September 24, 2019

That Time I Was (Almost) In Rocky II – Donna’s Meatballs

When I was in sixth grade going to school in downtown Philadelphia, they needed kids as extras for a scene in the movie Rocky II. Somehow I found out about it, and went with a handful of friends. There we were with dozens of other kids, waiting for Sylvester Stallone to film a scene with us in it. Finally he came out, stood on a platform, and explained our job. They filmed the scene with us running behind him down Benjamin Franklin Parkway and up the Art Museum steps, exactly as we were told. It culminated with us jumping in excitement all around Rocky as he trained for his next fight. It was a big deal. Hollywood, here I come.

Except the footage with me as the star ended up on the cutting room floor; apparently they re-filmed it another day and I never got my moment of fame. But April Clayton knew when they were going to shoot the scene again, and she found her way into the movie. I was in love with April Clayton. Like serious, sixth grade, this-is-the-girl-I’m-going-to-spend-my-life-with love, even if she never knew about my deep crush. There she is, to this day, in her red and blue plaid jacket, jumping up and down with Rocky and the other kids on top of the Art Museum steps.

The scene in its final form has Rocky running some unrealistic route through various Philadelphia neighborhoods before he gets to the Art Museum. It starts with him running, without kids, through the Italian Market, an outdoor market in South Philadelphia. These days, not so much Italian (there are a lot of Mexican and Vietnamese purveyors), there are stalls lining the sides of 9^th Street selling all manner of fresh fruits and vegetables. There are fish mongers with fantastic sea creatures on ice and butchers with chickens, pigs, and whole lambs hanging upside down in their windows. Back then there were live animals too – chickens, ducks, pigeons, lambs – kept in wooden-slatted cages, ready to be purchased and slaughtered. My favorite was a spice shop with huge glass jars filled with every type of spice imaginable. When you walked in the door the aroma was intoxicating.

Long before Rocky II, I used to go with my father to the Italian Market on his occasional outings to stock our refrigerator. I walked with him through the crowds, marveling at all the people and stalls, the drums of burning trash behind each stand, and the hawkers selling huge paper bags for a nickel in which to carry your purchases. Perhaps this is why markets are my favorite place to visit when I travel.

Of course as a kid, I got bored by the long day. So my father would park me in a playground with a meatball sandwich from Geno’s Steaks and let me fend for myself while he finished shopping. (A couple of side points here. First, yes, I was too young to be hanging out in the playground by myself, but times were different back then. Second, I don’t know why I wasn’t eating a cheese steak, but that’s not the way it went down. It was meatballs. Third, Geno’s vs. Pat’s…no opinion. Fourth, now it’s a great neighborhood to get a banh mi, truly the world’s most perfect sandwich, and you can even get one stuffed with Vietnamese meatballs.)

I loved that sandwich; it was my introduction to the world of meatballs. I asked my grandmother to make sweet and sour meatballs every time I visited. One of my favorite dim sum items is shumai, really nothing more than a meatball wrapped in a thin skin of dough. Light, flavorful meatballs are a delicious addition to pho, the great Vietnamese noodle soup, and I sometimes make herb-flecked Thai-style meatballs with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. Meatballs make a great stand-alone appetizer when throwing a party. (Try Bon Appetit’s Crispy Sheet-Pan Meatballs with Salsa Verde or Ricotta and Sage Fried Meatballs.) Of course they always hold a place of honor topping a plate of spaghetti with red sauce, and I still get a meatball parmigiana hero (in New York it’s a hero, not a sandwich) maybe once every couple of years so I can reminisce about my youth, the Italian Market, and that time I was (almost) in Rocky II.

Donna’s Meatballs

A number of years ago I needed to learn how to make a great Italian red sauce and my wife’s friend and co-worker Donna was gracious enough to teach me. On the same day, she taught me how to make her family’s Italian meatballs. This is my adaptation of her recipe.

The way I see it, there are two types of Italian meatballs. They can be soft and silky, tender, like eating a pillow. There’s nothing wrong with that, but these are not those meatballs. The way I make Donna’s meatballs they are rough and hearty and garlicky and crisp around the edges. There’s nothing subtle about them.

makes 15-20 golf ball-size meatballs, about 45 minutes

2 lbs. ground beef (or ground turkey, or chicken, or you could use it in combination with ground pork and veal)

1 cup plain breadcrumbs

1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

2 eggs

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

⅛ cup grated parmesan cheese

½ tsp. fresh ground pepper

1 tsp. kosher salt

Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and use your hands to mix them until just combined. Try not to overmix, as this will make for tougher meatballs.
Using your hands, shape the mixture into somewhat loose balls about the size of a golf ball. Place them close together on a sheet pan or in a metal lasagna pan. (Do not use a glass pan, which cannot withstand the direct heat of the broiler.)
Arrange the top rack in the oven so it is within five or six inches from the broiler and turn the oven to broil.
Cook the meatballs under the broiler for five to ten minutes until the surface is lightly browned and starting to crisp up.
Remove the tray from the oven and, using tongs, flip each meatball to the uncooked side.
Return the tray to the oven and broil the other side of the meatballs for an additional five minutes or so, until they get nicely browned.
Remove the tray to see if the meatballs are done. Test with an instant read thermometer, which should read 160 ^oF for ground beef and 165 ^oF for ground turkey or chicken, or by cutting one open to make sure there is no pink and it is cooked through. If the meatballs need more time, return them to a 350 ^oF oven for a few minutes until cooked through.
Serve the meatballs on top of a plate of spaghetti with red sauce, or in a meatball parmigiana hero. They also freeze beautifully and can be reheated in the microwave.