Meatballs....doesn't get much better!

As promised, here is the second one in one night! This one was made this past Monday night for weekly dinner night and it's actually one of the first Rachael Ray meals I ever made!! So, on the menu was "Gorgonzola Filled Meatballs with Bay & Onion Creamy Tomato Gravy" and "Smashed Potatoes with Garlic and Spinach".

First up the potatoes. So these actually call for 4 large Idaho potatoes, 1 per person. I actually used the baby yellow potatoes instead. Mostly because I forgot to read the recipe but i also love that I don't have to peel the baby yellow ones. The recipe calls for you to defrost 2 boxes of frozen spinach. I left the spinach out of this meal because some of my friends aren't really fond of it, but I have made these with the spinach and it rocks!! But for his meal, I cut the potatoes and put them in a pot with just enough water to cover, brought them to a boil and then let them go for about 15 minutes till they were done. At this point, drain the potatoes and add the butter. When it melts, add in your garlic and let it cook for a couple minutes. If you are following the recipe and using the spinach, you would want to get the excess water out of the spinach. Rachael Tip: To get the water out, put the spinach in a kitchen towel and wring out over your garbage bowl. Be careful, there can be hot spots in the spinach and you don't want to burn yourself. Add the cream and spinach and separate the greens as you add them. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and then mash in the potatoes to your desired consistency. For me, i didn't do the spinach, I just mashed the potatoes with the cream, butter and garlic and seasoned it with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. 

While the potatoes cook you get the meatballs started. Combine your meat in a bowl with salt, pepper, bread crumbs, sage, parmigiana-reggiano and egg. Combine the meat well, but don't over mix it. The recipe here calls for ground beef and ground veal. I actually just used ground beef this time, but the first time i used the ground veal too and either way, they rock! So once the meat is combined you are ready to make your meatballs. Rachael Tip: Score the meat!!! This is a great way to get all the balls to be about the same size. Divide the meat into halves and then divide those into halves. You'll get two meatballs from each fourth and by scoring the meat, you get more equal sized balls rather than a few large ones and the last ones being skimpy. Once you have scored the meat, form 8 large meatballs, place them on a baking sheet. If you are following the recipe, this is where you make and indentation and fill it with your gorgonzola. When i made this the first time, i couldn't find gorgonzola in a brick, so if you can't you could always use gorgonzola crumbles. This time i actually used bocconcini. These are little bite sized balls of fresh mozzarella packed in water. You may have a hard time finding these as well. But, I have seen them in SAM's for about $5.99 for a large tub. I actually got mine at Whole Foods, my food mecca, because SAM's was out. What i did was formed the meatballs around the bocconcini. I used it, again, because of the taste preferences of my guests, but go with whichever you like. They are each delicious!! Once you get the cheese inside, drizzle the balls with EVOO and place in the oven for 15 - 18 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

While the meatballs are cooking, you can make your creamy tomato gravy.  Finely chop your onions and place them in a skillet with a tablespoon of EVOO and a bay leaf. Season them up and let them cook till the onions are soft. At this point, add in the chicken stock and crushed tomatoes and stir together and let them simmer for a couple minutes. At this point, blush the sauce with the cream, turn down the heat and let the sauce thicken up. When the meatballs come out of the oven, the sauce should be just about right!I had a good bit of sauce left over so what i did the next day was put the gravy in a food processor and processed it to puree the onions and turned it into a creamy tomato soup. It was actually pretty good. Little bit of an odd texture because of the pureed onions but the taste was great!

This one is a real crowd pleaser. James says this is one of his favorite Rachael recipes that i make. The flavors are so hearty and seriously, who doesn't love cheese stuffed meatballs. I hope you guys enjoy this one as much as we did. I actually deviated from the recipe quite a bit, which is odd for me, but that's what is so awesome with Rachael's meals. They are usually open to variation and enable you to customize them to the tastes and likes of you and your guests. After making it strictly by the recipe and this way, I can say both times they were fantastic. Again, i'm gonna post the links to the recipes rather than retyping the recipe so have a look and get cooking! Have fun with this one and until next time, Happy Cooking!!!

Smashed Potatoes with Garlic and Spinach:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/garlic-mashed-potatoes-with-spinach-recipe2/index.html

Gorgonzola Filled Meatballs with Bay and Onion Creamy Tomato Gravy: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/gorgonzola-filled-meatballs-bay-and-onion-creamy-tomato-gravy-recipe/index.html