Sunday Kitchen II

On Tuesday, I made a huge pot of gravy to take for my last day of work. I wanted to treat my staff to some good old fashioned South Philly cuisine. I took the gravy (see previous post if you wish to argue this point) that wouldn't fit in the crock pot and refrigerated it to use as a base for later. Since my mom isn't feeling well and doesn't want to come here for dinner, that would be today.

For Tuesday, I made meatballs, braciole and pork. For the pork, I took two tenderloins, cut them into stew-sized chunks and sauteed them in olive oil and garlic before adding them to the gravy. No pork today, but I did have meatloaf mix for the meatballs and some flat steaks for the braciole.

To prepare the braciole, take some chopped garlic, some fresh chopped parsley, grated Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper and coat each slice of steak. Roll up the steak and either string together or stick with a toothpick. Brown lightly in some olive oil and then transfer to the simmering gravy to finish.

For the meatballs, I will add a disclaimer here that no one makes them like my mom, but my mom never taught me how to cook. Everything I know, I taught myself pretty much, so mine do not taste exactly like hers, but they're pretty good. Anyway, I had about 2 pounds of meatloaf mix to which I added one jumbo egg, salt and pepper, some chopped onion, chopped garlic, chopped parsley and some plain breadcrumbs. After mixing together, I decided to add a little bit of grated locatelli, just to firm the meat up a bit.

Once shaped into balls, I added the meat to some hot olive oil and browned them on each side, also adding them to the simmering gravy to finish.

I was going to make gnocchi, but I made them earlier this week and I don't feel like making them again, so I'm sticking with the much simpler lasagna. There is a photo here of the gnocchi from the other night. I still have quite a bit of ricotta on hand as well as some no-boil lasagna noodles, so it was an easy decision.

Sunday dinners are always a big deal in our house. I'm not married to eating pasta every week, so a lot of times when we don't go the grandparents, I will make short ribs or a rib roast or something else that roasts in the oven and gives the house that wonderful Sunday scent. Last week, we had a friend of my husband's over and I roasted the brother of the turkey we had for Thanksgiving. This week, our oldest is coming with a friend. I hate the thought of anyone having to eat alone on Sunday, unless of course it's by choice.

BTW, the dogs do the happy dance all day long when they smell a pot of gravy on the stove. My mother has spoiled them and into thinking they're entitled to a meatball of their own. Smart little critters.