My father, an Italian, was a spaghetti expert. “Meatballs,” he said, “need to be as big as your fist.” On spaghetti nights, he’d watch with his arms crossed as I dug into one of his homemade meatballs, which, back then, were almost the size of my head. “A meatball has to sit on the spaghetti like an egg in a nest,” he continued. No matter that it looked like a bowling ball squashing the last breath out of every noodle on my plate. The meatball was always the main attraction. Spaghetti was secondary.

In my childhood, a meatball’s most familiar place was on top of a mound of sauced-up noodles. As I got older, these meaty nuggets made appearances at cocktail parties swathed in barbecue sauce, between tiny hamburger buns as sliders, even as massive floaters in soup (albondigas, anyone?). The meatball’s versatility knew no bounds, gracing the plate in large and mini versions, spicy or sweet, sometimes made with a combination of meats and spices. Even with all these possibilities, a meatball in its simplest form is just meat, some seasoning and something to bind it all together. The spices, the exotic-sounding ingredients – those all stem from the same, basic recipe. Once you have that, you’re free to experiment to your heart’s content.

Tuck this basic meatball recipe into your back pocket so it’ll be at the ready when you need some easy meals and appetizers. Though it calls only for ground beef, don’t be shy about trying other meats, like pork and chicken. For a little heat, sub out some of the ground beef with spicy sausage. You can also experiment with herbs and spices while you’re at it. I’ve included some suggestions for serving at the bottom of the recipe.
BASIC MEATBALLS
Yield: 22 to 24 meatballs

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup onion, minced
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Shape mixture into the size of golf balls and place on prepared pan about 2 inches apart. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until cooked through and slightly browned. Remove from oven and serve alone, or in the following variations.
Cocktail-style: Grab a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce and empty its contents into a pot. Simmer meatballs in barbecue sauce until hot. Pour all into a serving dish, and serve with cocktail forks or toothpicks.
Hawaiian sliders: You’ll need a package of Hawaiian rolls, pineapple rings and apricot jam. Split Hawaiian rolls in half and toast on a baking sheet in the oven for a few minutes. Empty jar of apricot jam into a pot or microwave-safe bowl, and heat until jam is pourable. Brush each meatball with apricot jam and place on Hawaiian roll. Top with pineapple and serve. You can also grill the pineapple rings.
Meatball sandwiches: You’ll need 4 French rolls, 8 slices of provolone cheese and 2 cups of marinara sauce. Simmer about 16 of the meatballs in marinara until hot. Split French rolls in half lengthwise and place on a baking sheet. Line each half with slices of provolone cheese, and toast in the oven until cheese is melted. Spoon in 4 meatballs per French roll and serve.
Spaghetti and meatballs: Simmer meatballs in marinara sauce until hot. Spoon over spaghetti noodles and toss.
Soup: Whenever a recipe calls for meatballs (like Italian wedding soup, or albondigas), drop these in.
To store: Cooked meatballs can be kept in an airtight bag or container for up to two months. This is convenient if you plan to make spaghetti or soup in the coming weeks. Just take a few out of the freezer and pop into the sauce or broth to heat through.

This story originally appeared in The Orange County Register.

The homely russet potato is not much to look at — especially when you compare it to the swirling architectural beauty of a head of Romanesco broccoli, or the seductive lipstick-red of a radish. But the russet’s allure lies beneath its skin: a creamy, unblemished flesh so versatile, it can transform into a bevy of appetizing eats using just about any cooking method invented.

Yes, these grubby little tubers clean up real nice.

One of my favorite russet makeovers is the galette, where potatoes take a cue from the Romanesco’s structural swirl. To make a galette, potatoes are cut into thin slices, then arranged in an overlapping spiral to form a circular tart. Between potato layers, you can use your imagination to add aromatics, herbs and cheese to flavor. I love the combination of onions, garlic and rosemary — it’s a fragrant classic that never disappoints in a potato dish. This combo also works well if you plan to serve the galette with meaty main courses like beef and lamb.

Now, it’s true that traditional galettes are prepared with a pastry crust, but this isn’t necessary when you’re using russet potatoes. When the galette is baked, the potato slices act as both crust and filling — the top and bottom layers crisp and brown into a crust all its own, while the galette’s center remains pillowy and light. After baking, the galette is inverted to showcase a smooth, even surface of golden potato goodness. (And I promise, inverting it is a lot easier than you may think.)

There are a few methods for making a potato galette, but the breeziest is baking with a nonstick cookie sheet. The sheet acts as a blank, wide canvas for you to create your masterpiece, and the Teflon coating keeps individual potato slices from sticking to the sheet when you eventually flip the galette over onto a serving plate.

This is also a recipe where you can brush up your knife skills. Making thin, wispy potato slices may take a bit of patience if you’re a newbie, but the end result is well worth it. And don’t worry if your slices are uneven or slivered. You can arrange slices to mask these imperfections – but only if you want. In my experience, the flawed, rustic galettes are the best ones. (more…)

If you’ve been around long enough, you may have noticed things are getting a bit green in here, what with a salad and a broccoli rabe-heavy spaetzle as my last two recipe posts. Green just seems like the thing to do in the middle of February. Maybe it’s a subconscious thing to counteract all that V-day red we’ve been seeing, or maybe I’m jumping the gun into March. Either way, it just feels right.

These recipes were inspired by the simple pear, basil and parmesan salad I made for L.A.’s Stir It 28 event for Haiti last weekend (that of which I adapted from Leite’s Culinaria). People really seemed to like the combination of pear and basil.

For those not familiar with Stir It 28, read the rundown here. A handful of dedicated and super-friendly food bloggers, caterers and chefs descended on Greg/SippitySup’s lovely Hollywood Hills kitchen in the name of Haiti. (I’m compelled to mention here that Greg has excellent taste in knives. Shun, baby.) We cooked for an estimated 75 guests, all whom donated to the Stir It 28 Haiti fund. For more coverage of the L.A. event, visit the Duo Dishes, The Food Addicts, Uncouth Gourmands, South Bay Rants n Raves and Domestic Divas. (I’ll add more links as they come in!) If you didn’t attend the event, you can still donate to the cause by visiting Flanboyant Eats or CocoCooks and clicking on the logo. All proceeds benefit Share Our Strength and Yele Haiti. Donations will be accepted until Feb. 28.

So back to the recipe: The pesto portion of these recipes can be doubled, tripled – quadrupled even – to suit your needs. And if you have more than an hour on your hands, I suggest cooking the onions down until they’re really browned — not just a golden brown. The darker they are, the sweeter they will be.

PEAR AND PESTO CROSTINI
Yield: 2 to 3 servings (or if you’re me, 1 serving)

• 1/2 loaf French bread
• 2 cups packed basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano
• 3 tablespoons your best olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Bosc pear

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice French loaf into 1/2-inch-thick slices, and brush (or spray, if you have one of those nifty Misto things) with olive oil. Place slices on baking sheet and toast in oven for 10-15 minutes, or until edges are a deep golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.
2. While those are in the oven, make your pesto. In a food processor, combine basil leaves, garlic clove, pine nuts and Romano cheese. Pulse until pesto is coarse in texture, like coarse sand. Add in olive oil and process until fully incorporated. Taste. Add salt and pepper, if needed. Scrape pesto into a serving bowl or dish and set aside. (You should have about 3/4 cup.)
3. Cut pear into thin slices and place on a platter with crostini and pesto. To assemble: Spread pesto over crostini and top with pear and fresh ground black pepper, if desired. (Click on “Read the rest of this entry” for skirt steak/caramelized onion recipe.)

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