Happy Christmas Eve! For those of you celebrating, I hope Santa brings you exactly want you want tonight.
My gift from Santa -- a shiny new washing machine -- came early this year, but what I'm looking forward to the most is time with family and friends this holiday. Tonight I will gather with my in-laws. Tomorrow after a quiet morning with my sweetie and furry ones, I will see my parents, my brother and his family, and my cousin Elizabeth.
In this column on Dec. 3 I wrote about a recipe I tried called Cinnamon Roll Cookies. And I suggested leaving a plate of them out for Santa. I'd like to apologize to anyone who had trouble with the recipe for those cookies. I've heard from several readers who struggled with the dough. Each had a different problem -- one baker's dough was too sticky; another's was too dry.
I made the cookies without any issues, so I can't speculate as to what went wrong for the cooks who did have trouble with the dough. But I understand how frustrating it can be to spend time and money on a recipe that doesn't cooperate or turn out well.
The following recipe, though not sweet or necessarily appropriate to leave out for Santa, is one I've made many times. And it is one of my favorites.
Spaghetti and Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce
1 pound 85 percent lean ground beef
3 tablespoons plain bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Several dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1 (12-ounce) box Barilla White Fiber thin spaghetti
2 cups spicy red tomato pasta sauce such as Delallo Spicy Arrabbiata
2 cups not spicy marinara sauce
Parmesan cheese
Garlic bread, for serving, optional
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place a wire rack in the baking sheet over the foil.
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, egg and milk; using your hands, mix thoroughly, but gently. Shape mixture into 16 walnut-size balls. Place balls on rack in prepared baking sheet. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions.
In a medium saucepan, combine the tomato sauces and bring to a simmer.
Drain pasta, reserving a tablespoon or so of the cooking water.
In a large serving bowl, combine pasta, reserved water and tomato sauce and mix well. Serve topped with meatballs and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serve with garlic bread, if desired.
Makes 4 generous servings.
Food on 12/24/2014