I haven’t made traditional Spaghetti & Meatballs for a very long time. I have an old recipe that I usually use, but this time I decided to try something new (from Fine Cooking, of course). The recipe had caught my eye when this issue came out because it’s from Rao’s, a very old family restaurant in East Harlem, New York. The title of the article is “The Best Ever Spaghetti & Meatballs”. I hate it when recipes are titled like that, because who’s to say it’s the best ever? Plus titles like that build up expectations, so that disappointment is that much more acute when the food doesn’t live up to the claims. I decided to try it and see if it was the best I’d ever have.
The sauce is just a basic marinara. The meatballs use a mixture of ground beef, pork and veal – Whole Foods was out of ground veal so I had to use their meatloaf mixture. The only time I ever eat veal is in meatloaf and meatballs. The idea of veal grosses me out so I try not to think about it. Everything came together pretty quickly – about two hours start to finish. It wasn’t the best ever, but it was pretty good. I’ve missed garlic bread, that’s for sure.

• Spaghetti & Meatballs (Fine Cooking #71, May 2005, p. 51)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

Wine: David Bruce 1999 Ranchita Canyon Sangiovese (Paso Robles, California). This was my first glass of wine since December 4 of last year. Even though I’m still under doctor’s orders not to have alcohol, I had a couple of glasses anyway. I can’t imagine Spaghetti & Meatballs without a Sangiovese. This is a really nice wine.