Germanotta Meatballs & Spaghetti Sauce

  Posted on April 12, 2012  by Leslie Blythe  1 comment

Gaga for meatballs…. a wacky night in New York

On our last night in New York city, my daughter, Zoe and I met my friend Alan at Joanne’s, an Italian restaurant on West 68th Street. We sat at the bar and had calamari (best I’ve ever had) and meatballs. Joanne’s is owned by Lady Gaga’s parents. Joe, her father (a very nice man), also sat at the bar and brought out a rice pudding that they were testing. He wanted us to taste it and wanted to know how much we would pay for it. It was really good and I said $7 seemed reasonable. He then wanted Zoe to try their macaroni & cheese, which was ridiculously good. The meatballs (2 tennis ball size) were Lady Gaga’s grandma’s recipe. They were covered in marinara sauce sauce and were delicious. I found the recipe online and thought I would share.

We also met a famous horror writer, who Stephen King thinks is one of the scariest authors out there – Jack Ketchum. He was a very cool guy and we enjoyed talking to him. I guess he hangs out there all the time too.

Joanne’s executive chef is Art Smith, who is an innovative and wonderful chef.

Germanotta Meatballs & Spaghetti Sauce

Serves 4

1 2/3 cups ciabatta, torn into pieces and soaked in 2/3 cups milk
1 egg
1/4 cups grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbs finely minced garlic
1/3 cup minced onions
1/2 lb lean beef
1/2 lb lean pork
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, additional to brown meatballs.
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
4 cups of marinara sauce

Mix all ingredients together carefully.

Sear meatballs in medium hot skillet. Pour off excess oil add marinara sauce and simmer.

Cook spaghetti to al dente. Toss meatballs and sauce with spaghetti.

Serve with grated parmesan cheese.