Monster Meatball Sandwiches

My favorite meatball sandwiches come from DiCiccos restaurant in my hometown. I don’t order them anywhere else because I’m always disappointed. I’ve never tried making them at home either. I just wait until I go home to visit and make sure to hit DiCiccos at least once while I’m there. But it’s been a very long time since I’ve been able to enjoy my favorite meatball sandwich and I decided that it’s time to take the matter into my own hands.

I think the key to a good meatball sandwich is the sauce. You’d think it would be the meatballs since that’s the main component of the sandwich but I think if you have a good sauce, decent bread, and right type of cheese, you can get away with a mediocre meatball. Not that I planned to make any mediocre meatballs!

I remembered a pizza sauce recipe that I had tried from one of my favorite cookbooks Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. The sauce was so simple but it was nice and tangy…perfect for the sandwich I had in mind. Yes, maybe it’s a little ironic that I found the perfect sauce for my MEATball sandwich in a VEGETARIAN cookbook but I really think that you could replace the meat on this sandwich with grilled eggplant or some grilled portabellos and you’d have something just as good!

For the bread, I just purchased the best looking sandwich rolls at the grocery store and for the cheese, I picked up some packaged pre-sliced mozzarella cheese. This is a sandwich that doesn’t need anything fancy. If I had the time, I would have bought bread from a bakery or made my own but the pre-sliced mozzarella was exactly what I wanted.

The meatballs are what intimidated me. I’d never made any type of meatball in my life and I don’t even have much experience with regular meatloaf. So I read all the meatball recipes I could find in my cookbooks (that took a while since I my cookbooks are taking over my house!) and then got started working on my own meatball recipe which was a combination of what I liked from the other recipes.

Once I had a plan as to how this sandwich was going to come together, I started the sauce so that it could simmer and thicken while I was preparing and cooking the meatballs. I decided to make the meatballs extra large since my sandwich rolls were pretty big. I turned one pound of beef into eight meatballs (and these in turn made two enormous sandwiches!). I cooked the meatballs on the stovetop but I think next time I’ll try baking them instead. When the meatballs were almost cooked through, I put them in the sauce and let them simmer until they were finished.

Finally, I loaded each sandwich roll with four big meatballs, covered them with sauce and then put two slices of mozzerella on each. I finished them off under the broiler for a minute to make sure the cheese was completely melted. It turns out that DiCiccos isn’t the only place that can make a decent meatball sandwich :-) But I’ll certainly be going there the next time I visit home anyway!

Here are the recipes:

Tangy Tomato Sauce:
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large can crushed tomatoes
Pinch of salt
fresh ground pepper

1. In a medium saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil for one minute.
2. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until thickened (about 30 minutes).

Monster Meatballs
1 T. butter
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/2 C. seasoned dried breadcrumbs
1/2 C. fresh-grated parmesan cheese
1/4 C. minced flat-leaf parsley
1 t. salt
a few grinds of fresh black pepper

1. In a small skillet, saute onion in butter until translucent. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
2. In a medium bowl, combine ground beef with all remaining ingredients, including onion and garlic. Mix well (I use my hands for this).
3. Turn meat mixture out onto a sheet of waxed paper, form into a rectangle and cut into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and set aside.
4. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat(I used a 12-inch cast iron skillet) and carefully place the meatballs in the skillet to brown.
5. Carefully give the skillet a shake now and then to keep the meatballs turning in order to brown evenly and keep their round shape. Or, carefully turn meatballs with tongs frequently (I found it easier to shake the pan). Continue cooking for 15 – 20 minutes or until the meatballs are completely brown all over and have almost cooked through (about 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).
6. Drain meatballs on paper towels and then transfer to the simmering tomato sauce. Simmer sauce and meatballs together for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the largest meatball reaches 175 degrees.

Monster Meatball Sandwiches for Two
2 large, crusty sandwich rolls, sliced almost through but still connected
8 Monster Meatballs
Tangy Tomato sauce
4 slices mozzerella cheese

1. Lay sandwich rolls open flat on a baking sheet. Place four meatballs on each sandwich.
2. Cover meatballs with tomato sauce.
3. Place 2 slices of cheese on top of each sandwich.
4. Place under broiler just until cheese is melted, not browned.
5. Fold top of roll over the cheese.
6. EAT!

Now I have to tell you that these sandwiches are ridiculously big! They were actually a special treat for my husband right before he left for a deployment. Yes, he did polish off his entire sandwich but I didn’t even make it halfway through mine! So, the recipe can easily be changed to make four sandwiches instead of two. Just make 16 small meatballs instead of 8 large ones and then divide them between four sandwich rolls. There should be plenty of sauce for four sandwiches.

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Naughty Ice Cream Sandwiches

For an extra special Valentines Day treat, create these decadent and elegant ice cream sandwiches for the one you love. Combining Kahlua-flavored dark chocolate chunk brownies and ice cream spiked with Bailey’s, these aren’t your children’s ice cream sandwiches!

I created this dessert especially for a Four Weeks Magazine article that highlights five proven aphrodisiacs and includes five aphrodisiac recipes. I managed to squeeze three of the five listed aphrodisiacs into this dessert: coffee, dark chocolate, and alcohol; so beware of this one ;-) There are four other recipes featured in the article from some of my favorite foodbloggers. Two that look very promising are a Double Chocolate Tiramisu for Two created by the lovely Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice and a Dark Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate Rum Cream Cheese Frosting from Rachel of Coconute & Lime fame. Wow! Read the article here to see the recipes for yourself.

This recipe is far from difficult but it does require a little planning and preparation. For best results (and no stress), prepare the ice cream and bake the brownies the night before, assemble sandwiches in the morning, and serve as a surprise to your sweetheart after a romantic Valentine’s day dinner.

Naughty Ice Cream Sandwiches

Prepare the filling:
½ Gallon of premium vanilla ice cream, softened but not melted
¼ C. Irish Cream liquor (I used Baileys)

1. Line a jellyroll pan with plastic wrap.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the softened ice cream and Irish Cream until well combined.
3. Spread ice cream evenly in the jellyroll pan. Cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for several hours or overnight.

Prepare the brownies:
1 full-size box of brownie mix
2 eggs
½ C. oil
¼ C. coffee-flavored liquor (I used Kahlua)
2 T. instant espresso
1 t. vanilla
4 oz. dark chocolate, cut into small chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 18”x13” jellyroll pan then line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, combine Kahlua, instant espresso and vanilla; stir until coffee is dissolved.
3. In a large bowl, combine brownie mix, eggs, oil, and Kahlua mixture; stir together until well combined.
4. Stir in chocolate pieces.
5. Pour mixture into the jellyroll pan and, using a spatula, gently coax the mixture out to the edges of the pan. Once the mixture has been spread as evenly as possible, smooth the top with a spatula.
6. Place pan in a preheated, 350 degree oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
7. When brownies are done to your liking (12 minutes for gooey, 15 for well-done), remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Assemble the sandwiches:
Cut brownies into heart shapes using a cookie cutter. Use a spatula to carefully lift and remove the cut brownies to a separate platter. After all the hearts have been cut, cut the remaining pieces of brownie into bite-size pieces and store in a plastic bag for nibbling later. Wash and dry jelly roll pan then spread the brownie hearts out in a single layer in the pan.
Next, clear a large area on the counter and remove ice cream sheet from freezer. Place the tray of brownies within easy reach. Remove top layer of plastic wrap from ice cream. Working quickly, cut ice cream into shapes using the same cookie cutter you used for the brownies. As soon as you cut a piece of ice cream, quickly remove it by pushing up from the bottom with your fingers. This will get messy. Place the ice cream shape on top of one brownie and cover with another brownie. If desired, repeat this process to create a double decker sandwich. Continue until all brownie pieces have been used up.
Cover pan of sandwiches with plastic wrap and immediately place in the freezer. Scoop remaining bits of ice cream into a plastic container and freeze for later (you can eat it with the extra brownie pieces). After about an hour, the sandwiches can be individually wrapped in plastic if desired.
Ice cream sandwiches can be eaten by hand straight out of the freezer or for a special occasion, mix a little Kahlua with store-bought chocolate syrup, drizzle on a plate and top with the ice cream sandwich. You could even add a dollop of whipped cream!

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