November 18, 2011
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The Daily News1 I did it!
2 I made perfect meatballs last night!
3 I'm pretty sure that I brought the spirit of when I was a small boy back into my head.
4 The mind erases, as you well know.
5 My mind remembered the ingredients, but forgot the love.
6 Last night I opened the fridge and saw that I had a package of ground round that I bought a few days ago and that I had forgotten about.
7 When I saw that it was ground round, I remembered that my Mom once told me always to buy lean ground round instead of ground beef.
8 I pulled it out of the fridge, smelled it, and found it to be quite fresh.
9 Almost simultaneously I remembered the magical missing ingredient: love.
10 When my Mom used to make meatballs, she would have ME roll them and compress them into perfect roundness.
11 But those were the days when meatballs were as big as softballs, sort of like the ones you get at Original Joe's.
12 So last night I again got all my ingredients together and thought I'd give it another shot.
13 Helene suggested that I bake them, which I've never done. I put on a little Italian music and put myself to work.
14 I decided not to make the little mini-meatballs that are so prevalent nowadays, and make the classics.
15 When I came to compacting and shaping them, I became that little kid again, helping Mom in the kitchen. It was really quite sweet.
16 Then I took out a cookie sheet, put a thin layer of olive oil on it, and then slipped it into the oven.
17 I pushed play and walked away.
18 Within minutes, the entire house smelled heavenly, and I'm pretty sure the house itself smiled.
19 I knew from when I saw the package that these were going to be special.
20 A little while later, I turned on the oven light and looked in.
21 I lit up like a little kid on Christmas morning, peeping 'round the door to see what parcels are for free in curiosity.
22 Yes, that was a reference to The Who.
23 That band was another part of my childhood, when I got a bit older. But I digress.
24 AnywayZ, the meatballs not only cooked to perfection, but had a bit of a brown crust to give them the al dente sense that even OJ's meatballs lack.
25 Last week I made a sauce from a roast, and had it cooking all day. That's another of my Mom's secrets. She would get up early some mornings and cook a roast, and then make sauce out of it, stirring it all day so that the juices would blend with the fresh herbs and spices.
26 I had a jar of it left, poured it into a bowl, and added enough liquid to completely immerse the meatballs in a steamingly scrumptious, succulent boat of flavor.
27 I allowed them to marinate there for a while.
28 After a bit, I took out a tester, took a bite, and almost went over.
29 I can't really get it down here, but when my hands formed the roundness, I literally became that kid again. I took extra care to be sure those things were almost perfectly round, and that they were going to hold together.
30 And this might sound a little funny, but I felt that my Mom was standing beside me, guiding me.
31 And not in an odd, ghostly way. Almost the same way she would stand next to me when I was a kid, helping her cook.
32 It was a sweet moment, and the result, miraculous.
33 I decided to eat just one, because they were pretty big.
34 Besides, Mom always told me that sauces get better the following day, which time and empirical taste tests have all proven.
35 So those of you who get frustrated with recipes, just remember the main ingredient in everything you cook: love.
36 It's that time of year again, isn't it?
37 Have a safe and wonderful weekend.
38 See you again. I love you, and I miss you Mom. Thanks for the guidance.
39 Peace.
~H~
