Why Go Out? - Official Meatball Sub

Hey, we all love a good meatball sub right? But where to go? There's so many choices, and most of them are good. Well, here's a recipe to make your own without all that pesky decision making.

Ingredients:

Sandwich base -
1 loaf of fresh French bread
2 slices deli provolone cheese
Dried oregano (just a few sprinkles)

Sauce -
Good tomato sauce (I used Barilla Marinara canned sauce for this recipe, but feel free to make your own or buy another brand)
1 clove minced garlic
2 diced fresh basil leaves (you can use a good dried sweet basil if you don’t have fresh)
Splash of red wine (good wine you’d drink. Please don’t buy ‘cooking wine’. I don’t have time to track you down and smack you upside the head for doing that.)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
Salt & pepper to taste

Meatballs -
4 cloves diced garlic
1 shallot, diced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 lb. ground beef (93/7)
1 lb. ground Italian sausage
1 ½ tsp. dried oregano
1 ½ tsp. dried basil
1 bunch fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp. Salt
1 ½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 large egg
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs

For the sauce: Start by pouring the jar (or your homemade) sauce in a medium pot; turn on medium-low heat. Add in your garlic, basil, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning; stir. Allow this to cook for about 3-4 minutes, then turn to a simmer. Add your few splashes of wine (sparingly; you want to enhance the flavor, not get all liquored up eating lunch.)

Simmer for another 10 minutes or so (or until the meatballs are done).

For the meatballs: Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine all of the ingredients into a large bowl and shape into about 2 inch balls. In a large non-stick skillet, drizzle some olive oil and heat to medium-high. Once the pan is hot, add your meatballs a few at a time (do not over-crowd the pan or they won’t cook correctly) and give each side a sear.

Once they are browned all the way around, remove them from the pan and place in a large glass baking dish; repeat. Once you’ve browned all of them and switched them to the dish, place it in the oven for 12-15 minutes until cooked through.

Now, for the rest of the masterpiece: Take a good piece out of that French bread (depending on your hunger level) and cut it in half to open it, but not separate the bread (you know. Like Subway does it.)

Spread a little ‘love’ on each side (that means ‘butter’) and pop it in the toaster oven for just a few minutes to get the outside crispy. Take out the bread and ladle a good amount of that tomato sauce all inside the bread. From there, throw in enough meatballs to satisfy your inner Soprano and cover with more sauce.

Drop two pieces of provolone on top and throw it back in the toaster oven to melt the cheese down. Take out, plate up, and shake a little oregano and parmesan on top.  Mange!

After all, it’s just Da(m)n Good Food, so why go out?