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Mama DiSpirito's Meatballs

Subject: Mama DiSpirito's Famous Meatballs
From: Vera
Date: 6/25/2021, 10:09 AM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com

Good Morning, Phaedrus – In connection with the post dated June 25th, 2021, 
I have the exact same recipe you linked for DiSpirito’s marinara. My recipe 
was published back in 2005 (yours referenced 2015) but I don’t know my source.  
I do have a recipe that was published in the November 23rd  2003 edition of 
People Magazine (page 28) for Mama DiSpirito’s Famous Meatballs which is below 
if you choose to post it.

Mama DiSpirito’s Famous Meatballs

For the seasoned stock mix:

1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 large sweet onion
4 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree.

For the Meatballs:

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground veal                                                        
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
5 whole eggs
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiana reggiano
2-3 pinches chili flakes
2-3 pinches of salt

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with stock mix and 
knead with both hands until uniform.  Do not overmix.

Put a little olive oil in hands and form mixture into 2 oz balls.

Pour about half an inch of extra virgin olive oil into a straight 
sided wide sauté pan (working in batches if necessary) and brown 
meatballs, turning once.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the meatballs from oil and place in 
a sauce pan of marinara (they should be submerged).  
Simmer for 30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through 
and tender.  Serve as is, or over spaghetti.  
Makes about 20 meatballs.
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Marinara (Di Spirito)
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/marinara-di-spirito-50053549

YIELD: 6 servings

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped fine
3 tablespoons olive oil
Two 28-ounce cans tomato purée
One 23-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon sugar
Red pepper flakes to taste
Salt

Preparation:

1. Cook the garlic and onion in the olive oil in a sauce pot over 
a medium-low flame, about 10 minutes or until garlic is tender and 
onions translucent, not brown (this is called "sweating" because it 
will draw out a lot of moisture and flavor). 
2. Add all the tomato products. Pour the chicken stock into one of 
the 28-ounce cans. Fill it the rest of the way with water and add 
that and the sugar to the pot. Stir and bring to a simmer. Taste 
and season with red pepper flakes and salt, and cover. Simmer the 
sauce for about 1 hour. The sauce should be fairly thin but not 
watery and very smooth. Uncover and simmer for 3 minutes. Simmer 
a little longer if it is too thin for your taste, add a little 
water if it seems too thick.