I have been avoiding regular pasta like the plague lately, since I am trying to lose weight.  Most days this is relatively easy since I just sub in some spaghetti squash or some zucchini zoodles, but for some reason I have been craving my Ricotta meatballs and some gooey stuffed pasta!  The real deal, no whole wheat, or zoodles!  If you have never made meatballs with ricotta, you may not go back to making them the familiar old way!  I never thought I could love a meatball more! I am a meatball purist, since my early childhood days of literally attacking the frying pan that my Nonna use to make her amazing meatballs in.  I would walk up and kiss her as we entered her Jersey City apartment every Sunday, then sneak my fork around her which at 4’9 was not too hard, God rest her soul, and pull out a meatball as it was frying and burn my mouth eating it, they were that good!  She would yell at me in Italian and my father would translate and say she was cursing at me, which the woman was a saint so that was him joking, it was sweet that she knew like clock work what my MO was, a meatball first, then rip at the Italian bread and dip it in the rich delicious gravy!  Yes in my house it was and always will be gravy, my kids don’t call it anything else, and I can assure you my grandchildren will know Nonna’s gravy! Ahhh….I miss my grandma and those amazing meatballs. Sunday gravy was always a treat.  I just loved it! ( My Nonna and my Daddy are pictured above in my featured picture). I am so blessed to be able to have that tradition at home with my children, it’s usually an Italian feast, but I mix it up with a roast chicken, or German Pork roast for my hubby who’s German.

So ok, back to meatballs, now that I have tried the ricotta meatballs, I am having a hard time making them any other way.  I use to soak my stale bread, this is a big debate foe many people but my Nonna did not use anything but stale bread, and I personally don’t like the bread crumbs in my meatballs or my meatloaf for the fact that it makes for a dry and crumbly meatball (you need to use stale bread to make a good Italian meatball, please don’t make them any other way, dry bread crumbs anillhlate a good meatball I swear).  So I’d let the bread sit out on my counter, if you come to my home that is why you always see bread sitting out on my counter naked and afraid, then I would take the bread about two slices, and soak it in milk for a few minutes while I was getting my gravy going, but using the ricotta, you can avoid this step all together, because of the creaminess in the ricotta,  and even my son who despises ricotta cheese, yes I know, I can’t figure out how my Italian bambino does not like the white stuff, yet loves it in cannolis, but he could not taste the “ricott”, in it, and therefore gave them two thumbs up!  For me I just love ricotta cheese so it wasn’t a hard sell!  If I had more time I would make my own, it’s very easy but I don’t have the luxury of waiting, so I use Galbani brand and it is pretty damn good, better than Polly-0, I know my father is grimacing in heaven hearing me say that, but it’s far superior in my opinion.  Normally for lasagna and baked ziti I will use part skim, but for my balls I use whole milk ricotta!  I loved saying that… you have to know me to understand!  So I guess I went a little ricotta crazy, because my other son who just turned 18 loves all things ricotta, so I made him spinach manicotti, because I can, served with crusty garlic bread and my signature garlic filling, and since the meal was heavy with the stuffed pasta and bread, why not have a little dessert too?  I am thinking something light.  Maybe like a Pavlova with some fresh strawberries soaked in some nice Limoncello.  If you have never had a Pavlova it is essentially a meringue that’s baked in the oven for an hour, and then filled with  whipped cream and fresh fruit, Limoncello for those who have never had, is a lemon spiked vodka that is served throughout Italy.  I love it!  I use it to make a Limoncello granita in the summer that is so refreshing and light on a hot summer night, think spiked lemon Italian Ice!

I think with lightness of the boozy lemony strawberries and a kiss of fresh whipped cream in the dessert will make hubby smile!  And, like the saying goes, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and thankfully, I know how to make his heart skip a beat or two!!!   Here’s to Sunday supper and heartbeats!  Ciao!

Sinfully,

Susan xoxo