Buffalo Meatballs

Sorry for the break in posting... I rolled into Omaha last week, promptly broke my camera, went to California for the wedding, and started working full-time on Monday, so let's just say that photographing my food hasn't been the priority for a while.

Now that I'm reasonably settled and back in a routine, though, I promise to do better.  With that, I present you: spaghetti and meatballs, slow-foods-style.

My dad and his wife graciously watched the Bean while I was away in California (they like having her: Denise claims she's a good influence on their wild child beagle pup, Bailey) so in thanks, I offered to cook dinner for them on Thursday night.

I stopped by the grocery on my way from work to their place, and was inspired by finding a package of ground bison.  Bison, for those who haven't already heard it, is a terrific whole foods choice, because buffalo are pasture-raised, generally without the use of hormones or antibiotics.  Someone who reads this might know more about raising buffalo than I do, but my general impression is that the meat hasn't gotten popular enough for someone to bother figuring out how to cram bison in feedlots.

The meat is wonderful; really, just like grass-raised ground beef, lean and savory.  And when you mash it together in balls with parmesan reggiano, an egg, and some bread crumbs, fry it in oil and then slather it in crushed tomatoes with basil fresh from the garden, really, any kind of meat will taste delicious.

I served them over organic rotini, with fresh-baked organic bread, each slice brushed with butter and then toasted in the oven, a light salad with lemon juice and olive oil, and more choices of cheese than were probably necessary: mozzarella, parmesan, feta.

I forgot my camera, so Dad took these photos, and I love how this one came out kind of like a Dutch painting, all light and shadow, with something vaguely eerie about it...