Meatball Heroes

For the first time in several weeks, we finally had a break in the 100+ degree weather out here. Cooking has been out of the question, we’ve been living on sandwiches, salads, hotdogs, and hard boiled eggs.

We decided to celebrate with Meatball Heroes, a delicacy that can be found in any Brooklyn Pizza Parlor, but remains a complete mystery to the denziens of California. So for those of you who have never experienced this bit of meaty, cheesy, deliciousness.

You’ll need:

1 loaf Italian/French bread (good and crusty)
1/2 lb mozzeralla cheese shredded
16oz Marinara sauce
Lots of Meatballs

Basic Italian Meatballs Recipe

2lbs Ground Beef
2 Eggs
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tbsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Thyme

Preheat oven to 350F (You can fry meatballs as well, but I find that searing, which is great for hamburgers, makes meatballs too bitter.)
Place the meat in a mixing bowl and add the eggs and spices, mix thoroughly and then roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter.

Place the meatballs on a cookie sheet and bake for 45 min to 1hr, until they are no longer pink in the center. This is the end of the meatballs recipe, now, back to the ‘Heroes’ part!

Next cut the bread to whatever size you can eat without exploding. Slice the bread most of the way through but keep the bottom edge of the crust together. Cut the meatballs in half and layer them on the sandwich. Next, add sauce, slathering evenly over the meatballs. Sprinkle (ok dump) the mozzarella cheese on top and tightly wrap the entire sandwich in aluminum foil. If you feel like you’re wrestling an alligator then you’re doing it right. 🙂

Bake the sandwiches at 400F for 30 minutes. Then remove carefully, the cheese should be completely melted and the outer edge of the crust should be hot and crispy. (Note: it’s ok to lick cheese off the foil) and dive in! If you have fresh Parmesian or Romano they’ll make an excellent addition as well.

Another good option is to use Italian Sausage. Slice the sausages into coins after cooking them and layer them on the sandwich like you did with the meatballs.

This recipe should make 3 large heroes.