Clamenza Would Be Proud

I perfected my meatball recipe last night, and I thought I would share.

Spicy Meatballs
1 pound lean ground beef
12 saltine crackers, finely crushed
6 oz. tomato paste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon grated Parmesian cheese
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands until smooth and evenly blended. Shape into 2" balls.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in an oven-safe skillet over medium-low heat. Place the meatballs in the skillet and brown them evenly on all sides, shaking the skillet and letting the meatballs roll around while cooking. Once they are all browned, place the meatballs into the oven (skillet and all). Bake for 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the meatballs have an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees.

Remove them from the oven and blot them on paper towels for 5 minutes.

Pile them on some hot pasta with your favorite sauce, and pour yourself a glass of red wine. Or stuff 'em in a split loaf of french bread with some provolone and marinara, and crack open a cold beer.

TIPS

If you don't have an oven-safe skillet...say, your skillet has plastic handles or a Teflon coating...just dump the meatballs into a casserole dish or cake pan to bake them.

Substitute half of the ground beef with your favorite spicy Italian sausage.