Recipe: Most Excellent Meatballs

MOST EXCELLENT MEATBALLS

1 pound ground beef
1 pound sweet Italian pork sausage, removed from casing
1 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt, optional
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat the broiler.

In a large bowl, combine the beef and sausage, mixing well. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the meat and blend in carefully. Pour the eggs over the mixture, then add the grated cheese, parsley, salt and pepper; mix until well combined.

Shape the mixture into balls - larger than golf, smaller than tennis. Use your flattened palms to gently roll each meatball until it is "seamless." Put the meatballs in a shallow metal pie tin, making sure they have room to roll around; a standard 9-inch tin will hold about 6 at a time.

Broil the meatballs for 12 to 15 minutes, occasionally shaking the pan gently to expose all sides of the meatballs to the broiler. (Meatballs with pork in them should be well-done.) Drain the cooked meatballs on paper towels.

Reheat in hot tomato sauce before serving.

TO SERVE WITH PASTA:
To serve six adults, you'll need about 1 pound of dried pasta and about 6 cups of your favorite sauce. Cook the pasta in a pot of abundantly salted water according to the package directions (it should be al dente); drain but do not rinse. Return the pasta to the pot and toss with half the sauce until well coated. Transfer the spaghetti to warmed plates and top with the remaining sauce, dividing the meatballs evenly - or not.

Makes 18 meatballs
Source: Esquire Eats: How to Feed Your Friends and Lovers by Francine Maroukian