Spaghetti and meatballs

Well another weekend has passed and I have tried more recipes with winter squash. However, it was one of those weekends that everything squash went wrong. Last night I made stuffed acorn squash for Jeff's birthday dinner. All of the ingredients blended together were delicious and easy to prepare. Then I placed them in the 400 degree oven for an hour and 20 min. Instead of the squash becoming moist and  tender it became hard and dry (like the directions suggested) the squash did not cook! So, I used my last resort and salvaged what was left by placing it in the microwave (which I hate to use). But, it did cook the squash. Though Jeff's birthday dinner was a relative disaster, Friday night I had a great success in the kitchen when I made fresh spaghetti and meatballs. I decided to conquer tomato sauce and meatballs when I was at the local co-op and they had a bunch of tomatoes half off! So here was one successful weekend recipes from my favorite inspiration book: The Art of Simple Food by the one and only Alice Waters:

Tomato Sauce
3 lbs of tomatoes (I like super ripe just about to spoil tomatoes)
2 to 3TBS torn fresh basil
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes

Wash and quarter tomatoes and place in a sauce pan with the basil. Over medium heat cook the tomatoes and basil until the tomato skins split. Using your immersion blender (which I use all the time, thanks to Auntie Kim!) blend till smooth. Add salt, pepper, and flakes to your taste. Return to a low heat to keep warm for use. If you like a little thicker sauce simmer.

Meatballs:
2 lb of ground pork shoulder
2 lb of ground chuck
1 cup of day old bread (crust removed and torn into pieces)
1/2 cup milk
2 small yellow onions
3 crushed garlic cloves
1 TBS thyme
1 TBS chopped italian parsley
A pinch of cayenne pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 450. Place bread and milk in a bowl and set aside. Combine meat with a little salt and pepper in a large bowl. Using the large holes on the grater, grate the onions (gets a little teary so be prepared). Squeeze out the milk from the bread. Mix the bread with the meat. Add onions, garlic, thyme, parsley, cayenne, egg, and parmesan to the meat and mix until all the ingredients are just mixed. If it feels too dry, add a little olive oil and/or milk. Roll out the meatballs and place them on a foil lined baking sheet. Cook until they are cooked all the way through (took my oven about 15 minutes). For the last couple of minutes I placed them under the broiler.

Served the meatballs with the sauce over homemade whole wheat pasta noodles. Top with parm.

Enjoy.