Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Meatball Subs

Jeremy's Sub
Lance's Sub


Well....we're back! We were going to do grilled shrimp po boys, but we changed our mind. This was a quick Dinner Bromantic, as Jeremy was headed to the airport later in the evening to pick up his buddie Chase. Total cook and prep took about 30 minutes, but then again that is with 2 cooks. It's been a while since we got together for this and we think this is one for the win column. It was both our first times cooking meatballs. We hope you all enjoy.

For the Meatballs:

You will need: 2lbs of ground beef, ½ onion (we used red), 1 cup of Italian bread crumbs, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar, 3 jalapeno peppers, a few shakes of salt and some fresh ground pepper, hoagie rolls, and shredded mozzarella cheese.

For the meatballs:

Combine these contents into a mixing bowl and mix well:

-2lbs of ground beef

-2 eggs

-1 cup of Italian bread crumbs

-3 chopped jalapeno peppers

-1/2 chopped onion

-A few shakes of salt (about a tea spoon)

-1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

-About a teaspoon of ground black pepper

Set the oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is heating, get a regular size cupcake pan and mold your meatballs into about the size of a racquet ball and put one in each of the cupcake slots. The grease drippings will end up giving your meatballs a “fried” effect. Bake for about 20-25 minutes.

For the sauce:

You will need: About 12 large tomatoes, 6 cloves of garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt, 1 cup of fresh basil, 1 cup fresh oregano, and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

- Quarter and seed your tomatoes, then puree them in the food processor or blender

- Finely chop about a cup of fresh basil and a cup of fresh oregano.

- Mince 6 cloves of garlic

- Cover the bottom of your sauce pan with a thin layer of olive oil and the 6cloves of minced garlic.

- Turn the burner on medium high heat.

- Simmer until garlic becomes soft.

- Add the tomatoes, oregano, basil, and salt to taste.

- Bring to a boil, reduce heat and stir occasionally for 30 minutes or until sauce is a deep red color.

Plate it up with a fresh baked hoagie topped with 3 meatballs, sauce

and fresh shredded mozzarella cheese.

Serves about 6-7 six in sandwiches, enjoy!

Jeremy's analysis:

I like it, the sauce isn't quite perfect yet. Maybe it needs something to sweeten it up a bit. I do think we need to try cooking something "not spicy" Maybe it can't be done? The meatball was moist, well cooked, and a great balance of flavors.

Lance's analysis:

It all comes together beautifully. A perfect balance of heat and flavor. The sauce does need something else. I'm just not sure what that might be. Excellent crunch with the onion and pepper. All around, a great dish.

Sunday, December 4, 2011