Meatballs!

Not the movie, the food. My grandfather was from Venice, Italy. He was a butcher and a cook. He served on the USS Alabama as a cook, in fact. One of his favorite things to make were meatballs. Unfortunately, he passed on before I got old enough to fully appreciate working in the kitchen, so I never got his recipe, so I decided to start stumbling through trying to make them myself. This was attempt #1. It didn't turn out so great. I went with the skillet method:

I don't think I let them cook long enough, they weren't as tender as I would've liked. The flavor was ok, but I still have a ways to go.

Attempt #2 I didn't take a pic of, but I tried a different sausage for the mixture, and instead of frying it in the skillet, I baked them in the oven, drenched in sauce. The sauce was OUTSTANDING, and the meatballs were only ok. I blame most of that on the sausage I used, yet again. Hopefully the third time will be the charm. I'll probably be trying it out again within the month. One thing I will say was really good in that first attempt was the bread you see there on the plate. It was Pillsbury loaf in a can, and that stuff is great! I buttered and garlic salted it before putting it into the oven, and then a bit more butter as it came out and I now love this stuff. Nice crust on the outside and soft and good on the inside.