jr conlin's ink stained banana

As promised folks, here's my meatball recipe:

1 lb. ground turkey (NOT extra lean)
1 lb. Criminy crimini mushrooms (they're baby Shitake, you know)
1 egg.
around 1 c breadcrumbs
dried parsely (four or five shakes)
dried basil (three or four shakes)
dried oregano (two shakes) (i think i just lost Molerat with that)
salt/pepper (Healthy pinch each)
simmering pot of tomato sauce

This recipe is simplicity itself, and inspite of what Alton Brown may say, works wonderfully as a meatloaf too. Pardon me while i indulge my own idiocies.

slice and saute the mushrooms. You can dice them too, but basically, you want to put a nice brown crust on them. You don't NEED to do this, but dammit, i like it.

Gather up the spices and give them a quick grind in the mortar and pestle. Again, don't need to do this, but it helps release the oils. Plus it smells purdy.

Start warming up that big non-teflon frying pan you've got (just past medium heat).

Dump the meat into a big bowl and crack the egg over it. Toss in the spices, and then the mushrooms. Using your all purpose mixing device (your hand), squoosh it all together until fairly well mixed. Probably want to run your hand under warm water every now and then because that meat's mighty cold.

One things are fairly well squooshed, start adding half of the breadcrumbs. Mix. If things are still a little wet for your fancy, add more. The breadcrumbs are there to absorb the extra moisture, so don't add more than you really need to. Once the ball has a slightly dull appearance, rinse your hands, you'll want them fairly clean for the next step.

Pinch off a lump of meat roughly the size of your thumb (a little bigger for smaller thumbed folks, a little smaller if you've no problems getting a date at swinger bars). Roll it into a loose ball. Stick them in another bowl or a plate or something. Remember, you're making meatballs here, not replacing your billard table, so smaller is better.

Once you've got the balls made, place them in the frying pan, making sure they don't touch. This is where having metal tongs is good. Brown them up. How do you know they're browned enough? If you can lift them from the pan without them sticking, that side's done. Turn them so that they get a sear on all the sides. Yeah, they may look like meat pyramids or meat cubes more than meat balls, deal.

Once they're seared, drop them into the simmering tomato sauce.

Let them cook in the sauce for an hour or two. Serve.

For Meatloaf:
Skip the skillet. Instead form up the Meat Wad on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or foil). Give the thing a coating of tomato sause and then bake it in a 350° oven until done (about 40 minutes)

Slice and enjoy. Good with pasta, rice and soy (no, really) or sliced onto toasted sourdough with melted provalone cheese.