Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Meatballs

    During my "lost years' of the late 90s, I took up quite a few interests, such as weightlifting.  One such hobby that I developed was Italian cooking.  This interest actually started in high school, as evidenced by a personal narrative I turned in for a writing contest involving my difficulties making a lasagna for dinner. While I never got too deep into the cuisine, I did explore many dishes in both traditional Italian culture as well as the Italian-American versions.  One dish I quickly adapted was a ten/fifteen minute meat sauce that I served over rotini with garlic bread.  I was so good at that recipe that my mother suggested that I move on up to actual meatballs and spaghetti.  Yes, that's Italian-American, but she really wanted me to try it, so I did.  As luck would have it, one of the first times I tried out my recipe was on Independence Day.  Because of how long it takes to prepare, at least an hour with a twenty to thirty minute gap in the middle, I could only ever fix it on Sundays or other days off.  I now fix it on almost every Independence Day.  Including yesterday.  I start off with making the breadcrumbs.  I put some slices of bread in a pan into the oven and toast each side.  I didn't have a toaster when I first developed my recipe (and I still don't), so I use an oven.  It's better for the next steps anyway.  After toasting the bread, I tear it up into smaller pieces and then toast those, breaking them down into smaller bits.  I would then repeat this process two more times, ensuring that the crumbs are all but completely browned and small very fine particles.  I then cool the breadcrumbs and the pan down for at least twenty minutes before the next step.  I check the crumbs are finely ground and cool before adding my preferred blend of herbs and spices.  I won't tell you which ones or the amounts, as both sometimes vary a little.  I will mention that I use the same herbs in my sauce as in my meatballs, just in different proportions.  I use larger amounts of the spices that work better in the meat than in the sauce, and vice-versa.  In this way, the meatballs and sauce taste different, but similar enough to still match.  I then add the meat, along with some milk and Parmesan cheese as binders.  I'm a tad sensitive to eggs, so I try to avoid those as much as possible.  I make the balls and then let them rest for a few minutes while I start the sauce.  First, I sauté some onions and mushrooms, occasionally fresh garlic as well when I have it.  Yes, I should have some carrot and celery to help balance out the flavors, but I don't always have them fresh, so I have learned to make do without them.  I then add the tomato sauce, sugar, and the herbs and spices.  Again, no specific one or amounts.  I want to keep a few secrets here.  I let the sauce simmer as I put the meatballs in a hot pan and start boiling the water for the pasta.  If the timing is just right, the meatballs will just be about done with frying when it is time to add the spaghetti to the boiling water.  I sear one side of the meatballs, and then, after a few minutes, I flip them over to the other side.  I usually turn them over one more time before I add the pasta to the water.  Just before the meatballs are fully cooked, I add them to the sauce to finish them off.  In this way, some of the sauce gets absorbed into the meat, making sure that the balls are fully cooked as well as moister than they would be otherwise.  I then deglaze the pan, reduce the liquid, and add it to the sauce.  This adds a depth of flavor to the sauce, as well as some color and thickness.  It also increases the volume ever so much to make sure there's enough.  Once the pasta is done, I drain it, plate, and toss it with some more Parmesan.  I then spoon some of the balls on top of the pasta, covering them with extra sauce.  To finish it off, I sprinkle some mozzarella over the sauce and watch it melt.  All there left to do is eat.  This really is a special meal for me, and I am sorry that I couldn't give more exact details, but I don't want to give everything away.  I need to hold something back for later, after all.