somewhere in your head and adapt as inspiration strikes. i really wantd to bake them, but this meal was larry's and he offered up objections. next time, i'm trying them in the oven. oh, and if you're making your own sauce (so worth it), start the sauce and while it's cooking, make the meatballs. or, if you're really on top of things, make the sauce the day before.

5 tablespoons dried bread crumbs

2 1/2 tablespoons whole milk (we used 1% - it was fine)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons grated romano cheese

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 teaspoons dried oregano

salt and pepper

1 1/4 pound ground turkey

3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

5-7 cups marinara sauce

1 pound spaghetti

in bowl, stir together bread crumbs and whole milk. stir in eggs, cheese, garlic and oregano. season mixture with salt and pepper. using your hands, gently mix in turkey, just until combined, being sure not to overmix. shape mixture into golf size balls.

bring large saucepot water to a boil; cook and drain spaghetti according to package directions. (ideally, the pasta will be ready just around when the sauced meatballs are done.)

meanwhile, in large skillet over medium high heat, add oil until shimmering, but not smoking. add meatballs. cook 2 minutes, or until golden brown and easy to lift from the skillet. turn meatballs and cook 2 minutes more. continue turning and browning until meatballs are browned on all sides.

add 5 cups sauce to meatballs; bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. using a slotted spoon, transfer meatballs to a bowl; tent to keep warm. over low heat, add cooked spaghetti to skillet and mix with sauce, adding extra sauce if desired. transfer spaghetti to a large serving bowl or individual bowls; top with meatballs and additional sauce, if desired. serve with grated romano cheese.

the marinara sauce

this sauce made a lot - more than needed for the meatballs. i emptied the leftovers into a resealable bag, flattened it out and froze the bag for a future dinner. if the past few weeks are any indication of the weeks ahead, i'm sure i'll be glad to have it stashed. there was not a ton of measuring involved with this, so here's a close approximation of how the sauce came to be:

olive oil

dried oregano

red pepper flakes

2 large white onions, peeled and chopped

5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

1 can (106 ounces) whole peeled san marzano tomatoes

2 bay leaves

granulated sugar

grated romano cheese

in large saucepot over high heat, heat a small splash of olive oil 30 seconds, or until hot and shimmering. add oregano and dried pepper flakes and stir 30 seconds. add chopped onions and cook 10-15 minutes, or until tender. add garlic. saute 1 minute more, or until tender.

meanwhile, remove tomatoes from can into large mixing bowl, squishing and breaking down as you go. when onions and garlic are ready, add everything from the bowl, plus a decent pour of the tomato puree that the tomatoes came in, to the saucepot. add bay leaves.

bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes, or until slightly thickened. remove and discard bay leaves. using immersion blender (or a regular blender in careful batches), puree sauce just until combined, but chunks still remain.

simmer 15 to 20 minutes more. if too acidic, sprinkle in a couple pinches of sugar. add a small palmful of grated parm; stir to combine.

the perfect compromise

i'm sure it's not easy to live 

with me. i mean of course,

i'm lovely to live to with,

(right, lar?), but 

i'm probably

not always the most

fun person

to prepare

your dinner.

i don't eat red meat,

or most things associated with it,

i'm not wild about chicken

or turkey

and although

i love fish and seafood,

i can often go weeks

without making

them for dinner 

and not even realize it.

so sometimes,

i make meals more 

substantial

by adding an egg,

poached or fried,

and other times,

i have to get creative.

larry loves italian --

i like it. 

but it wouldn't

be my first

choice

of cuisine

(or my second)

when deciding

where to dine

for the night.

so, years ago,

to bridge the italian, 

non-meat-eating

gap,

i started making this

tofu parm.

now, the thing about

tofu is that it has its devout

lovers, 

and just as determined,

haters.

i fall in the first group,

but let me tell you,

even i would want to 

spend too many meals 

eating plain pieces of

cold tofu.

they taste, mostly, like...

nothing.

so do yourself a favor 

and flavor it up. 

marinate it,

broil it,

pan-fry it.

look at it as a 

vehicle

for

sauces and seasonings.

here,

the slices are coated using

the standard breading

procedure:

flour,

egg,

then, breadcrumbs.

you really want to spice

both dry components

well, to ensure that they

do their part.

salt, pepper,

cayenne,

oregano and 

grated parm do wonders.

while, fresh toasted breadcrumbs,

are the tastiest,

i've used panko

(like in this case),

and in a pinch, italian dried breadcrumbs.

yes, i know it's a travesty. 

and, yes, i know that my

can and i could be shunned from

the culinary community just for

the admission, 

but the uncouth crumbs

do wonders for tofu.

(i'm sure the tofu would

be amazing pan-fried,

but i've always baked the

pieces. 

it's less messy 

and

feels like a less-guilty

alternative -

you'll be happy later

when it comes time 

to add the cheese.)

while the tofu

is working so hard 

to make itself

delicious, i try to give it

a hand by simmering together

a quick marinara and grating

mozzarella. 

the great thing though,

is that this recipe can be what you

make it. if you're short on time,

layer the mixture with a jar

of the best sauce you can

find and sprinkle with 

pre-shredded cheese.

and don't feel guilty.  

regardless,

the casserole makes your

house smell like

the best of italian restaurants. 

and when you pull the dish from

the oven,

hot, browned and bubbling,

it's only natural to feel

a growing impatience

that has built in anticipation - 

having to wait to take

your first bite

can be

exhausting.

i will not

go far as to

lie and say

that you will

think you're noshing

on chicken

or 

veal,

but i do think it's

fair to say

that after a couple bites, 

you won't care.

tofu parmigiana

the trick for making tofu taste good, is to drain and blot out as much of the water as possible, which in turn, helps the pieces absorb as much flavoring as possible. to do: drain tofu from container. blot with a couple paper towels. cut into desired pieces. place each piece on a paper towel; top with another paper towel and press. repeat several times and let sit while you prepare other things (get the sauce, started, set up the breading station, preheat the oven, etc.).

also, with the exception of the egg (because i finally learned my lesson - one just isn't enough), i never measure the ingredients for the breading. it dirties other dishes and is always a bit hard to predict, so i eyeball it. it's never steered me wrong.

one last thing, i usually make the parm in a 8x8 pan, but in this case i used gratin dishes. either way it makes enough for about three people, four if you're not very hungry or offer bread, pasta and salad as well. these little dishes (you would need three) are an easier, prettier way to serve, but if you're dining with family and are not concerned with appearences, save yourself the prep time - make it in one dish. and if you're feeding six, you can easily double the recipe.

1 pkg. (16 oz.) firm tofu, drained

flour

2 eggs, beaten with a few drops of water 

fresh bread crumbs or panko

salt, pepper, cayenne pepper,

oregano and grated parm

1 ball (8 oz.) part-skim mozzarella

2 oz. parm (give or take)

about 2 1/2 cups marinara sauce (recipe below)

using sharp knife, carefully cut tofu horizontaly into six slices; halve slices to get 12 rectangular pieces. drain as directed above. place flour in one bowl; add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper (just a dash). place eggs in a second bowl. place breadcrumbs in a third bowl; stir in salt, pepper, cayenne pepper (just a dash), oregano and a healthy handful of grated parm. 

heat oven to 350 F. coat foil-lined baking sheet with cooking spray.

using left hand, place one piece tofu in flour; shake off excess. using right hand, dip in egg, making sure to cover and shake off excess. place in bowl of breadcrumbs; make sure the piece is coated and using left hand transfer to baking sheet. repeat with remaining pieces of tofu. spray with cooking spray. bake tofu 20 minutes; turn pieces and bake 20 minutes more until golden brown. 

meanwhile, grate both cheeses.

to assemble: spread about 3/4 cups sauce in bottom of an 8x8 dish (or 1/4 cup in bottom of each gratin dish). top with half the tofu pieces (or two in each gratin dish). top with 3/4 cup marinara sauce, half the grated mozzarrella, half the grated parm and sprinkle with oregano. place remaining tofu pieces on top, in the opposite direction of the first. top with remaining marinaria, remaining mozzarella, remaining parm and oregano. coat a piece (or pieces) of aluminum foil with cooking spray. firmly cover dish. place on baking sheet. bake 25 minutes (20 for smaller dishes); uncover. bake 5 minutes more. turn oven to broil and cook 2 minutes, or until cheese bubbles and begins to brown in spots.

quick marinara

this may seem like a lot of ingredients for something quick, but most of them are already in your cabinet and the amounts can be adjusted (or the ingredients omitted) depending upon what you have. you probably will not use all the sauce for the tofu parm. the rest can be frozen.

1 tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. red peper flakes

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced

1/4 cup white wine (optional)

1 can (28-32 oz.) cherry or plum tomatoes

1 can (6 oz.) tomato puree

2 Tbs. grated parm

in saucepot, over medium-high, warm oil with oregano and red pepper flakes. add onions and garlic and cook 6-8 minutes, or until softened and starting to turn golden. season with salt and pepper. add wine if using and cook 2 minutes. add tomatoes, breaking up as you put them in and puree. bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat to low; let simmer 20 minutes, or until thickened. season with salt and pepper; stir in grated parm and cook 2 minute, more.