The BEST spaghetti marinara and meatballs EVER!!

Ok, thank you to Becky for pointing out America's Test Kitchen and thank you Melaina for calling me and having me look up this recipe for you. I've made spaghetti sauce before, but it was always too watery. I like my sauce thick...I want it to coat the spaghetti and I don't want a puddle at the bottom of my plate. I usually don't go for marinara for that reason, I'm usually a meat sauce kinda gal. So I usually just go easy and buy Prego meat sauce or Prego mini meatballs. I've also never made meatballs before either, so this was fun. I LOVE cooking, so a big recipe like this really makes me feel at home in the kitchen and when it comes out as DELICIOUS as this did, it makes me feel pretty awesome. After eating this, I got two amazing compliments. From Ava: "Wow mommy this is really really yummy! The meatballs are yummy too!" And from Todd: "This is even better than Paulie's." Paulie is his old roomate and the only thing I really liked about him was that his spaghetti was amazing. So, I'm going to copy and paste this recipe for everyone to enjoy. The only thing I did differently was I added about a tsp of ground pepper and about a 1/2 Tbs of red pepper flakes to the sauce. But I would either hold off on that if you don't like too much spice, or cut it down. It was a little spicy for me and my heartburn at 8 months pregnant. By the way, I also just froze the sauce, because the recipe is a LOT for just 3 people. Anyway, here goes! Enjoy!

MEATBALLS AND MARINARA

From the episode: Feeding a Crowd, Italian-Style

The meatballs and sauce both use the same onion mixture.

Serves 8 .  

INGREDIENTS

Onion Mixture
1/4	cup olive oil
3	onions , chopped fine
8	garlic cloves, minced
1	tablespoon dried oregano
3/4	teaspoon red pepper flakes
Easy Marinara
1	(6-ounce) can tomato paste
1	cup dry red wine
1	cup water
4	(28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1/2	cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4	cup fresh basil leaf
	Salt
1 - 2	teaspoons sugar , as needed
Meatballs
4	slices hearty white sandwich bread
3/4	cup milk
1/2	pound sweet Italian sausage , casings removed
1	cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2	cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
2	large eggs
2	garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2	teaspoons salt
2 1/2	pounds ground beef chuck (80 percent lean)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. For the onion mixture: Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook onions until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer half of onion mixture to large bowl and set aside.

2. 2. For the marinara: Add tomato paste to remaining onion mixture in pot and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine and cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in water and tomatoes and simmer over low heat until sauce is no longer watery, 45 to 60 minutes. Stir in cheese and basil and adjust seasonings with salt and sugar.

3. 3. For the meatballs: Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Mash bread and milk in bowl with reserved onion mixture until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, except ground beef, to bowl and mash to combine. Add beef and knead with hands until well combined. Form mixture into 2 1/2-inch meatballs (you should have about 16 meatballs), place on rimmed baking sheet, and bake until well browned, about 20 minutes.

4. 4. Transfer meatballs to pot with sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over pasta. (Meatballs and marinara can be frozen for up to 1 month.)

   
   

   TECHNIQUE

Who's Frying Now? Not us, that's for sure. We found that a super-hot oven was all we needed to get a golden brown crust on these meatballs. Finally, a short dunk in the sauce allows the sauce to season the meat, and vice versa.

1. For a great crust without the hassle of frying, bake the meatballs in a very hot oven.

2. For the best flavor, let the meatballs sit in the simmering sauce for at least 15 minutes before serving.