I was channel surfing the other day, and happened to pass by one of those kiddie channels where they were singing that song “On top of Spaghetti, all covered with cheese. I lost my poor meatballs, when somebody sneezed!”

It brought back all these childhood memories of being in daycare, and anxiously awaiting for the days where we got spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. I remember the meatballs always being a little dry, and the spaghetti being a little soggy, but I guess anything was better than those pieces of cardboard they tried to pass off as pizza back then!

Anyways it got me hungry, and craving for spaghetti and meatballs. I’ve made it a couple times before, and while I conquered the spaghetti with meat sauce, the meatballs were another story. They were always a little more dry than I liked. So this time I decided to try adding minced onions in the meat, and discovered the key to juicy meatballs! The meatballs were perfectly juicy and tasty!

My best friend brought her 5 year old daughter over that day, and she had so much fun making the meatballs. This recipe is easy, quick, and so good! It’s perfect on the days where you don’t have much time, but want a filling and satisfying meal. Or if you need a cooking project that will entertain the kids too (I let my 5 yr old helper make all the meatballs, while I was catching up with Oprah!). Trust me, this will be the juiciest meatball you’ve ever tasted!

So here’s my spaghetti and meatballs recipe:

Ingredients:

1lb ground chuck (regular ground beef meat is ok too)

spaghetti and meatballs

Marinade:

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon basil paste (they sell them in tubes in the fresh herb section, or you can use fresh basil)
• 1 teaspoon Chinese hot sauce (optional)
• 1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
• 1 small onion minced

Other Ingredients:

• 1 package spaghetti noodles
• 1 jar of Ragu traditional meat sauce
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of oil

Directions:

1. Put the ground beef in a large bowl with the marinade ingredients, and mix until even
2. Form golf ball size meatballs and put onto a foil lined baking sheet, save some meat for the meat sauce (be careful not to spend to much time forming the meatballs, the more you touch them, the tougher and drier the meatball will be. Do not spend more than 10 secs on each ball)
3. Preheat oven to 375, and bake meatballs for 10-12 mins, until lightly browned
4. In a wok, add the oil and garlic cloves until browned, then add the remaining meat
5. Stir fry the meat until browned and fully cooked, then add the meat sauce from jar and let sit on low heat (once meatballs from oven are done, add them back to the sauce in wok)
6. In a large pot, boil some water and add oil and salt.
7. Once boiling, add the noodles and cook until al dente (about 8-10 mins, or follow instructions on box)

Ingredient And Preparation

4 lb Beef shin with bones or 2-medium oxtails, cut up.
1 md Onion, unpeeled
5 Slices fresh ginger
1 Piece star anise
1 t Salt
2 1/2 tb Chinese fish sauce
1 Bundle medium Chinese-vermicelli
Boiling water
1/2 lb Leftover cooked sirloin-(or beef tenderloin or-eye chuck), thinly sliced
3 Scallions, chopped
Fresh cilantro sprigs
Pepper
Fresh chiles, sliced

Direction

Boil beef (with bones) or oxtails in 3 qts cold water.
Skim off foam and fat. Cover and simmer for 4 hours.
Broil onion until flesh is soft, turning often. Peel.
Add onion, ginger, anise, salt, and fish sauce to beef
broth just before it has finished simmering.
Also just before beef broth finishes simmering, drop
vermicelli into a pot of boiling water. Cook 8
minutes, remove from water, rinse in cold water, and
drain. Divide vermicelli into three equal portions and
place in 3 individual serving bowls.
Divide beef into 3 equal portions and place on top of
vermicelli in the bowls. Garnish each bowl with
scallions and 2 or 3 fresh cilantro sprigs.
Strain broth, reserving beef and flavorings. Pour one
cup broth over contents of each bowl. Sprinkle with
pepper and chiles. Serve immediately. Reserved beef,
flavorings, and extra broth can be eaten separately.

I still remember the very moment I fell in love. It was Valentine’s Day, and my now husband offered to make me dinner. Of course, I was reluctant. The only thing I’ve ever seen him make until then was broccoli and cheddar Hot Pockets - and they were always burnt. But I just couldn’t say no to him. He looked so excited. So I agreed, and made mental notes 1) to eat a big lunch on Valentine’s Day, and 2) to restock the saltine cracker stash in my purse.

When I arrived, his usual dirty, boring, and unstylish apartment was transformed into a romantic restaurant. There were candles, balloons, and flower petals everywhere. But as beautiful as the room looked, it was the aroma which filled the room that caught my attention.

That night I was introduced to beef tenderloin, and I fell in love. The beef just melted in my mouth. It was so soft, yet tasty. It was the best thing I ever had. It was like heaven for my mouth. How could I have never tasted this before? And how did this guy, who lived off burnt Hot Pockets, make something this unbelievable?

Then he shows me the hand written recipe his mom had given him. I stared at him with admiration and amazement. I knew at that moment, he would be my husband. Anyone that could make something that delicious was a keeper (and he’s nice, cute, and all that other good stuff too).

Everytime I make this at dinner parties, I get admiring looks all night. Women are always asking me for the recipe, while the men ask for my hand in marriage (of course I tell them I’m married, but to leave their contact info for future references). This beef tenderloin recipe will get you anything or anyone. Yes, it REALLY is that good. So here it is, my husband’s famous Beef Tenderloin recipe:

Beef Tenderloin (Fillet Mignon) Roast

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of good beef tenderloin ( I always get mine at Costco, and cut it in half at home, and freeze the other half for later)
• 12 pieces of peeled garlic cloves
• 1 carrot
• 1 medium sized yellow onion
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 oz salted butter cut into bite size pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the marinade:

• 2 tablespoons of Maggie (this is a special type of soy sauce, they sell this at Asian markets, and probably in the asian aisle in the regular supermarkets. If you can’t find it, the regular soy sauce will suffice.)
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1/3 cup sherry or red wine

Directions:

1. Rinse the beef tenderloin under cold water, and pat dry with a clean towel
2. Peel as much fat and tendons off as possible from the beef tenderloin. (it’s not as hard as you think, usually you just have to get one section off with your knife then the whole thing comes off)
3. Embed the garlic cloves into the tenderloin by using your knife and making deep cuts into meat, and then inserting the garlic cloves in.
4. Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour half of the marinade over the beef, and let it sit for at least 15 mins
5. Peel the carrot and celery with a vegetable peeler so that you have long and thin slices of both.
6. Cut the onion into thin and long slices.
7. Place the carrot, celery and onion slices on a ridged bacon rack type dish.
8. Place the marinated beef on top, and pour the remaining marinade over the beef and vegetables.
9. Place the bite size pieces of butter evenly over the beef.
10. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the beef.
11. Cover with wax paper and place in microwave oven. Cook the beef for 15 min on power 5. Turn the roast upside down, halfway through cooking (at about 7 mins).
12. Let stand for 15 min before cutting to serve.

Enjoy!

_Stella_