…for adding your classy punchline to this childhood photo of my grandma and I. It took me 20 years to notice.

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.

Just some horn-tooting on my end here: My recipe for ginger-scented chicken broth was chosen as a finalist by the editors of Food 52. It’s the same broth I made for the Vietnamese-inspired chicken and rice soup from this post. I’m elated! The other recipe up for the win is really creative — a chicken broth that uses chipotle chili peppers for some bite. The winning recipe will be included in the eventual Food52 cookbook. 

So if you’re a Food52 member, please vote! (If you’re not, you can sign up and join the community.) I’m partial to my own recipe, of course, but I think either recipe up for the win will benefit the cookbook. Thanks for reading!