Meatballs and spaghetti

this might be too late for this time, but for next time, I loved this very traditional and easy recipe. I lightly pan fried then tossed them into the sauce for a while. Check out my notes on the community pick section to read more. Nancy Jo's "Nonna's meatball's": food52.com/recipes/6195_nonnas_meatballs

The meatballs and spaghetti hit the spot on a snowy night! Just saying....other snow night fortifiers might be short ribs. Or chili.

Haha! The mix is resting (and so am I). Rolling commences in 10. Sauce underway.

Excuses, excuses? Just make the meat balls Mama!

Thank you all! Lots of great suggestions and inspirations. My original plan was to leave after a meeting I thought would end at 3, hit the grocery store to get different meats, pine nuts, and basil and add a little of several suggestions into new meatballs. What happened was my meeting went until 4:30, and it took an hour and a half to get home (5 miles)...so I'm making then with what we had on hand. Ground beef, ground lamb, herbs, parm regiano, plain bread crumbs, garlic. Did a test piece...it's pretty good, and I think it will benefit from being browned up in oil and a little time in sauce. And I will benefit from what -we-have meatballs and spaghetti and wine. Possibly lots. I need to be fortified to shovel in the morning! Thanks again!

Sorry, no recipe here...but may I offer a suggestion? Brown the "bombs" in a quarter inch of oil at a pretty high temperature, the way you might do a crab cake, say. A good crust is what allows them to hold together during braising. Don't cook them in the sauce for too long, because the acidity will make them sourish. You can cut back on the panada if you aim for a meatball that is not overcooked, still a little pink inside. And a good pecorino is probably the best choice, unless the family is from Emilia-Romania. Please post back after the snow is gone!

I sometimes make these meatballs from the Frankie's Spuntino cookbook. Its a larger meatball, with pine nuts and raisins. Something different! http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/badaily/2010/07/frankies-spuntino-meatball-rec.html

MTMitchell, it was clear to me you meant an Italian-American tradition. Your basic recipe sounds good; I agree that slipping in a little anchovy adds depth of flavor w/o going fishy; have also seen them made with milk-soaked bread instead of bread crumbs. I prefer them browned before hitting the sauce too - I use a skillet, but have heard many suggest browning in the oven to save on clean-up; haven't tried it myself, so can't comment on whether that effects flavor. I always cook off a bite size meatball to test seasoning before cooking entire batch... Sorry no innovative ideas here - but good, basic meatballs and spag are pretty damn satisfying in their classic Italian-AMERICAN form. Add some freshly grated parm and a good full bodied red wine, and it's hard to imagine a better dinner for a snowy night.

I should have clarified -- I meant in the Italian-American tradition. I know spaghetti and meatballs aren't a traditional Italian meal...But they sound so good on a snowy night...I usually use a pork/veal/beef mix, one or two eggs depending, some breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley and cheese. I was just interested in trying something new or different if people had ideas.

First off, this is an entirely Italian-American thing. You will never encounter spaghetti and meatballs in Italy unless it's on a "menu turistico"---hello, american hayseeds. This doesn't mean it can't be good. The polpettone (gut bombs) really do need to be browned, not fried before finishing the cooking. I don't know what your recipe is as there is no such thing as "traditional" even on a dish like this. You can work cheese and/or breadcrumbs into the meatballs and after browning cook them in the sauce. You might try using a mixture of beef, veal and pork for the bombs and bind them up with egg. Myself, I'd use some chopped up anchovy in the sauce---no one will know.