Cooking With Emily: Spaghetti & Meatballs

School's out for summer, to quote an old song.  I didn't get around to writing a post last week, although Emily did indeed make  supper.  She made Cauliflower Chowder again, (http://viewfromhere68.blogspot.ca/2015_03_01_archive.html) a repeat from March 24.  It was delicious, although the weather doesn't lend itself to a bowl of soup for supper.  We were in the grocery store this morning and she asked about leek soup, having seen a packet of Knorr's Leek Soup mix. I do like leek soup, and have a great recipe, but it will taste better in the fall, when the weather cools off a little.  She didn't need much help at all with the soup, proof that the lessons, such as they are, are taking hold.  Then again, she had a friend sleep over Friday night and the pair of them wanted to make pancakes for breakfast.  I directed her to my list of recipes I have fixed to the inside of a cupboard door for things I make often but cannot always remember the amounts of ingredients (baking powder biscuits, white sauce, pancakes, my favourite bread machine recipes) Unfortunately these notes are only ingredients & amounts (including half & double recipes) and no directions, since I know the methods, and all my usual variations.  I did suggest they find a recipe in a cookbook, but it fell on deaf ears.  When I stuck my head in the kitchen I discovered a very watery non-batter being ladled into the waffle iron.  I realized later, when Emily made a second attempt at pancakes Sunday morning, they mis-read 1 1/3 cups of flour as 1/3 of a cup.  I stirred in more flour, but the final product was heavy and inedible.  Sunday Emily did make another attempt, with a cookbook as a guide, but again, almost missed the right volume of flour.  Thankfully I was standing there and caught the omission.  We had a brief lesson on how to tell the pancakes are ready to turn -when the surface has had lots of little bubbles rise & burst.  They are done when the cooked side springs back when touched gently.  Much more edible.  I hadn't realized we had not yet covered making pancakes in our lessons.  Shame on me!  I fell into the mother's trap of thinking since she had seen it done so many times she should have somehow just absorbed it.
At least it was not a terribly expensive lesson.
Monday morning Emily unearthed a kid's cookbook we picked up some years ago at a library book sale by the American Heart Association.  She found a recipe in it for spaghetti.  I wondered if spaghetti was the best choice in the midst of a mini heat wave, but she insisted it was what she wanted.  I skimmed the recipe and pointed out it had no meat, knowing she likes meatballs, or, at the very least, meat sauce.  She neatly turned a page in the book and found a recipe for broiler meatballs. It is far to warm for the oven or broiler, but I usually make meatballs in a skillet.  And so the menu was settled.
I helped her mince an onion (we will have to conquer that soon) while she opened a package of ground bison.  She then added bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, a egg and some milk.  The recipe called for Italian seasoning, which we did not have.  I measured in a generous pinch of dried oregano and basil and cut some fresh thyme and parsley for her.  She added salt, pepper and garlic powder and donned a pair of disposable latex gloves to mix everything together.  Once she had it combined I told her to make evenly sized meat balls and place them into the pan where we had a tablespoon or so of oil heating.  I told her not to move the balls until they were done on one side or they would fall apart. It was time consuming, but she did well, apart from a few dropped pieces of onion.
Once the meatballs were  browned on all sides I had her lift them from the pan into a bowl while she prepared the sauce.
She had me chop another onion to be browned in a little oil.  To the browned onion she stirred in a can of diced tomatoes, more dried oregano and basil, as well as garlic powder, salt & pepper.  She let this simmer while she put on water for the spaghetti.  We took some liberties with the recipe, which called for stewed tomatoes and tomato paste, which I had her omit altogether, simply because we didn't have any.  I don't use a recipe when making spaghetti sauce, meatballs or hamburgers either, but following a recipe is still a part of the learning curve.
Once the water was boiling I had her spoon the meatballs back into the sauce while the pasta cooked. I left her to her own devices again, and when I returned she had drained the pasta and stirred it into the sauce as well.  I poured a glass of wine and settled in to eat. It smelled wonderful.  And it tasted great.  Emily added extra Parmesan & grated Cheddar to her plate, I found it didn't need anything extra, except a little more salt & pepper (and a few crushed chilis for good measure!)

Italian Meatballs

1 large onion                         1 1/2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning*

1 pound ground beef             1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/3 cup dry bread crumbs     salt & pepper

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese      1/3 cup milk

1 egg

Mince the onion and combine with remaining ingredients.  When well blended shape into meatballs 1 1/2-2 inches in diameter.  Place in a large skillet and brown thoroughly on all sides.  Don't over crowd the pan, you may have to do 2 batches, or use a second pan.  Alternately, place meatballs on a broiler pan and broil for 5 minutes before turning and broiling another 5 minutes.  

Remove meatballs from pan and set aside to prepare sauce, 

*We used a combination of dried oregano, dried basil, fresh thyme and fresh parsley.  Dried herbs have a more concentrated flavour, so you will need more fresh herbs than dried. (About a 3:1 ratio)

Spaghetti Sauce

 1 large onion                                    1-6 oz can tomato paste (opt)

2 tablespoons olive oil                      2 teaspoons dried basil

1-14 oz can stewed tomatoes*          1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup water                                        1/2 teaspoon pepper

                                                           3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Chop the onion and cook in hot oil (or meatball drippings) until onions are soft & translucent (about 5 minutes).  Add remaining ingredients and simmer over medium low heat about 20 minutes.

*We used diced tomatoes (roasted garlic & olive oil this time) instead of stewed tomatoes.  Tomato blends change the flavour of the sauce, so you can make it suit your taste

           

At this stage you can gently return the meatballs to the sauce, or serve them separately, over cooked spaghetti, or stir the pasta into the sauce as well and make it a one dish supper.