As detailed last fall, we loved Emporio -- A Meatball Joint. So when my normally non-red-meat-eating wife requested a dinner of Meatball Sliders, I was a little surprised. When I asked if she wanted turkey meatballs, she said no, just regular ground meat.
So when it comes to meatballs, I turned to the source for my favorite ones -- my mom. Her meatballs were always light, not dense like those ones you find at church functions, buffets at weddings, or in the frozen food section.
1 lb of ground meat (85-15%)
1 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup of parmesean cheese
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of parsley (I used dry parsley)
1 tsp olive oil
I got 14 slightly bigger than a golf ball-sized meatballs out of the recipe. Since I knew I was going to put them on little slider buns, I flattened them a little on the bottom. I baked them in the oven at 375 for 30 minutes, flipping them over after 15 minutes.
While they were baking in the oven, I made my standard pesto sauce (spinach, parm, olive oil, one garlic clove) but used some almonds, in lieu of pine nuts -- because I didn't want to spend money on both this week.
When the meatballs came out, I put one on each slider bun, then topped the meatball and bun top with the pesto sauce. I sprinkled the slider with some fresh parm and served them up.
I asked DB~ how they compared to Emporio. Of course she blew sunshine all over me and said they were better, but I have to admit that they were very, very good. I asked her if they reminded her of Emporio and all she said she remembered of Emporio was "poop", thanks to db` having a blowout halfway through our meal.
My whole life, my mom has always made me a Tupperware container of meatballs and red sauce. This was the first time I've made them on my own. DB~ doesn't like red sauce, hence we eat pesto most of the time. I don't even miss red sauce anymore, but it's nice to know that I have an excellent meatball recipe in my back pocket now.
