sunday night dinner at 425

As far as weekends go this was a pretty great one. Firstly, I found a wedding dress!!!! I am crazy in love with it. CRAY-ZAY. The minute I put it on I knew that it was the dress I wanted to marry Brian in. I couldn’t stop smiling and I did not want to take it off. All good signs, right? SO happy the hunt for the perfect dress is over.

After finding my dress, I headed to a yoga/ heart opening/ intention setting workshop by Mary Beth LaRue and Jacki Carr with my girlfriends Katie and Erin. What fun! I hadn’t met either Mary Beth or Jacki before and they are both phenomenal woman- so full of life and passion. I left feeling high!

After the workshop I took Brian to Animal for his birthday. That boy loves loves loves meat so I knew that he would love this restaurant. Oh, and he did. It was such a perfect night. We talked about our wedding a bit, possible honeymoon locations (Bali! Thailand!), what Brian wants for the next year- we just had a great date.

Sunday morning I took a long walk (after the dinner I ate at Animal it was a MUST) on the beach with my girlfriend Melissa before hitting the market for all the ingredients to make my first Sunday night dinner at 425. When deciding what the menu would be, I had to take into account that my brother isn’t known for his adventurous taste buds. He basically survives on orange chicken and pizza. Did I mention he’s seventeen? So I decided to make spaghetti and meatballs- because who doesn’t love that dish, right?

It was a complete success! I think Brian and Nik were very pleased with the results! I thought it was delicious as well but I was even more delighted to have my two favorite boys under one roof for an evening. My heart melts when I see them getting closer. Corny, huh?

The evening was a perfect way to end a pretty perfect weekend.

oscars – check / recipe – check / white wine – check

making little meatballs!

in they go!

happy customers 🙂

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ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic (4 smashed, 1 minced)
1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 small piece parmesan rind (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 pound 93% lean ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for topping
1 slice stale whole-wheat bread, crust trimmed, bread chopped
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
12 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti

directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the smashed garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes with their juice, 2 cups water, 1/4cup basil, the parmesan rind, if using, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes. Discard the parmesan rind, if used.

Chop the remaining 1/4cup basil, then mix with the turkey, parsley, bread, ricotta, parmesan, egg white, minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl using your hands. Form into 4 large or 12 small meatballs; add to the sauce and simmer, turning, until cooked through, 6 minutes for small meatballs and 12 minutes for large.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water as the label directs. Drain and return to the pot. Toss with some of the sauce, then divide among bowls. Top the spaghetti with the meatballs, the remaining sauce and more parsley and parmesan.

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Tags: 365 til, 365 til 30, Cooking, dinner parties, family, goals, Gratitude, Kate McClafferty, Kitchen, Love, nesting, sunday night dinner, sunday night dinners at 425, universe