Valentine’s Day is sneaking up on us and when it comes to romance, I defer to my 8-year-old self’s definition of true love. At the time, I was in the grip of the bittersweet screen romance between Lady, a demure cocker spaniel and The Tramp, a ruffian terrier with dicey prospects. What is true romance, if not on an evening out when Tramp gently nudges the last meatball on their plate of spaghetti and meatballs towards his darling Lady? And who can forget the same dinner scene when they slurp the opposite ends of a ribbon of pasta to meet in the middle and touch noses?
Although a new live-action version of Lady and the Tramp was released in 2019, the charm of the original is hard to beat. If you want to revisit the 1955 Walt Disney classic, there are many ways to watch — Disney Plus, YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, most which cost around $3.99 for an hour and 16 minutes of fun. Remember Trusty the noble bloodhound? Those Siamese vixens? If you’re not watching, enjoy the original soundtrack available on Spotify or YouTube while you’re cooking, and the sweet love song “Bella Notte.” Pure Disney romance.
“Oh, this is the night,/ It’s a beautiful night/ And we call it bella notte.
“Look at the skies,/ they have stars in their eyes/ On this lovely bella notte.
“Side by side with your loved one/ You’ll find enchantment here/ The night will weave it’s magic spell /When the one you love is near. …”
Of course, neither man nor dog can live on love alone, and a plate of excellent meatballs with spaghetti is the natural complement to this romantic evening. Perhaps some garlic bread? A bottle of chianti-like wine, a taper candle and for dessert, a truly Italian affogato you can lap up at the end of the meal? Onward.
Deb Perelman of the Smitten Kitchen cookbooks has created a sublime meatball when as an adult, she began to consider the meatball as something apart from the flavor-anchors of spaghetti and a busy marinara sauce. She realized she wanted much more out of her meatballs. “I wanted them to be good enough to fly solo as a dish, whether or not there was bread, or roasted potatoes, polenta or, yes, even spaghetti on the table. And I couldn’t stop fiddling with them.”
The best part is you don’t have to fry them before cooking them through.
“For years, I fried meatballs before cooking them through because this was the Authentic way, even though I rather hated it because it’s such a splattering mess and you always lose a chunk here or there and the meatballs are far closer to meat blobs when you’re done (unless you’re willing to deep-fry them). Plus, it made them much more of a special occasion dish and I wanted ones we could eat any old day of the week. But when I dropped my meatballs uncooked into sauce, they’d fall apart. If I made them more firm, they wouldn’t fall apart but I didn’t like them as much. And so, it went, back and forth; no meatballs went to waste as I puttered around with my recipe, but it was never quite right.”
The breakthrough came in January 2016 — “the simple act of more than doubling the amount of egg I usually put in made a meatball that stayed together even if not fried first but that was still tender and completely amazing at the end. And now I can’t stop making them.
Everyday Meatballs
From Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman and generously adapted over the years from Ina Garten with some helpful tips from Luisa Weiss.
Makes 22 to 24 small (about 1.5-inch or 1.5 tablespoon) meatballs.
Ingredients:
- 1-pound ground meat (I use a mix of beef and pork)
- 2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs or 1/2 cup panko
- 1/3 cup milk or water
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (optional)
- 2 teaspoons coarse or kosher salt, divided
- Pinches of red pepper flakes or few grinds of black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 large eggs
- 2 garlic cloves, minced, divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 28-ounce can of tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
Instructions: Place meat, crumbs, milk or water, parsley, cheese (if using), 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, onion powder, eggs and half of your minced garlic in a large bowl. I like to mix all of this together with a fork, which does a good job of breaking up the eggs and chunks of meat. Form mixture into 1 1/2- to 2-inch meatballs and arrange on a plate. I like to let them set in the fridge for a bit — 30 minutes, if you can spare it — which helps them keep their shape.
In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add remaining garlic and some pepper flakes and let sizzle until garlic is golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add tomatoes (beware the splatter!) and season with remaining salt. Let mixture simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes (with a thicker puree) or 20 (for crushed tomatoes, which are usually more watery), stirring occasionally.
With stove on the lowest heat possible to maintain a gentle simmer, add meatballs to sauce one by one, and cover with a lid. It will be hard but please don’t touch or move them for at least 20 minutes of the 25-minute cooking time, so that they have a chance to keep their shape. Meatballs should be fully cooked through at 25 minutes, but it cannot hurt to cut one in half to verify.
Eat however makes you happy — as-is or with spaghetti. I’ll cook it very al dente, a generous minute shy of done, reserve a little pasta water, then once the spaghetti is drained, place it back in the pot with a splash of the water and a ladle or two of the sauce beneath the meatballs and cook it together over high heat for a minute. Tip spaghetti into a large, wide bowl, add the meatballs on top.
Note: If your family likes a lot of sauce with their spaghetti, you might consider making the meatballs with an extra half or whole can. Just use what you need.
“Parmesan”-ed. Place meatballs in a shallow baking dish with some of their sauce. Tear about 8 ounces mozzarella over the top and broil until melted. Finish with some parmesan, if desired, some breadcrumbs fried in a little olive oil and/or chopped parsley.
With garlic bread (don’t do this, just don’t) it’s possibly addictive.
Garlic Bread
Recipe by Deb Perelman from Smitten Kitchen
My go-to garlic bread has always been 1 minced garlic clove and about 1/8 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper flakes per 2 tablespoons of melted butter, plus some parsley to finish because it just doesn’t look right without it. I use about twice this for half a baguette. But when I’m being fancy, I can’t resist the “with the works” effect of Carbone-style garlic bread, with oregano, parmesan and chives on top too.
Ingredients:
1 large (about 12 ounces), not-too-firm seeded baguette
8 tablespoons (115 grams or 4 ounces) unsalted or salted butter (if salted, skip the salt below), cut into chunks
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
Pinches of red pepper flakes, to taste
1/2 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
1/3 to 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan or aged pecorino cheese (optional)
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon minced chives (optional)
Instructions: Heat your oven’s broiler. Line a large baking sheet with foil to limit the mess you make. Cut baguette lengthwise and arrange pieces cut side up in pan. Put butter, garlic, pepper flakes and salt in a small saucepan and melt over medium-high heat, stirring, until garlic is sizzling in the butter (but not browning). Remove from heat and stir in oregano, if using. Spoon evenly over bread. Sprinkle bread with parmesan, if using, and broil — keeping a close watch on it and turning it as needed for even coloring — for 2 to 3 minutes. Seriously, watch it like a hawk. Nothing’s sadder than under- or over-cooked garlic bread.
Remove from oven, sprinkle with parsley and chives, if using, and cut into segments. We keep extras in foil in the fridge and rewarm them in the oven, but you know it’s always best on the first day.
There was no affogato in Lady and the Tramp, but it is so Italian, and so easy to make at home, I know you’ll enjoy it with the movie.
Affogato
Recipe by Marcella di Lonardo.
Cook’s Notes — Some say an affogato (meaning “drowned” in Italian) is like an upgraded iced latte, but I think it’s on another level entirely. The coffee-based dessert, which is served in cafes and gelato shops all over Italy, is made with just three ingredients — espresso, gelato and a shot of liqueur — but when the hot espresso gets poured over the cold gelato, it is pure bliss.
With our travels to Italy currently on pause, I’ll show you how to make the very best affogato at home, even if you don’t have an espresso machine!
An affogato is most commonly made with vanilla gelato, though a quality vanilla bean ice cream works, too. As for the ratio of gelato to espresso, a classic affogato is made with two scoops of gelato to one shot of espresso. As a kid, the ratio of gelato to espresso was a little (OK, a lot) higher, but watching my grandma pour the hot espresso over the cold gelato — however skimpy her pour may have been — had me hooked, nonetheless.
If you have an espresso machine at home, this is the method to use. Just brew a shot of your favorite espresso and pour it over your gelato. But you can still enjoy an affogato at home by using another brewing method, such as a stovetop espresso maker or a standard coffee maker (if this is the case, brew extra strong coffee). With either method, brew enough espresso or coffee for a shot for each person.
How to Serve (and Eat) an Affogato: Serving an affogato in a clear glass is a must — watching the espresso hit the gelato and begin to melt together is part of the experience. You’ll want to have the gelato pre-portioned into glasses and ready to go, so that once the espresso or coffee is brewed you can pour the shot over the top, add a splash of liqueur, and serve immediately.
While the traditional affogato is topping-free, feel free to add a little something before serving. I like fresh whipped cream, shaved chocolate, crumbled biscotti, or crushed hazelnuts. As for how to eat it, an affogato is best enjoyed with a spoon before sipping back the remaining espresso.
This recipe serves one person and take about 5 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 1 shot espresso
- 2 scoops vanilla gelato or ice cream
- 1 splash amaretto (optional)
- Shaved dark chocolate, for serving
Equipment:
- Small drinking glass
- Ice cream scoop
- Espresso maker or coffee maker
Instructions: Brew the espresso. Using your desired brewing method, brew 1 shot espresso. For this you could use an instant espresso like Medaglia d’Oro. Scoop the ice cream. As the espresso is brewing, drop 2 scoops vanilla gelato or ice cream into a small drinking glass. Add the espresso and amaretto. Pour the espresso shot and 1 splash amaretto over the ice cream. Garnish and serve. Top with shaved dark chocolate and serve immediately.
Enjoy a light-hearted, romantic Valentine’s Day with your pups and family!
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