More from Simple Italian Snacks

Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Spiedini of Meatballs, Onions and Sage and Prosciutto and Melon with Spiced Olive Oil. This was one of the "Wow this is good" meals. The meatballs were delicious, and the recipe was easy. *Only thing is the name of the recipe says "Sage" but the recipe ingredients and directions call for "Bay Leaves". Which I used but the whole thing of not trying not to eating the bay leaf was bothering me. I almost eat a bay leaf and it just made me nervous. I think when I make this again I will use the sage leaf instead. Especially if you are feeding a child. Yes this is a worse case scenario for those who know me. I would probably use a sage leaf just to be on the safe side. I am typing the recipe as it appeared in the book. Another option is to add crushed sage to the meatball... yes that's what I would do... Also if you are using bamboo skewers remember to soak them for 10 minutes to prevent burning.

3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices of bread)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 small yellow onion, minced (I used a red onion)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (from my small herb garden)
2 tbsp. Parmigiano-Reggiano
8 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground pork
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 large yellow onion, cut into 1/2 inch squares
6 dried bay leave, cut into 1/2 inch squares (*see note above)
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine bread crumbs and milk in large bowl. Stir with a fork and let sit for 10 minutes to soften.

Add the minced onion, garlic, parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano to the bread-crumb mixture, and stire with a fork to combine. Add the meat, the beaten egg and the salt and pepper. Use a fork to first combine, then use your hands until the mixture is well blended. Roll into 18 1-inch meatballs. Transfer them to a paper- towel-lined tray. (The meatballs can be refrigerated at this point for up to 1 day.)

Preheat grill or the broiler to high heat.

To make the spiedini, thread a meatball, followed by a square of onion and a square of bay leaf, onto a skewer. Continue alternating to make 6 skewers with 3 meatballs each. Lightly coat each with olive oil. Grill or broil the skewers for a total of 8 minutes, turning them halfway though.



The Prosciutto and Melon with Spiced Olive Oil was also easy. Of course I had everything in the house but forgot to make the spicy olive oil early in the day... but I had some Chili Pepper Olive Oil I had purchased at the O & CO store at Grand Central Terminal in New York.

And in making this recipe I discovered that I have an Italian cat, Kramer was going nuts over the Prosciutto which is baked in the oven. He tried every thing to get on the counter, fortunately he can not make the jump. At one point he was standing on his back legs with one front paw leaning on the cabinet door. What a funny sight!

Here is my version of the recipe -

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Arrange 3 slices of prosciutto slices in a single layer on foil lined baking sheet. Bake until prosciutto had darkened in color and smells like bacon, 5-8 minutes. Set aside and cool.

When prosciutto is cool enough to handle, crumble it into bits.

Meanwhile, cut seeded 1/2 cantaloupe into 1 inch squares.

Drizzle 1/4 cup of spiced olive oil over the melon cubes in a bowl and toss to coat. You could chill the melon at this point. Sprinkle the melon with prosciutto and garnish with 2 or 3 basil leaves.

Here is a link for this small book that is packed with a lot of good recipes. Simple Italian Snacks, More Recipes from America's Favorite Panini Bar.