Okay so multiple people are talking about adding ricotta into the body of the actual meatball. I need no more convincing! As soon as I am no longer tired of eating meatballs (which probably won't be all that long because they're meatballs), I will definitely be trying it.
I'm not sure, but I think this comment thread is the longest I've seen for a Substack account that I follow. Congratulations! Everyone loves meatballs. Everyone struggles with family who (maybe) do not accept and welcome them the way we'd like. Many, many of us need some comfort right now. You've got all of us with this lovely post.
I myself put some ricotta right into the meatballs along with the panade. It's tricky, but you can feel when it's not too soft and will end up so tender. Up the seasoning if you do that, though.
I pretty much live for my comment section, so I'm happy you said something.
I will definitely experiment with ricotta IN the meatballs next time. The great thing about meatballs is that they're just, well, meatballs. If you screw up a batch, it's no big whoop.
And I feel like I've been upping the seasoning every time I make them, so adding more will definitely NOT be a problem!
Beautifully and evocatively written. The sheer misery that is woven into the food we make. The rage, the sadness, the bitterness, the regret. And yet the food is delicious.
Damn, brother, I’m imagining these meatballs and I bet they’re terrific. I’ve archived this and if I ever make meatballs again I’ll check your essay against whatever I find in a cookbook. Also— as usual— beautifully written. If you have any interest in being a guest on my podcast— first episode within the next week or two— I’d love to have you.
The podcast will be mostly writers and thinkers and amusing people rather than chefs specifically, but of course you qualify in those categories too. And my plan is to never go too long without a cook for a guest.
I loved reading this. Might change my meal plan this week because I think if I even see the word meatball I cannot resist.
My (2nd generation!) Italian American mother called my wife a WASP in a definitely not nice way.
That said, swiping a just fried meatball from the big bowl is one of my best early food memories.
In her last years my mom was bed bound and relied mostly on cooking from home health workers—on one of my visits she had me make a giant batch of meatballs and sauce. (I was happy to, but sadly she pronounced them lacking and insisted I must have “over handled” them 🤷🏻♀️ ).
These days I’m not much of a beef fan and I make them with chicken and pork and sometimes some rehydrated dried porcini. And sometimes with ricotta!
I'm so glad you enjoyed this! Also: what is it about Italian-American mothers?
One of the joys of meatballs is that you can pretty much put whatever the hell you want in them. Now that I'm very comfortable with technique, I may start experimenting with ingredients, Porcini sounds FANTASTIC. Thanks for the inspiration!
Right!? A special blend (Italian American mothers)—but made me who I am today 😄.
I got the porcini idea from an old Mark Bittman chicken burger recipe —it’s pretty much just chicken, porcini, and a ton of parm. Fabulous burgers (in the NYT).
I must testify that my meatball technique came from our Calabrese neighbor, Mrs. Bilardo. However, In keeping with the spirit of this post, I received her recipe via my Anglo-Canadian mother and she may have introduced the raw meatball-to-sauce option.
I remember! And this additional information is good for my readers. I left it out for brevity's sake, but I can assure you I had a quick email conversation with your mother about it yesterday.
It’s funny we don’t make meatballs often in Tuscany. I start to see them on the menu in Rome. Polpette or polpettone. Florence does make Polpettone- meatloaf and now I am craving meatballs.
With a shift entirely outside of the meatball realm, but certainly in the global theme (there are so many recipes for long stewed greens), here’s my current comfort food of choice. https://dukesmayo.com/blogs/recipes/the-collard-melt
In all honesty, I can tell you that on my to do list today was order another jar of Duke's because I'm out. I used to only order a jar in the summer for tomato sandwiches but life is short and the world is gone to hell, so why not indulge year-round?
And I am really happy you sent that link, Ted. I genuinely want to know what foods other people turn to for comfort. I want to try them.
My meatballs are to (too) good to be wasted on pasta, which should please any actual Italian readers in the audience.
A favorite of restaurant customers was our trio of house-made meatballs (beef-pork-veal but otherwise the same) on house-made basil ricotta topped with a single slice of hand-pulled mozzarella, dusted with Romano for punch.
Sounds like a dream dish! I'd happily use veal, but it's a luxury for me. And I do actually add basil when the season's right (I keep a plant growing in the kitchen spring and summer)!
Hah! …meatballs are 50% beef, 50% pork, and 100% comfort. Perfect. If I did not already have a meatloaf in the refrigerator, plus half of a chicken pot pie, and potato, white bean and bacon soup, I would be making meatballs today. As it is, I’m food-ready for the week, but I am making meatballs with ricotto after my next run to the grocery. Now I'm off to make toast, which I feel like you've written about toast, right? Anyway, let the comfort food fest begin! Oh, and good morning Michael! ☕
You are most certainly well stocked! I need to learn to make chicken pot pie because I have quite a story involving such a thing.
And you are correct about my toast writing. My sister even pointed out that half of my entries in the Best Food Writing anthologies (ok, two of them) were specifically about toast!
A subfolder in my email has replaced the old fashioned recipe boxes of my mother’s kitchen. A bit of a bummer, now that I think about it.
Anyway, my meatball recipe leans on uncased sausages. It’s this lazy cook’s way of getting around chopping garlic and adding seasoning. A note I emailed myself suggests my nephew loves them.
And I really need to invest in some cue cards and a plastic box.
Regarding email subfolders vs. old fashioned recipe cards: while we might gain in counter space, we lose that human touch of smudges and the inimitable handwriting of loved (or even not-so-loved) ones no longer with us.
And, hey, in culinary school, what you might think of as the lazy cook's way, we referred to as "cheating with style".
Haha. It's totally true! More than one teacher uttered that phrase on more than one occasion (it was a pretty small school).
P.S. I very often add uncased spicy Italian sausage meat (plus more fennel seed and red pepper flakes) to (gasp!) jarred sauce because a) It's quick b) I live alone, c) It's delicious, d) it's economical, and e) no ghosts of my pearl-clutching great aunts have visited in the night to criticize my sauce making techniques. Yet.
I totally applaud this. I had a Thai cooking instructor (who came to Canada in 2015 and opened up one of the best food stalls in Toronto) say to the class, "this isn't exactly the same ingredient we use in Thailand, but you can't get xxx here, so this will do." I'm all for authenticity where warranted, but I am bored with foodie purists freaking out over tomato in Bolognese. As I've always said, "who wants to party with a purist?"
After this lovely non-recipe, I need to make meatballs immediately. And try the ricotta idea. I agree wholeheartedly about comfort food. For me, that would be soup of all kinds a grits like my grandpa used to make.
Being a non-Southerner (although as a child I INSISTED I was for a few very annoying months that I was because I lived along the same latitude as Atlanta), I wasn't introduced to proper grits until probably my late 30s and my friend (in Atlanta, of all places) introduced me to her shrimp and grits and it became one of my favorite dishes of all time.
I really like Julia Turshen’s meatballs which use ricotta instead of breadcrumbs and egg.
Okay so multiple people are talking about adding ricotta into the body of the actual meatball. I need no more convincing! As soon as I am no longer tired of eating meatballs (which probably won't be all that long because they're meatballs), I will definitely be trying it.
Not jealous at all!
Yes, you are.
My former meat eating self really enjoyed this post, my current non-meat eating self has an entirely different opinion!
You are a complicated man, Mr. Nattenberg.
I'm not sure, but I think this comment thread is the longest I've seen for a Substack account that I follow. Congratulations! Everyone loves meatballs. Everyone struggles with family who (maybe) do not accept and welcome them the way we'd like. Many, many of us need some comfort right now. You've got all of us with this lovely post.
I myself put some ricotta right into the meatballs along with the panade. It's tricky, but you can feel when it's not too soft and will end up so tender. Up the seasoning if you do that, though.
I pretty much live for my comment section, so I'm happy you said something.
I will definitely experiment with ricotta IN the meatballs next time. The great thing about meatballs is that they're just, well, meatballs. If you screw up a batch, it's no big whoop.
And I feel like I've been upping the seasoning every time I make them, so adding more will definitely NOT be a problem!
I'm holding my lighter up and singing (to the tune of Tom Petty's Free Fallin') "Cuz I'm meat | Meatballin'"
I will now never not hear that when making meatballs. For the ret of my life.
Beautifully and evocatively written. The sheer misery that is woven into the food we make. The rage, the sadness, the bitterness, the regret. And yet the food is delicious.
I suppose that's a small consolation, eh? And thanks for the lovely compliment on the essay!
They sound delicious Michael.
Thank you very much, Lisa. They ain't half bad!
Your post provoked an appetite your your meat balls, they look so good. I love your presentation on ricotta.
It's a pretty marvelous combo. A glass of red wine on the side makes it even nicer.
Damn, brother, I’m imagining these meatballs and I bet they’re terrific. I’ve archived this and if I ever make meatballs again I’ll check your essay against whatever I find in a cookbook. Also— as usual— beautifully written. If you have any interest in being a guest on my podcast— first episode within the next week or two— I’d love to have you.
The podcast will be mostly writers and thinkers and amusing people rather than chefs specifically, but of course you qualify in those categories too. And my plan is to never go too long without a cook for a guest.
Thanks, Karl! I will message you privately regarding the podcast.
I loved reading this. Might change my meal plan this week because I think if I even see the word meatball I cannot resist.
My (2nd generation!) Italian American mother called my wife a WASP in a definitely not nice way.
That said, swiping a just fried meatball from the big bowl is one of my best early food memories.
In her last years my mom was bed bound and relied mostly on cooking from home health workers—on one of my visits she had me make a giant batch of meatballs and sauce. (I was happy to, but sadly she pronounced them lacking and insisted I must have “over handled” them 🤷🏻♀️ ).
These days I’m not much of a beef fan and I make them with chicken and pork and sometimes some rehydrated dried porcini. And sometimes with ricotta!
I'm so glad you enjoyed this! Also: what is it about Italian-American mothers?
One of the joys of meatballs is that you can pretty much put whatever the hell you want in them. Now that I'm very comfortable with technique, I may start experimenting with ingredients, Porcini sounds FANTASTIC. Thanks for the inspiration!
Right!? A special blend (Italian American mothers)—but made me who I am today 😄.
I got the porcini idea from an old Mark Bittman chicken burger recipe —it’s pretty much just chicken, porcini, and a ton of parm. Fabulous burgers (in the NYT).
I may just play around with the proteins now, too, thanks to you.
I must testify that my meatball technique came from our Calabrese neighbor, Mrs. Bilardo. However, In keeping with the spirit of this post, I received her recipe via my Anglo-Canadian mother and she may have introduced the raw meatball-to-sauce option.
I remember! And this additional information is good for my readers. I left it out for brevity's sake, but I can assure you I had a quick email conversation with your mother about it yesterday.
That must be one of the reasons why Mrs. Bilardo called that version her "fast sauce" (it only takes a minimum of four hours).
It’s funny we don’t make meatballs often in Tuscany. I start to see them on the menu in Rome. Polpette or polpettone. Florence does make Polpettone- meatloaf and now I am craving meatballs.
I would gladly eat any type of ground meat dish that's put in front of me. So long as it's put in front of me in Italy. xoM
With a shift entirely outside of the meatball realm, but certainly in the global theme (there are so many recipes for long stewed greens), here’s my current comfort food of choice. https://dukesmayo.com/blogs/recipes/the-collard-melt
In all honesty, I can tell you that on my to do list today was order another jar of Duke's because I'm out. I used to only order a jar in the summer for tomato sandwiches but life is short and the world is gone to hell, so why not indulge year-round?
And I am really happy you sent that link, Ted. I genuinely want to know what foods other people turn to for comfort. I want to try them.
If ever in New Orleans, a stop at Turkey and the Wolf is a requirement
I shall add it to my list!
My meatballs are to (too) good to be wasted on pasta, which should please any actual Italian readers in the audience.
A favorite of restaurant customers was our trio of house-made meatballs (beef-pork-veal but otherwise the same) on house-made basil ricotta topped with a single slice of hand-pulled mozzarella, dusted with Romano for punch.
Sounds like a dream dish! I'd happily use veal, but it's a luxury for me. And I do actually add basil when the season's right (I keep a plant growing in the kitchen spring and summer)!
Hah! …meatballs are 50% beef, 50% pork, and 100% comfort. Perfect. If I did not already have a meatloaf in the refrigerator, plus half of a chicken pot pie, and potato, white bean and bacon soup, I would be making meatballs today. As it is, I’m food-ready for the week, but I am making meatballs with ricotto after my next run to the grocery. Now I'm off to make toast, which I feel like you've written about toast, right? Anyway, let the comfort food fest begin! Oh, and good morning Michael! ☕
You are most certainly well stocked! I need to learn to make chicken pot pie because I have quite a story involving such a thing.
And you are correct about my toast writing. My sister even pointed out that half of my entries in the Best Food Writing anthologies (ok, two of them) were specifically about toast!
Aldo: good morning to you, too.
A subfolder in my email has replaced the old fashioned recipe boxes of my mother’s kitchen. A bit of a bummer, now that I think about it.
Anyway, my meatball recipe leans on uncased sausages. It’s this lazy cook’s way of getting around chopping garlic and adding seasoning. A note I emailed myself suggests my nephew loves them.
And I really need to invest in some cue cards and a plastic box.
Regarding email subfolders vs. old fashioned recipe cards: while we might gain in counter space, we lose that human touch of smudges and the inimitable handwriting of loved (or even not-so-loved) ones no longer with us.
And, hey, in culinary school, what you might think of as the lazy cook's way, we referred to as "cheating with style".
If anyone else said that to me I might be offended. But from you, I take it as the highest compliment! ☺️
Haha. It's totally true! More than one teacher uttered that phrase on more than one occasion (it was a pretty small school).
P.S. I very often add uncased spicy Italian sausage meat (plus more fennel seed and red pepper flakes) to (gasp!) jarred sauce because a) It's quick b) I live alone, c) It's delicious, d) it's economical, and e) no ghosts of my pearl-clutching great aunts have visited in the night to criticize my sauce making techniques. Yet.
I totally applaud this. I had a Thai cooking instructor (who came to Canada in 2015 and opened up one of the best food stalls in Toronto) say to the class, "this isn't exactly the same ingredient we use in Thailand, but you can't get xxx here, so this will do." I'm all for authenticity where warranted, but I am bored with foodie purists freaking out over tomato in Bolognese. As I've always said, "who wants to party with a purist?"
100% agree!
After this lovely non-recipe, I need to make meatballs immediately. And try the ricotta idea. I agree wholeheartedly about comfort food. For me, that would be soup of all kinds a grits like my grandpa used to make.
Being a non-Southerner (although as a child I INSISTED I was for a few very annoying months that I was because I lived along the same latitude as Atlanta), I wasn't introduced to proper grits until probably my late 30s and my friend (in Atlanta, of all places) introduced me to her shrimp and grits and it became one of my favorite dishes of all time.