Ultimate Spaghetti & Meatballs

I made these when my friend Trenton came over and they were a hit! They took a lot longer than I expected, probably because I tend to be super careful and picky when I first try out a recipe, but they were worth it. I got the recipe from an episode of Tyler's Ultimate. I made the Pomodoro Sauce he includes but didn't really care for it as much, so I'm not going to take the time to write out the recipe on here. But if you want it it's on the link. They also made good leftovers, but again would have been much better with a different sauce IMHO.

Notes:

• Again, didn't really like his Pomodoro Sauce.
• Don't know if this is right, but for the firm white bread I just let some Texas size bread that I had in the pantry sit out for about 30 minutes to get firm before soaking in the milk.
• I used a more authentic fresh mozzarella cheese that I found at Reasor's. It was nice and soft instead of hard like the usual packaged kind. I sliced it and put about one slice on each meatball.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 Tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 cup milk
• 4 thick slices firm white bread, crust removed
• 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 1/2 lbs. ground pork
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups heated Pomodoro Sauce, or good quality jarred tomato sauce
• 1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese, cut into chunks
  
• Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh basil
• 1 lb. spaghetti

Directions:

Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti. Heat 3 T oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and parsley and cook until the vegetables are soft but still translucent, about 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let cool.

Pour enough milk over the bread in a bowl to moisten and let it soak while the onions are cooling. Combine the meats in a large bowl. Add the egg and Parmigiano and season generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands to squeeze the excess milk out of the bread and add that to the bowl along with the cooled onion mixture. (Hand onto the pan - you'll need it to cook the meatballs.) Gently combine all the ingredients with your hands or with a spoon until just mixed together. Don't overwork or the meatballs will be tough. Divide into 10 equal pieces and shape them into 10 nice looking meatballs.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a 3-count of oil in the frying pan over medium heat and brown the meatballs on all sides, about 10 minutes. Put them into a baking dish and spoon about half of hte tomato sauce over. Shower with the mozzarella and drizzle with the olive oil. Put the meatballs in the oven and bake until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in the boiling water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and put it onto a large serving platter. Pour on the rest of the sauce and mix well. Spoon the meatballs on top of the spaghetti and garnish with basil leaves. Serve immediately along with extra cheese.