Recipes Of Our Mothers - Marian Curcio's Mouthwatering Meatballs

The New York Food & Wine Festival's recent Meatball Madness extravaganza was long overdue. One should always laud a momentous meatball. Earlier, I posted a recipe for Grilled Meatball Subs with ground beef--and here's another one for Mouthwatering Meatballs! Baby and I made them with the classic combination of ground beef, veal, and pork; not only are they simply fantastic with a good amount of cheese, but better still, they pay homage to the great lady who made them in the first place.

Submitted by Pat Curcio Koos:

"Marian Curcio was a unique woman, ahead of her time in her thinking and a most loving mother that anyone would envy. Born in Brooklyn, the oldest of 7, she took on the task of raising her younger siblings when her father died at the age of 49. She was everyone’s caretaker and never complained. Her beauty was timeless and her heart, pure gold.

Her style of cooking is from Calabria, Italy. She was a great cook and baker. People flocked to her house knowing they would have a wonderful meal. She had the ability to make complex meals appear to be simple and make all meals very special.

When Marian met her husband, they worked for the same company and at lunch one day he asked her friend what her name was. Her friend replied, 'She’s Marian' which he misheard as 'She’s married' so he didn’t pursue asking her out. After a few months, he happened to see her sitting alone and sat next to her. He asked if she had any children and she told him she wasn’t married, so why would he ask that question? When the mix-up was discovered, they both had a good laugh, and well…the rest is a wonderful history."





Marian Curcio's Mouthwatering Meatballs

For each lb. of chopped beef here are the ingredients:

4 slices of white bread put through a food processor and placed into a bowl
4 oz of grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 extra large egg
3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
Water as needed

Combine all ingredients in bowl, and mix thoroughly with your hands or with a spoon. When completed if mixture is too dense add water to thin, until you feel that the consistency is firm but moist.

Roll meat in your hands using a circular motion. Each meatball should be the size of a golf ball or slightly larger.

In a non-stick skillet heat some extra virgin olive oil using a medium heat...Place enough meatballs to fill the pan and brown on all sides. Do not overcook......Place browned meatballs onto paper towels to absorb excess oil. Then add them to your sauce/gravy.











Thanks Marian, and of course, Pat! Click here for a great Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce from cuisineathome.com!