On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 07:19:59 -0600, notbob > wrote:

>I can't believe I'm writing this. I haven't bought, prepared, or even
>eaten a meatball in over 30 years. This due to the fact I reached
>lifetime meatball saturation back when I was in the service. But,
>yesterday I was at Trader Joe's and they were doing these little
>cocktail-sized (~1 inch) pork and beef meatballs in their full-time
>reel-you-in sample booth. I'm now hopelessly hooked. Since last
>night, I've been eating meatballs dipped in a half dozen of my fave
>dipping sauces and see no end in sight.
>
>So, anyone have any *good* pork/beef meatball recipes? The TJ meatballs
>are excellent ...cooked, browned, onions and spices.... but I'd like
>to try and do better. The more exotic, the better.
>
>nb


Instead of giving you a recipe, which I'll leave to others, I'll give
you a cooking method that works well, and is lower in fat. The
meatballs are baked in the oven, rather than fried.

I make tiny meatballs, really tiny, about a teaspoon full of mixture
for each meatball. Each meatball is one bite.

Spray an oven tray with light olive oil. Place meatballs on a tray and
cook at a fairly high heat, turning after a few minutes to brown other
side. Remove when brown (don't remember how long it takes, but no more
than 10 mins I think).

I cook a big batch in advance, free-flow freeze them, then transfer to
a plastic bag when frozen and just remove the number required for a
meal, ready to reheat in a frypan, lightly oiled.

Kathy in NZ