Sometimes the best times are unplanned and happen out of necessity. Last Sunday, over the long holiday weekend, we had one of those nights. We had all been together for a long haul, and had pretty much exhausted all food and drink, and we were scrambling to figure out something to do for dinner.
We called all the local restaurants, rightly so, they were closed, so they too could enjoy time off for the 4th. The guys had an afternoon tee time at the country club; let’s go there! Nope, no sandwiches or chicken fingers for you all; we’re all wiped out too, they said.
One of my favorite apps is the NY Times cooking app, and it’s one of the first things I check in the morning when looking for food inspiration. I often share ideas with all my girls, sending recipes their way in our little cooking club text threads. My oldest daughter has three little ones, works full-time, and hustles hard to get dinner on the table. While at the pool and trying to figure out a family meal for that night after being turned away everywhere close to us, we landed on pasta, and she suggested Melissa Clark’s recipe, Meatballs With Any Meat, a five-star home run. I adore all things Melissa Clark, so it was an easy yes for me.
Going to the market is always more fun with a buddy. Elizabeth is always a yes, Mom, I’ll go with you, so we jumped in the car and off we went to Braymiller, a fresh produce and market that always comes through for us.
There, we picked up five pounds of individually wrapped frozen ground beef. They had the large five-pound package, and we had to decline that, as we needed to defrost quickly, and that would take longer. Three pounds of spaghetti, five jars of pre-made sauce, four pounds of cut and washed romaine, two jars of Caesar salad dressing, two loaves of sliced Italian bread, three containers of parmesan cheese, three quarts of Perry’s ice cream, one package of ice cream cones, bingo, we were golden.
Hopped back in the car, and we were off to the sunshine.
Once home, I divided the ground beef into several bowls of room-temperature water and put them outside, letting the heat and humidity do the defrosting work. This is not a food safety recommendation. I used extreme caution with this exercise.
When I could poke the meat and move it around with my hands, I quickly and quietly went to work, making 80-odd meatballs. Melissa suggested broiling or frying, and I had both options going as time was of the essence to get those things cooked.
The jars of sauce were emptied into my largest Staub pot, and meatballs were stirred in. The trusty canner I use for boiling off jams and peaches was filled to bring water to a boil for the three pounds of pasta. Teamwork made setting the table easy, and we used a pretty summer Chintz dinnerware collection that I bought at Hertel Home Consignment a few years ago. (It was suggested I buy paper plates for this shindig, and everyone was tired of looking at the never-ending dish pile, but that goes completely off brand for me.)
The salad was prepared, and we served it buffet-style in the kitchen. No place cards for this informal fun dinner, we all fell in line wherever. Spaghetti and meatballs are always a crowd pleaser, and who can resist ice cream?
If you haven’t already, check out Melissa Clark. Meatballs with Any Meat are now fully in our rotation.
Spaghetti for twenty, every day dress.
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