Gourmet Food Find

This Meatball Blend from Williams Sonoma is a combination of the very best quality meats, including all natural Black Angus Beef, milk fed Veal, Suffolk Lamb, Heritage Hampshire Pork. It is guaranteed to bring the delicious to any recipe that calls for ground beef, whether it's a burger, meatballs for a soup, bolognese sauce, or how about a meatball sub?! It's so simple and straightforward in preparation, and tastes fantastic... we can prove it if you follow these easy steps!

First, the meat - in a large glass bowl, sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper, oregano, dried chili flakes, and crumble in some in feta (or any cheese of your choice - blue works nicely too). Mix it, mash it and have some fun (even get the kids involved). The last step before shaping the meatball is to mix a small handful of flour into the meat. This will create the necessary binding of the meat (ie. the gluten), never mind egg, it's messy, and unnecessary!

Next, you can choose how to cook them, some like pan fried (very tasty), others like to bake meatballs, the choice is yours.

Now for the bun and cheese. A nice fresh old-fashioned white sub bun is the obvious first choice, but that's not to say other breads won't work. If you have banished all white foods from your diet, then use a whole wheat bun, or ancient grains flour blends. Make sure it isn't too thin, it won't survive the sauce!

The sauce: If you're passionate about using sauce made from scratch, then power to you, and off you go! But if you're busy like many of us, there's nothing wrong with the occasional use of pre-made sauce, it will work just fine. Just because it is pre-made, you can still have the final say - so feel free to add some minced garlic, or spice, whatever you like!

When the meatballs are fully cooked, pour over the sauce, and let them simmer for a few minutes before putting them on the bun (this is to make sure the sauce is warm enough). Place them in the bun, and cover with cheese of choice. The classic meatball sub uses mozerella, but it's your sub, so just use what works for you! Shaved parmesan is delicious on this sandwich, even smoked gouda. Or no cheese at all!

For the final step, before eating, place the sub in a pre-heated oven on low for a few minutes - just long enough to warm the bread, and melt the cheese. The kids will love this meal, and it's a great idea for a family lunch on a cold winter day!