Spinach & Parm Meatballs And Sausage With Hot Banana Pepper Sauce

Staring at the takeout menu, the decision is always the same when a hot hoagie is the night's craving. Meatball or hot sausage?  Okay, maybe a steak n' cheese might figure into the equation, too, on occasion. But generally, it's meatball or hot sausage for me.

And then there's the gluten issue getting in the way of simply ordering from a takeout menu. Except for Mandy's Pizza in West View (thank you Steve for doing amazing GF pizzas, hoagies, calzones and pastas ALL in a GF version!), usually if I want a hoagie, it's going to be homemade. As long as I'm doing my own meatballs or hot sausage, why not make it the way I really want it? Why NOT do both meatballs AND sausage in the same sandwich so there are no potential life altering decisions to be made? Why not indeed. So I did.

Every good meatball or sausage hoagie (did you know I still say "sub" sometimes from my years in Maryland?) starts with a doggone good tomato sauce. Since I still have hot banana peppers from the CSA, that's where I started. And really, Italian hot banana peppers are just made for a good sauce on an Italian hoagie! After starting with the peppers, I added lots of garlic, San Marzano tomatoes, fresh basil and good red wine. Good start.

My meatballs are a nice light version with chopped fresh spinach and a hefty amount of Parmesan, as well as fresh bread and heavy cream to be sure the meatballs stay light and tender. Because the sauce itself packs a nice wallop of heat, instead of my usual hot sausage, I used sweet Italian sausage and let the sauce carry the heat for the dish. 

Once the sauce, meatballs and sausage had simmered on the stovetop for a while, all that was needed were good, crusty hoagie rolls (or Udi's GF baguettes for me) and a nice smoky provolone to tuck into the sandwich to get all gooey and melty. Just like takeout!

And the leftovers? Turn the sauce, meatballs and sausage into an easy casserole for a dinner the whole family will love! Who doesn't like double duty dinners?! 

Spinach & Parm Meatballs And Sausage 

With Hot Banana Pepper Sauce

Sauce:

• 3 T olive oil
• 2 large sliced banana peppers - HOT ones!, tops removed, seeds removed, sliced across into thin wheels
• 4 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 C fresh basil, chopped
• 1 T Kosher salt
• lots of freshly ground black peppercorns
• 2 - 1 lb 12 oz cans of San Marzano tomatoes in puree w/ basil leaf
• 1/3  (or more?) C good red wine

Meatballs:

• 1 1/3 lb lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• 2 T Italian flatleaf parsley, chopped
• a generous 1/2 C fresh spinach, chopped - measured after chopping
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 t granulated garlic
• 2 T heavy cream
• 1 slice firm bread, crumbled finely - I use gluten-free bread to make this GF, but if gluten isn't an issue use something like Pepperidge Farm

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage links, cut in half and browned in a skillet

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Start with the sauce. In a large pot, add the olive oil and add the banana peppers and garlic. Saute gently until the veggies are softened, but not browned. Add the basil and stir in well, then add the salt & pepper, tomatoes (crushing each tomato with your hand and fingers as you put it in) and wine. Stir well, bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer gently while making the meatballs & sausage.

In a large bowl, mix all the meatball ingredients well, but lightly. Make meatballs about the size of golf balls and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes until beautifully browned. 

Add meatballs and browned sausage into the sauce and simmer an hour or so. Don't let the sauce reduce too much, but just to a nice spoonable consistency. Stir occasionally, making sure the bottom isn't burning. 

Serve on good crisp hoagie buns with slices of provolone, if you wish. To make these GF, I use Udi's baguettes. Fabulous!

NOTE: What to do with leftovers besides more hoagies? Cut each meatball in half, and the sausages, too. Cook rigatoni or medium shells, drain and add meatballs and sausage with enough sauce to coat the pasta well. Add cubes of mozzarella and some parm, mix well, pour into a large shallow casserole dish, cover with more shredded mozz and bake at 400 degrees just until the casserole bubbles nicely. Serve with a good salad and garlic bread. Easy dinner! 

Oh what the hell, here's a bonus recipe for the casserole:

Meatballs, Sausage & Shells 

Quick and Easy Casserole

• 8 oz. large shell pasta - I use gluten-free to make this GF - cooked just under al dente to allow for time in the oven
• 4 C leftover meatballs and sausage, each cut in half
• 1 C leftover banana pepper sauce
• 4 oz. sharp provolone, cut in 1/2" dice
• 4 oz. firm mozzarella, cut in 1/2" dice
• 4 oz. fontina, cut in 1/4" dice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Drain the shells and return to the pot. Add the sauce and stir gently to coat, trying to separate the shells. Add the halved meatballs and sausage and the cheeses, again trying to separate the shells so they're evenly distributed with the meats. 

Spray a shallow casserole dish with Pam and pour the mixture into the dish. Bake for about 50 minutes until the cheeses are melted and the casserole is bubbly.

Easy, family pleasing dinner! 

Moinks & Beans...Even Better Than Pork & Beans!

Pork n beans. Moinks n beans. What?! Moinks? Never heard of them? Neither had I until about a year ago when we started getting more and more into this whole smoking thing. 

Moinks are pork meatballs, wrapped in bacon and smoked.  The name? I think it comes from the 'M' in Meatball and the 'OINK' in the pig. Moink.

Sunday's smoking consisted of ribs with pineapple jalapeno glaze, a simple on-sale salmon steak (only 1 because Mark won't eat anything that swims) and Moinks. While we ate the ribs that evening, the salmon was planned for a couple salads for work. The Moinks became an appetizer (mainly because we couldn't wait to try them!), treats for neighbors and the rest became dinner for another night. When we smoke, we make the most of it...you don't waste the smoke.

The beans? Lots of pineapple was left from the marinade and rib baste - jalapenos too - so both became part of the baked beans I'd planned as a side to the ribs. Because I bake my doctored up beans for at least an hour - sometimes longer, I even used the core of the pineapple in the beans instead of tossing it out. I learned that thrifty trick from Graham Kerr, The Galloping Gourmet, long, looooonnng ago. The pineapple core becomes tender when it cooks! A good tip for Asian stir fries, too.

The fresh pineapple added LOTS of sweetness (and a nice bit of tartness, too), so I didn't add the brown sugar or molasses I usually do, but I DID add just a little kick of bourbon and a little bottled barbecue sauce along with the jalapeno. The result? One that will be repeated! Often. 

In fact, my son-in-law wants me to bring a dish of them when I visit them in Michigan next weekend. Maybe we'll even throw a few Moinks on his smoker.  Why not?! They couldn't be easier.

Moinks

• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 pound sausage meat, hot sausage if you wish...I wish!
• 7 slices bacon, thin sliced bacon

Mix the pork and sausage well - it helps to let the meat come almost to room temp first. Shape golfball sized meatballs and set aside until all are done.
 
Cut the bacon strips in half and wrap a half slice of bacon around the circumference of each meatball. Secure with a toothpick or slide several moinks onto metal skewers. (If you use wooden skewers, be sure to soak those right along with the hickory chips for at least an hour so they don't burn.) Chill the moinks in the fridge until the smoker is ready to go.

 
Prepare the smoker as you normally would for whatever type of smoker YOU use. I like hockory chips for these, so soak them at least an hour ahead. When the smoker is to temp, scatter some soaked hickory chips on the coals.
 
Place the skewers of moinks on the grate, cover and smoke until cooked through and bacon is golden.
 
NOTE: You can do these on the grill, too. Be sure to keep the flame low and use indirect heat so the bacon drippings don't ignite. 

Pineapple, Jalapeno, Bourbon BBQ Baked Beans

Serves 8

• 1 cup pineapple, fresh, diced small, core and all
• 2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, very finely diced - red or green
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 15 ounces black beans, drained
• 28 ounces baked beans, do NOT drain
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce, hickory, bottled
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 7 slices bacon, cut into thirds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
 
Combine everything but the bacon and mix well. Pour into a large casserole dish and cover the top evenly with bacon.
 
Bake 1 - 1/2 hours or until the bacon is cooked, crisp and browned. 

Beer-Braised Reuben Meatball Hoagies

There are favorite sandwiches all over this great country of ours...a Primanti's sandwich here in Pittsburgh, a Polish Boy in Cleveland.  Baltimore? The venerable crabcake sandwich. But there is one that sandwich that goes by different names all over the U.S.  What is it? Well, that depends.

Whether you call it a hoagie (Pittsburgh), sub (Baltimore), grinder (Boston) or a hero, the big, long sandwich on an enormous bun is one of America's favorite casual meals. 

Another favorite sandwich is a Reuben, so why not make it a best-of-both Reuben meatball hoagie? Why not indeed.

In quest of a union of the two esteemed sandwiches, I put together a mixture of canned corned beef (Why canned? It crumbled and combined SO well with the other ingredients!), ground pork, egg, panko, shredded Swiss, chopped Bavarian sauerkraut, mustard and other goodies. The result? The meatballs turned out light, tender and jam packed with Reuben-y goodness. A chunky topping of more sauerkraut, onion, butter and beer complemented the sandwich to perfection.

What an ideal make-ahead meal for the middle of the week! Heat them up and pile them on crusty buns. If you're lucky enough to find rye rolls, even better! Accompanied by a crisp and crunchy Kosher dill pickles, Beer-Braised Reuben Meatball Hoagies make a hearty meal in these cold winter months.  

Some very lucky guests would enjoy these at a weekend get-together, too.  In fact, I'm going to tuck this one away to pull out for Steelers tailgates next year! Is it too early to say, Go Steelers?!

  

Beer-Braised Reuben Meatball Hoagies

Makes 24 meatballs or 8 sandwiches

• 1 can corned beef brisket, canned, crumbled with your fingers or mashed with a fork
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 tablespoons stoneground mustard
• 1 egg
• 1 14 oz. can Bavarian (with caraway seeds) sauerkraut, 1/2 c. removed & chopped, the rest of the can reserved  (if you don't like caraway seeds, use regular sauerkraut)
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, gluten-free if you want to make this GF
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed (optional)
• 1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded - preshredded is just fine
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted in a skillet
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• sauerkraut, what's remaining in the can above
• 1 cup beer, gluten-free to make this GF
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed (optional)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 8 hoagie rolls, sliced - gluten-free to make this GF
• Swiss cheese, shredded, extra for the tops

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
 
Lightly mix the ingredients from corned beef through black pepper. Form into approximately 2" balls and set on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a Silpat. Bake 25 minutes, turn and bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and spoon into a large casserole dish.
 
While the meatballs are baking, melt butter in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until wilted. Add the rest of the can of sauerkraut, 1/2 t. caraway seeds and the beer. Quickly whisk in the cornstarch until smooth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes until thick.
 
Pour the sauerkraut/beer mixture over the meatballs in the casserole dish. Serve on hoagie (or sub or grinder....you get the picture) rolls with a little shredded Swiss on top.
 
NOTE: If you don't like caraway seeds, leave them out!


NOTE 2: Wish I'd thought of this before....these would be great for a cocktail party on little slider rolls!