Meatballs and Grandma

My grandmother has many delicious recipes and she has a reputation for some of the best food around, but her meatballs are out of this world and probably one of the most requested recipes. Once anyone in my family has determined they will be visiting Grandma's house, the first thought that crosses their mind is, "I wonder if she has anymore meatballs." There is something about them that is addicting and you can find yourself eating them as fast as she takes them out of the frying pan. She knows exactly how long to cook them to get the perfectly browned color and consistency that can hold up to a toothpick and also not fall apart in the tomato sauce.

Grandma will make her meatballs with almost any meal if you request them. It is not unlike her to make her Roasted Lemon Chicken with the meatballs on the side. A tossed salad, with the meatballs on the side. Eggplant Parmesan, with the meatballs on the side. Whatever the strategy, the meatballs always take center stage and while you're eating them, you can't help but wonder if there will be enough left so you can take a few home for lunch tomorrow.

When I discovered my grandmother would be visiting me in Santa Fe, I began the plan on how I would get her to cook the meatballs (with me, so I could get the recipe) and cook enough so I could make them last until the next time she visited. My plan almost worked. I quickly ate almost everything out of my freezer to make more room. I purchased freezer bags, Rubbermaid containers in various sizes, all to be sure not to waste a square inch of freezer space. The one thing I did not do, was purchase the ingredients for the meatballs. I wanted to take Grandma to the store so she could pick out what she wanted. This way, I would be sure to duplicate the recipe later, exactly the way she makes them.

I remember when we were in the meat department at Albertson's, she chose a package of ground beef that had a couple of pounds in it. It was a substantial package of ground beef. Normally I would have purchased that as a great deal and froze half of it for some other meal. In this situation, I told her that package was fantastic- as I grabbed another two packages that weighed at least that and dumped them into my cart. Her eyes jumped out of her head and I said, "Yes, that is how many meatballs we will make." I reserved an entire day to make these and I truly planned on using my time wisely with her. I even insisted she purchase the exact brand of oil to fry the meatballs in that she uses at home.

I will not give you all of my Grandma's little secrets. I can tell you that many people use the same recipe for meatloaf as they do for meatballs. I have noticed this when discussing my grandmother's recipe with friends. My grandmother does not use the same recipe. She has several unique steps to her meatball process and she is very particular about her ingredients. Even though I was right next to her the entire time we made the meatballs, I did not grasp the recipe. Yes, I can make great meatballs now and I got a lot out of that day. I got a freezer full of her delicious meatballs and they did last quite awhile, although not until the next time she visited. But I still did not get the recipe. There is not a recipe. It is just Grandma throwing in her ingredients, in the normal order she throws them in. It is quite typical of all of her recipes. It would read something like:

"Add a l'il bit o this and a l'il bit o that. I like to put some o this in and oh, that doesn't look like enough, so put a l'il bit more in there. Okay, that looks good."

This is a far cry from the Martha Stewart recipes I am used to following. Her "l'il bit o this" is very different from my 3/4 c. plus 1/2 a tbsp.

Grandma's meatballs will take you back to your roots, right back to her kitchen table in Kingston, NY immediately, even if you are in an adobe house, 2,000 miles away, in New Mexico. Nobody will ever duplicate the recipe, so just enjoy them when you can get them.