Rich Mintz  

Because it was that kind of week, last night was a stay-home-and-cook night, accompanied by a Casey Kasem American Top 40 countdown from the summer of 1975 on Sirius XM. (The number-one song: title track from this album.) On the menu: linguini and meatballs, roasted squash, and fresh bread.

I’m particularly proud of yesterday’s bread. With practice, and some tinkering with the proportions and the rise times, the bread is looking classier and classier, as you see below.

This was made off the standard recipe, except that (1) for the first time in ages, I used only King Arthur white bread flour, with no other flours or grains added; and (2) it got a seven-hour first rise and a two-hour second rise.

I think I prefer having some other grains in the mix, and I think it needs a longer second rise (and a shorter first rise), but this is still exceptionally good bread (as good in its way as any artisan bread you can buy at the store, or better) — and I made it with my own hands.

The two orange squash in last week’s photo turned into the side dish you see above, with a bonus serving of toasted squash seeds, which those of you who lived through the 1970s in a yogurt-and-macramé household, as I did, will recall as one of nature’s treats. The squash were a little immature, so the flesh wasn’t quite as sweet as it might be, but on the other hand it was richer and subtler than what you get in the store.

And, finally, the meatballs. We use a freestyle adaptation of Mark Bittman’s spaghetti-and-meatballs recipe from this book, which has gradually become the first cookbook I reach for. This being the 10th batch of meatballs or so, I don’t even look at the recipe anymore, but from memory here it is more or less. Like almost everything I cook regularly, the recipe is really forgiving (otherwise it’s not worth building a habit around). For the chopping, I use the chopper attachment to my hand mixer, which leads to slightly chunky meatball innards; the results would be more even and consistent with a real food processor.

Get out a big bowl and dump into it:
1 pound ground sirloin plus 1/2 pound ground pork, broken up with your hands into small chunks to aid in combining
1 large carrot, chopped fine
2 shallots OR 1 medium onion, chopped fine
2-3 large garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 cup stale breadcrumbs OR 1 cup virtually any leftover cooked grain from the fridge, e.g., cooked rice
About 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, if you have it
About 1/2 cup grated good or good-ish parmesan, romano, or other dry or dry-ish cheese (don’t use crap, but it doesn’t have to be the gold-medal stuff)
2 raw eggs
A spoonful of Asian chili garlic sauce, some dried chopped jalapenos from the spice rack, cumin, and quite a bit more salt than you think you need

Mush all this up with your hands until you have a big lump of raw meatball substance. Form into meatballs of your preferred size, and cook in a large, deep skillet in hot olive oil, turning very frequently, until browned all over. Remove meatballs from pan.

Pour off most of the oil, then pour a jar of high-quality marinara sauce into the drippings. (It’s worth not skimping on the sauce; don’t ruin perfect meatballs with a jar of Ragu!) Warm the sauce, then add the meatballs back in and coat all over. Serve over the pasta of your choice.

Tags: food, recipes

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