Los Altos newcomer Amber MacDonald netted a total of $70,000 last month competing on NBC’s cooking reality TV show “Food Fighters.” She shared one of the family recipes that helped earn her the win – spaghetti and meatballs, à la her Sicilian grandmother.
“I know that my grandmother’s traditional recipes are going to knock the socks off them,” she said before facing off against British “bad boy chef” Brendan Collins.
They each had 20 minutes to complete a recipe, from pulling pantry ingredients to plating the dish.
MacDonald’s recipe della nonna relied on a classic interpretation – garlic, peppers, onions and tomatoes in the sauce, and a meatball base that eschewed breadcrumbs and bound only with egg and parmesan cheese. Collins took a more interpretive stance, crafting a red wine, garlic and shallot glaze for his meatballs and serving them with an oozy hunk of burrata as well as pasta.
Both used a deep fryer to speed up the meatball cooking process – and MacDonald scorched her first batch in unexpectedly hot oil.
“I realize I have a little more time and I hear my grandmother in the back of my head – ‘You have to get these meatballs right!’” she recounted.
With one minute remaining, MacDonald pulled a second round of meatballs from the fryer, tossed them in her sauce and started plating – adding a final grate of cheese as the audience began the 10-second countdown. In a 3-2 split, the judging panel concluded that grandma’s meatballs won out.
MacDonald shared the winning recipe with Town Crier readers (deep fryer optional).
Amber MacDonald’s Spaghetti & Meatballs
Meatballs
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 pound ground veal
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 cup Romano cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons pepper
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1/3 cup green pepper
• 5 cloves garlic (minced)
Beat eggs and add water. Mix all ingredients together and form balls. They can be sautéed in a hot pan until browned on all sides, or deep-fried for 4 minutes to keep their shape. Add to sauce to finish cooking.
Sauce
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup onions, diced
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
• 1 can whole, peeled tomatoes
• 1 large can tomato sauce
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 2 ounces basil
• Salt and pepper to taste
Heat olive oil in skillet. Sauté garlic, onion and green bell pepper in oil. Add tomatoes and stir, seasoning with pepper and salt to taste. Bring to simmer, then turn down heat and add basil to garnish.
Add meatballs to sauce and allow to simmer for at least 5 minutes.
Pasta
• 1 box No. 1 dry pasta (cook according to directions)
• Additional grated Parmesan/Romano to top
