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August 2018

passionate spaghetti and meatball recipe

Here’s a passionate spaghetti and meatball recipe for newlyweds!

By Recipes

Italians know how to love life, beginning with their spaghetti and meatballs.  This blog commends their panache for living, and goes even further with this philosophy:  great food enhances marriage.  So here’s a passionate spaghetti and meatball recipe for newlyweds which will enhance your marriage!

Italian cuisine offers endless possibilities on the creative use of pasta.  In this recipe, the meatball is king.  You’re going to savor them.  At the same time, the pasta gives you something fun to do with your fork.

To enhance the sensuality of this recipe, immediately lower the lights.  Then open a nice bottle of cabernet and pour a glass for each of you.  Furthermore, select some nice music with an Italian flair.  You can’t go wrong with Andre Bocelli.

Okay, get ready to live life to the hilt with this passionate spaghetti and meatball recipe for newlyweds!

Ingredients make the difference in this passionate spaghetti and meatball recipe!

Meatballs:

4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into small pieces

8 ounces (1 cup) whole-milk ricotta cheese

2 pounds ground pork

1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup), plus extra for serving

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 large eggs

2 shallots, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons pepper

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Sauce:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

10 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Ready for the passion? Here are your easy-to-follow instructions:

  1. FOR THE MEATBALLS: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Then set wire rack in aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and spray evenly with vegetable oil spray. Next, combine bread and ricotta in large bowl and let sit, mashing occasionally with fork, until smooth paste forms, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add pork, Parmesan, parsley, eggs, shallots, garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon zest to bread mixture and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Then divide meat mixture into 24 portions (about 1/4 cup each) and place on platter. Roll meat between your wet hands to form meatballs and space evenly on prepared wire rack. Roast meatballs until browned, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through roasting. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
  3. FOR THE SAUCE: Meanwhile, combine oil and garlic in Dutch oven set over low heat and cook until garlic is soft and golden on all sides, 12 to 14 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover, with lid slightly ajar, and bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce has thickened slightly, about 30 minutes. Also, season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4.  Nestle meatballs into sauce, cover, and transfer pot to oven. Bake until meatballs are tender and sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes. Transfer meatballs and sauce to serving platter. Sprinkle with basil and serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.
  5. Finally, serve over pasta that has been lightly oiled with olive oil.

Bon appétit!

Planning a wedding? Then check out this recipe for great entertainment!

marriage is good for your health

Marriage is good for your health

By Culture

We live to celebrate. No celebration is more special than a wedding.  Queen City DJs knows, because we specialize in Cincinnati wedding entertainment. But did you also know marriage is good for your health?

It’s true!  Another wonderful reason to celebrate weddings.

Comedians who like to poke fun at their spouses love to make marriage the butt of their jokes. For example:

In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens.

In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens.

But by the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.

The longterm beauty of marriage

When you set aside the foibles of each of us and look at the longterm beauty of marriage objectively, you’re faced with a shocking realization: marriage is good for your health!  According to research, you will actually live a longer, healthier life if you’re married.

Marriage is good for your healthThis research was conducted by Scott Haltzman, MD, who is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University in Rhode Island. He is the author of The Secrets of Happy Families: Eight Keys to Building a Lifetime of Connection and Contentment.

Marriage health benefits

Check out these amazing facts.  Married people:

√ Live longer than single people.

√ Experience fewer strokes and heart attacks.

√  Have a lower risk of depression.

√ Have a lower risk for advanced cancer.

√ Survive longer when cancer does strike.

√ Are better able to survive major operations.

He looked at mortality rates for married women at age 45 years of age.  They have a 90 percent chance of living to age 65 verses unmarried women who only have an 80% chance of living that long.

The difference for men is even more dramatic.  Married men live on average 17 years longer than single men!

Marriage IS good for your health!

Marriage is so therapeutic to men, that a married man with heart disease will live an average of four years longer than a single man with a healthy heart.

And did you know that unmarried people spend twice as much time in hospitals as married people?

Both unmarried women and men have much higher rates of depression than their married counterparts, but with men, the differential is glaring.  Unmarried men are nine times as likely as married men to suffer from depression.

Former late night talk show host and funny man, David Letterman, even admitted that divorce is harmful to your health, but he had to insert a punchline, of course:

“According to a new survey, people who get divorced die early. People who stay married live longer. The difference is they just wish they were dead.”

Now, now Dave!  Let’s remain positive!  The research is in:  marriage leads to happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Marriage is worth celebrating!

Let’s celebrate!  As you plan your wedding celebration, check out our wedding entertainment services, our fabulous event lighting, and our handy, online planning tools.  Queen City DJs is the wedding celebration specialists you’ve been hearing about!

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.