Cooking with Assholes (c) --AP's advanced version thread

[angry pancake]

Last night was meatballs. Here's how it goes.

I use ricotta instead of romano or pecorina or other harder cheese. I didn't have any ricotta so I made some. I needed a cup or so of ricotta. To make ricotta: 4 1/2 cups of milk brought to about 180 degrees. Remove from heat. Add about 2 1/2 tablespoons of vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar, but use whatever you want or lime juice) to milk, stir in vinegar and viola --mixture separates in seconds. Strain through cheese cloth lined colander.



Heat milk to 180. No thermometer, 180 is scalding and steaming, but not boiling or simmering.



Milk separating after adding the acid.





Strain for as long as you feel like it.



Mix the ricotta with some ground meat. I had a package of ground beef (see the "what did you just buy" thread) some onion, about a cup of bread crumbs (make your own lazy ass), some Italian parsley, a couple of eggs, chili flakes, salt and pepper. How much onion? Depends on how much you like.



Add a little hot sauce to taste. Use as hot or as mild as you like.



Wash your hands. Mix by hand. Then wash your goddammed hands again.



lube up a baking dish with a little olive oil. form into meatball. put into a preheated 450 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes.



Meanwhile makes some sauce. chop some onions, carrot, celery, bay leaf and cook down over medium low heat while the meatballs cook. Stir occasionally so the shit won't burn. I didn't have any celery, I substituted more hot sauce and garlic.



Also use good quality tomatoes and basil



Add tomatoes, bring heat up to just below boiling, then lower heat to low to simmer. if you forgot to add the bay leaves earlier, do so now. You want the heat low enough so that it doesn't platter-boil.



Look what AP found in the fridge. May as well add some of that. just a tiny bit of each.



After the sauce has cooked a while the tomatoes will have collapsed. At this point take out the bay leaves and mixture together. AP used an immersion stick blender, but a regular blender or processor will work.




Added the partially cooked meatballs to sauce pot to finish cooking. About a half hour or so with the lid slightly adjar.





Then eat them.


PRO-TIP: When forming meatballs, run your hands under the water faucet every now and then. Keeping them slightly wet, not dripping, keeps things from sticking to your hands.
BLONDE-TIP: Instead of bread crumbs, place some tortilla chips in a food processor or blender. Start with tortilla chips that have no flour. You might have to read the bag. But your in fucking Arizona so get some good mexican kind.