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Spaghetti Meatballs

• 1 lb ground beef
• ½ cup dry bread crumbs
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 tsp black pepper
• 2 TBS Parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 TBS dried basil
• 1 TBS chopped or dried parsley
• ½ tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 4 TBS olive oil

1. With bare hands, blend all ingredients except olive oil in medium mixing bowl.
2. Roll mixture into meatballs, each approx. 1 inch in diameter.
3. Heat olive oil in large skillet at medium-hot setting. Add meatballs and brown on all sides.
4. Drain off half the oil. Add a quart of commercial spaghetti sauce to meatballs; simmer at medium-low setting for 5-10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, boil 3/4 lb spaghetti until al dente, according to package directions.
6. Drain spaghetti. Serve each individual portion with several meatballs and generous amount of sauce on top.

Home cooks tend to assemble rather bland meatballs, then depend on the sauce for flavor. This recipe, loosely adapted from James Beard's American Cooking, will give you truly flavorful (not to say spicy) meatballs. I don't usually make my own spaghetti sauce -- supermarkets offer plenty of good commercial sauces, which can easily be doctored with doses of oregano, Parmesan cheese, hot sauce, etc. But tasty homemade meatballs are worth a little extra effort.

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