Q Talk

[seamus2]

I'm not Italian but I watch TV cooking shows and listen to Italian co-workers at lunchtime.  And what I've learned is that everyone has a family recipe that may be considered "the best"!  It may or may not have onions, it may have milk soaked bread cubes or not, the meatballs may be baked or fried.  The gravy (in Philly we call the red sauce "gravy"!)  will cook all day on Sunday, etc, etc.  There are so many great family traditions to our cooking.  But after hearing all the various methods and recipes for meatballs, here's what I do and my family loves them.  Into a mixture of ground beef and pork I put egg, worchestershire sauce (the best flavor), bread crumbs or panko.  I form the meatballs and stick the baking pan with them in the oven and bake - 10 min on one side and 10 min on other side.  Then I freeze them.  When I need them I put them in the gravy and finish the cooking process.  So yummy!  But each to their own.  Oh, and no onions, Lol!  The worchestershire sauce has all the extra flavor I need!

[SunValley]

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@Sueliz wrote:

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@coffee drinker wrote:

In CT, you can buy Mama Mancini's meatballs in the grocery stores and they are sold at a very reasonable price -- not $66.

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Same here @coffee drinker, I live across the LI Sound from you.

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They are available in my area too. I tried them once and that was enough. The TJ croissants are another story...delicious.

[RespectLife]

I don't think you could possibly say that onions do NOT go in meatballs. 

It is totally a taste preference!

Maybe I don't make them that way.....but who is to say that it is wrong?  It is just what we are used to and prefer.

My Northern Italian family always put onions in their meatballs, NEVER in the sauce.  And we would NEVER call it gravy!  LOL

My BF is Sicilian and always used onions as well, both in the meatballs and the sauce.

All of them use veal...I would NEVER eat veal!  I combo beef and pork.

I NEVER use onions!  LOL  My kids would spit them out no matter how small I chopped them.

I now use ricotta (saw it on Top Chef).

Our meatballs are always pan fried first in a cast iron skillet...never baked or put raw in the sauce.

Meatballs are as varied as the day is long.

I would never order meatballs or cheesecakes since I love my own...but I order a lot of food from Q and have been mostly very pleased.

You have to remember, some people do not cook, don't know how to cook or don't WANT to cook!  Having sources such as Q or Swann's are helpful in their lives.

I don't judge what others choose to spend.

[VaBelle35]

There are as many Sunday Sauce/Gravy recipes as their are Italian grandmothers.  LOL

[SaRina]

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@Carmie wrote:

My family is Italian from Northern Italy and we always put onions in our meatballs.  IMO My family, Me included,  makes the best meatballs I have ever tasted.

I do not buy meatballs and would never order them in a restaurant or from a shopping channel  Most homemade meatballs made by others are tasteless, And have the consistency of mush. I hate a soft mushy mouth feel. Gross!

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@Carmie, some Italians here make it sound like their families wrote the Meatball Bible, haha. We also like onions in ours not only for the flavor, but for the added "crunchy" texture. No mushy meatballs in our house! 

[bootsanne]

100% Italian, father born there.  My sisters all had 100% Italian inlaws.  Never tasted an onion  or seen an onion in any of our meatballs, but I do put sauteed onions in my meatball recipe for meatloaf..  Almost every Italian woman I know thinks she makes the best meatballs, but mine taste different everytime.  I blame it on the fat content of the beef and pork.  You never know.  I always cook one first and then season the rest accordingly.  And, in all my 65 years on Earth, nobody ever called sauce "gravy".    And I'm only a few hours from Jersey and Philly.

[TenderMercies]

I had seen some presentations of the Mama Mancini Meatballs, so I was happy to see that they were selling them in packages of 8 in my local grocery store.  I decided to buy a package of them, and they were the most delicious meatballs I've ever tasted.  The next time I saw that they were selling them on QVC, I did the math and discovered that the offer was a really good deal.  I was wrong.  Not only were the meatballs much smaller than the ones I purchased in the store, but they tasted totally different than the store bought ones as well.  They were terrible!  Completely tasteless!  I called QVC, and they refunded my money.  

The only other food I've bought from QVC was a TSV of Mrs. Prindables apples.  I was completely unimpressed.  They sometimes sell similar apples at Sam's Club around the holidays for a fraction of what QVC charges, and they taste the same.  I think the reason why the food on QVC costs so much is because while they tell you that the shipping is free, you're actually paying for the shipping.

[Gabidog]

I don't care if you like onions or not.  I care about honest presentations of food.  A southwest shrimp presentation had hosts raving about the product but when I received it I had to throw out it was so bad.  And all reviews stated the same displeasure.  That product is back with a new item number and no reviews!  I think QVC should have a panel of ten people review food prior to offering on air.

[katiescarlett]

I can get Mama Mancini's in the grocery store for $3.99, and sometimes BOGOF.  Food prices on QVC are absurdly ridiculous.  Potstickers are about $3-4 at Trader Joe's.  And when you calculate the price per pound, it is astonishing. 

[katiescarlett]

I live in a rural area, and have to drive almost 30 miles to a decent grocery store, but it is worth it, Fresh Market, Trader Joe's, Publix, Lowe's (not the hardware place), and the state Farmer's Market.   I am sure there are places more rural that where I live, but I would rather drive 30 miles one way than pay the prices QVC charges for food.