I’m very excited to start writing up some classic Italian dishes that I grew up with!  These family recipes get tweaked slightly over the years — but only for the better, of course.  This is a pretty standard offering, though.  I made these meatballs most recently for my dad’s 80th birthday party and they were definitely a hit.  I hope you try them with your next favorite Italian meal.

Italian Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground meat, ideally a beef, pork, and veal mixture
• 2 pieces “day old” Italian bread
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1/4 grated parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• garlic powder or minced garlic to taste
• black pepper
• 1 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning mix or dried parsley

Preparation

Chop the Italian bread into small cubes.  Let it sit out a bit if it’s still very spongy.  Soak the bread in the milk for a minute and then squeeze it out, discarding any extra milk.  Try to separate the cubes again as much as possible.

Combine the bread and all remaining ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix thoroughly.  Add more bread crumbs if necessary.

With a tablespoon, form the meat into balls and pan fry in olive oil.  Don’t crowd the pan — cook them in multiple batches as necessary.

You can make these as large or as small as you like.  Larger meatballs can be finished in the oven if they won’t cook through before browning too deeply.  Just pop them in a baking dish in a 375 degree oven and check them with a thermometer.

Now all you need is a good pasta or other classic Italian dish to server them with.  For that, stay tuned and I’ll have some options for you soon!

This recipe can be doubled as necessary, but a pound of meat should make about 12-15 medium sized meatballs.

I hope you give this a try!