Meatballs in Red Sauce

I asked my family what they wanted for dinner tonight and they said "spaghetti".

(Sorry for the not-so-great picture and the cluttered kitchen counter.  Life was a little hectic today and my cell phone was the only camera within reach.)

I had all the fixings already (including a nice baguette to make garlic cheese bread) but I wanted to try something new rather than just browning some ground beef and mixing it with the sauce.  Then, I thought that meatballs might go over better with some members of my family, but here's the problem with that: I make a mean meatloaf but my meatballs are mediocre at best.  So, of course, I did a little bit of research online and found a great recipe from Emeril on the Food Network site.  (He also lists a recipe for making your own sauce, too, but I already had some jarred stuff that I thought I should use.)
Here's his meatball recipe:

Ingredients

• 10 cups Simple Tomato Sauce for Pasta, recipe follows, or store-bought pasta sauce

For the meatballs:

• 1 large egg
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 teaspoon freshly chopped basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon freshly chopped oregano leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Emeril's Original Essence, recipe follows
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano   

Directions:

Place the Basic Red Sauce in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Place all the remaining meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir well with a wooden spoon to combine, then form the meat into balls by rolling about 2 tablespoons of meat between your hands. Place meatballs on a plate as they are formed. (Hint: if your hands are slightly damp, the meatballs will roll more easily and will not stick to your hands!) When all the meatballs are formed, gently place the balls into the sauce 1 at a time using a long handled spoon. Be careful - bubbling sauce splatters! Simmer the sauce uncovered, and allow the meatballs to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes before stirring. Stir the meatballs into the sauce when they rise to the top.

Simmer for an additional 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

I used regular grated Parmesan cheese, only 6 cups (or so) of sauce (that was the two jars that I had),  and 1/2 tsp. each of dried parsley, basil and oregano.  Also, I didn't have any of Emeril's Original Essence, but--luckily--he lists the recipe for that, too, on the Food Network site.  If you want to see what it's all about, here's the recipe for that:

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

That saved me a trip to the store because I already had all of those spices in my very full spice cupboard.

Not to make this post any longer, but I also have to say that I had to do more googling after reading this recipe because I was baffled that cooking the raw meatballs in the sauce was correct.  As it turns out, that is a very authentic Italian way to do it, and I'm sure that's why my other meatballs have never turned out.  What the heck, I thought, let's give it a go!

So...what was the verdict?  A+!!  Everyone loved it!  The meatball-making process was SO easy and they turned out just perfectly.  I'm so glad to have another Italian meal to add to my repertoire and I give a big thanks to Emeril for sharing such a tasty and simple meal.  :)