Mexitalian

Meatball sub, with leftovers from Mexican and Italian themed meals. On to the balls:

First, I looked for a recipe. Then I checked the freezer and fridge. These were started with equal parts Millgate beef sirloin, Plum Creek veal, and southern OH lamb shoulder. The ground meat (kitchenaid meat grinder = happiness) got mixed with eggs (about 2 per pound of meat), a few food processed slices of Blackbird bread (crusts and all), and a bunch of crushed ricotta salata. Also in the mix were some chili flakes, a healthy portion of ground fennel, salt, and pepper. And just a bit of milk (Snowville). I though about grinding in some cured pork product--guanciale or pancetta--but this was just a test run.

The meat mixture was rolled into balls and sauteed on all sides in just a bit of olive oil. Once browned all over, they went into a roasting dish with the liquid from a can whole peeled tomatoes in puree. The roasting pan was covered tightly and left in a 325 oven for 1.5 hrs. Liquid wasn't an issue, as there was lots of fat to spare in the mix.

Those are good balls, but I can see why people go with pork in the mix. The full flavor of the grass fed beef and the lamb was intense. Not too much, but there's some gaminess there for sure.

The rest was just grocery store baguette (gasp!), salsa from a week ago (made with canned tomatoes), and cotija cheese. Some garden thinning basil too.

Not bad for a quick heat and eat dinner.