Meatballs and Merryment!

When I was growing up there were two very distinct smells I remember wafting up the stairs to my bedroom on Sunday mornings.  They were garlic and cinnamon.  Strange bedfellows these two were but none the less each one pungent and comforting.  It was my dad's day in the laboratory that was our family kitchen and being an early riser,  my dad was a great breakfast cook.  Whether it was scrambled eggs and toast.  Or oatmeal, yuck!!  Or pancakes, sausage and eggs over easy, you were running to the table knowing that the smell meant the bell.  In other words, eat now or tough!  But the favorite entree was fresh baked cinnamon rolls with warm icing!  Soft, gooey, sweet and decadent with the perfect seductiveness as to get you to roll over to any chore list that my dad doled out after we were drugged with mass quantities of carbohydrates and sugar.  It was the most sinister plying of children committed.  But brilliant in it's simplicity.  Anyway, the other smell was garlic and lots of it.  You see Sunday was spaghetti day.  Now, you must understand that in an Italian household the only ritual more sacred than making meatballs,  pork neck-bones and gravy was church.   My family doesn't make spaghetti gravy, that's right gravy not sauce,  from a jar labeled Ragu or Progresso.  Chef Boyardi and Franco American might as well be on the FBI's most wanted list to us as they are nothing short of sacrilegious.  No, my friends, my dad created from scratch a symphony of flavors as to bring to life the most anticipated meal of the week!  The hours of browning meats and rolling meatballs, sauteing onions and garlic, adding tomatoes, basil and oregano with delicate precision culminating in hours of simmering resulted in heaven on earth.  It was pure family joy and culinary perfection on those Sunday evenings with wine, salad, garlic bread and gorging galore.  Which brings me to this past Sunday at my parent's house.
   The first annual Meatoff was on!  It's not a name I came up with.   Assembled from the far corners of Chicagoland were some of the areas best chefs, with years of experience, training,  accolades and awards.  Known far and wide for their high levels of skill and creativity with food.  Nah, not really.  The were a hodgepodge of my brother Frank, Aunt Fran, and cousins Cary and Tommy Bez.  All equally enthusiastic and ambitious looking to make their mark on the culinary universe.  The next Food Network star!  Ok, back to reality.  The rules were simple.  Each contestant would prepare their meatballs beforehand at their own houses as to ensure the secrecy of their recipes.  They then were bring them over to my mom's where the judges were waiting.  Now my mom made the marinara sauce so the recipe would be consistent as to not embellish the individual flavors of the meatballs.  Well the time had come and the judges were set down.  They had a steely determination to their faces and a an almost catatonic unemotional look as to not tip their hands to the entrants.  They were  Aunty Mary, a graduate of the prestigious " School of Hard Knocks" and Uncle "Fuggedaboutit" Frank Messina.  A combined almost 140 years of life experience! 
  Each contestant was to present their meatballs, one with gravy and one without for tasting.  They were given numbers for their allotted slots and the tasting was on.  The contestants stared on nervously as the judges smelled, bit, chewed, and swallowed.  They watched for any hint of ecstasy or agony.  They hovered as they scribbled their notes feverishly after each sample.  The crowd was mesmerized.  Or drunk, whichever you prefer!  After seemingly hours the judges had made their decision.  The winner was about to be crowned.  It was as if this was the season ending episode of Jersey Shore.  You could cut the tension with a knife!    And the winner is.....   Well you know who you are.  That is not the point.  The point is that my family is why my life is great!   They are fun, loud, proud and passionate.  They give generously and selflessly to each other and the people they know.  They enjoy good meals and the good times they bring.   The food is great, the humor can be bawdy but the love is always saturating.  I wouldn't have it any other way!  I am smiling and I know my dad is too!  By the way, a note to my cousin Tommy.  Since you like to golf, I am sure that you can find a use for your meatballs!  :)

Acts 16:31-34 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.