So, appropos of nothing apart from a desire to do something of a culinary nature, I fixed upon making the following. Brace yourselves.

Note: The sausage is mild Italian that I bought from a store.


What You Need!

For the Meatballs:
2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
1 tbsp dried onion flakes
1/4 Cup seasoned bread crumbs
3 heavy dashes of Worcestershire sauce.

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175-180C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack over the foil.
2. Put on a pair of disposable kitchen gloves and knead all ingredients together.
3. Form into balls roughly 1 3/4 inches across and arrange on the wire rack.
4. Bake for 30 minutes.

For the Sausage:
1 packet of 5 cased mild Italian sausage links

1. Pierce each casing multiple times with the point of a knife.
2. Place in a pot of boiling water and cook until done.
3. Remove from the water when done; when cool, cut each link into 4 pieces.
4. Dump the still-hot water on fire ant mounds they deserve it the vicious little Argentine bastards hell's too good for the six-legged fiends . . .

For the Sauce:

1 medium white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp dried oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 28-ounce can crushed Roma tomatoes
1 Cup water
1/4 Cup cheap red wine
2 tbsp dried parsley flakes
2 tbsp dried basil or shredded leaves
1 tsp sugar (optional)

1. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch Oven (hurr hurr, he said 'Dutch oven'). Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil once it's hot; add the oregano, salt and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent and the oregano's fragrant.
2. Add the tomatoes, water, wine, and parsley; stir well and bring it to a simmer. Put the lid on the pot so the sauce spatter doesn't get all over the kitchen.
3. Taste; adjust seasonings and add the sugar if necessary. Depending on your preferences, you may add more sugar to dial back the acidity of the sauce.
4. Put the cooked meatballs and sausage into the sauce and stir CAREFULLY until they're all coated; simmer for a bit more before taking it off the heat.



Verdict: The sauce was nicely herb-forward; the teaspoon of sugar blunted the acidity but didn't make the sauce sweet. The wine added some depth to the sauce. I plan on reheating the sauce and serving it tonight over spaghetti for dinner, with garlic bread on the side, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, and a glass of the same wine I put in the sauce.

Grade: A