Saucy with a Chance of Meatballs

My mother-in-law makes the best meatballs and pasta dinners. Its delicious and you can feel the excitement as we sit down around the big table to one of her famous pasta dinners. I have been putting off making Jamie's Meatballs and Pasta on page 151 because 1. it looked like a lot of work and 2. there's no way they could be better than hers. Well, I was right, on both counts. They did feel like a lot of work and they were good but not as good as my mother-in-laws.
1. My mom was visiting the afternoon I made the meatballs. It took three of us to make these probably because I wasn't prepared, got my hands messy and then needed to keep asking husband and my mom for help. I imagine that next time I'd be a bit better at it. Also, mine stuck really bad to the bottom of the pan. Jamie says put a pan on medium heat and maybe mine got too hot. In the beginning, I also had a really hard time maneuvering them around the pan without breaking them into pieces. Again, I should have looked at the pictures. Halfway through I noticed that Jamie moved them around the pan with a fork. I tried this and it worked so much better. So, if you try this, learn from my mistakes, lower the heat and use a fork as you move the meatballs around.
2. I have no idea how my mother-in-law does it but hers are much better. I imagine its a lot of practice, a bit of genetics (her mother was from Sicily) and a lot of love.

Here's the link on Jamie's website if you'd like to give it a try.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/meatballs-pasta-usa-version-imperial

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