Rachael Ray's
Weekend Spaghetti & Meatballs
Healthy Lifestyle & Cooking Groups

Rachael is a popular New York chef and host of her own television cooking segment "The 30-Minute Meal" which airs on WRGB every Thursday night at 5 PM.  Her love of cooking stems from her childhood in a large and loving
Italian American family. We have an excerpt from her book and well as an interview with Rachael. Thanks Rachael for joining me today : ).
interview with Rachael
buy Rachael's book

Weekend Spaghetti and Meatballs
Excerpted from "Comfort Foods" with the permission of the author. May not be reproduced without the expressed written permission of the author. All rights reserved.

What you need:

• 1 pound of ground beef, lean
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 small cooking or boiling onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano (a handful)
• 1/2 cup of Italian bread crumbs ( 2 handfuls)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil ( once around the pan)
• 1/2 cup of beef broth or dry red wine (a couple of splashes)
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon ( 2 shakes) crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 sprigs fresh oregano, chopped , or 2 pinches dried
• A palmful chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 3/4 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente, about 8 minutes
• Grated Parmigiano cheese and garlic bread, for the table

What you do:

1. Combine meat, egg, onion, garlic, grated cheese, bread crumbs, and a little pepper in a bowl.
2. Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle in oil. Roll small balls and drop into hot pan.  When all the meat is rolled and in the pan, give the pan a good shake and cover.  Cook meatballs for 8 minutes, giving the pan a good shake frequently to keep meat from burning.  If balls are browning too quickly, reduce heat a little.
3. Add broth or wine and let reduce for 1 to 2 minutes.   Add tomatoes and red pepper flakes, then oregano and parsley.  Simmer until pasta is ready. Toss pasta with sauce and serve with garlic bread and grated cheese for topping.

Interview with Rachael Ray
author of "Comfort Foods"

Sue:
Your book Comfort Foods is a terrific book full of great tasting dishes which take so little time to prepare.   If you had one meal to eat what would you include in this meal?

Rachael:
If I had to choose a favorite meal from Comfort Foods, hands down it's Minestra.   Minestra was a favorite of my Grandpa Emmanuel.  Minestra is beans & greens with garlic in broth; what's not to like?  I could live on this soup all winter and never tire of it.  If you make it, keep plenty of crusty, hot bread on hand for mopping.

In the spring and summer, my favorite recipe switches to crab cakes -- crisp, spicy and so full of crab -- trust me, they're outrageously good and you can make 10 for what they would charge you per cake in any restaurant!

My niece Jessica is the picky eater in my family and her favorite meal from this book is Chicken and Orzo -- a true no-brainer, this recipe cooks itself and yes, the kids will eat it!

Sue:
Today families are almost too busy to cook.  How would you recommend families to use your cookbook Comfort Foods?

Rachael:
Families find The 30 Minute Meal books useful in many ways because they are written by a busy person with no extra time and a good appetite for those who belong to the same category in life.

Each and every 30 Minute Meal in all of my books follows specific criteria:

• All ingredients can be found in any well stocked super market or grocery store
• All ingredients must be used in more than one recipe in each book so no one gets stuck   with a jar of spice or bottle of sauce for which they have a single use for.
• Each recipe is balanced and healthful (we cook primarily with extra virgin olive oil, use the leanest cuts of meat and lots of no-fat low sodium broths for flavor).  When you eat well, you can eat more!
• Freehand equivalents are provided for every measurement because part of the fun of cooking is in personal expression.  Measuring devices break up the flow and cage the cook.  Measurements are for science projects and fancy cakes; your hands provide the only measuring devices needed to make dinner.
• Can-do cooking is what The 30 Minute Meals are all about.   Guys, girls, grannies, students and kids have all mastered these recipes.   When you make one of these recipes, you can rest assured of going to bed   full, happy and proud.

Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches & Puffy Scrambled Eggs
This is a quick and satisfying way to get all the kids to eat their breakfast. The biscuits are easily made in the morning or can be made the night before. The eggs are a tasty and quick breakfast that even the kids can make. All you need for a complete breakfast or late night snack, is your microwave and eggs!

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