Spaghetti and Meatballs All’Amatriciana
RATING: N/A
As part of my culinary new years resolutions, I have committed to creating each month’s cover recipe from Bon Appétit Magazine. Inspired by a New York restaurant owner who has been recreating the magazine’s cover recipes each month for the last 25 years, I decided to attempt to do the same while blogging about my monthly experiences along the way. And you know what? I’m REALLY excited about this project! During all of my years as a subscriber to Bon Appétit, I don’t remember ever being as impatient as I was waiting for the first issue of the year to appear in my mailbox. Each day I would eagerly check to see if the magazine had arrived, its glossy cover dictating what I was going to have to attempt in my kitchen. Wondering if it would be a dessert, hoping not to have to start right out of the gate by having to hunt for strange and hard to find ingredients, praying that whatever the recipe there would be no need for goat’s cheese, raisins or pears, I anxiously awaited my fate. So imagine my delight when the issue finally arrived and what was on the cover? SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS! I was excited. Not only because the photo caused me to instantly salivate with desire, but this dish also happens to be my kids favourite meal of all time. Did I mention I was excited?
THE TEST: Apparently the idea for all’amatriciana originated from a town northeast of Rome called Amatrice, and traditionally calls for tomatoes, hot peppers, and guanciale to be used in this classic Italian sauce. After looking up the word “guanciale”, I was relieved to learn that this recipe would be using bacon as a replacement for the salt-cured pig’s jowl. Whew. The recipe also calls for San Marzano tomatoes, which are a variety of plum tomatoes and are universally considered to be the best tomatoes ever canned by man. Similar to regular plum tomatoes, the San Marzano variety tend to have a thicker flesh with less seeds. They also have a more intense tomato taste, much sweeter and less acidic than other varieties. Definitely worth searching out if you have never tried them before.
I was intrigued by the idea of grinding the bacon into a paste before mixing with the ground beef and other ingredients. Having the flavour of bacon interspersed throughout the meatballs without being in obvious chunks made sense to me, and I thought it would lend a nice depth to the meat.
THE RESULTS: I totally bombed this dish. Want to hear my excuses? I’ve got plenty! We’re in the process of selling our house, finding a new place to live, Mr. Spock was out of town, the baby was sick, and so in between the mudding and sanding of our basement I realized it was almost February and I hadn’t completed my first month’s cover recipe. I panicked and began rushing around the kitchen like a mad woman, throwing ingredients into the pan and sautéing as if I were possessed and cursing myself for making such a time consuming dish on soccer night. In the end I burnt the meatballs. Besides the obvious embarrassment that comes from failing at a dish, I was also disappointed because I feel like I was robbed of the chance to taste what this dish is supposed to taste like because, guaranteed, it wasn’t supposed to taste like char. Although for the record my father-in-law and the baby seemed to really enjoy the results. They must have been really…really hungry.
Click here to read a fellow blogger’s more successful attempt at the same dish!
For a copy of January’s cover recipe, please click here
NOTE: If any of you would like to follow along with me and join in on the fun, I’d love to compare notes! So pick-up a copy of the February issue of Bon Appétit and get cooking. Be sure to send your comments and photos to info@cookthatbook.com
Bon Appétit celebrates the world of great food and the pleasure of sharing it with others. Every issue invites readers into a hands-on experience, engaging them in all aspects of the epicurean lifestyle—cooking, dining, travel, entertaining, shopping and design. For more information please visit www.bonappetit.com
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