There is something about classic Americana cuisine that is eternally endearing. The quaint and curious recipes from those retro cookbooks that we collect as a form of amusement always seem to endure trends and live on to claim the next generation of gourmands to pass the plate in the hopes of receiving something, well, interesting and memorable as well as nourishing, if only to that part of the psyche that seeks out the more sedentary and gastronomical thrills that are only to be found through the oven mitts of a homemade meal. We've all seen them come and go - remember something called "California Cuisine"? - while the more generic and accessible foodstuffs make their way regularly to our common placematts every evening and are honored as stars at our wedding receptions and Sunday church socials. Sure, we may read Bon Appétit and Gourmet magazine as if they were the equivalent of Hugh Hefner's Playboy (and the equivalent of that would be what? Julia Child in a prosciutto négligée? Emeril wearing an actual cod piece?), but when the plastic forks clash against the chinnette in the fury of feast and battle, what we really crave is a hearty mound of mayo laden potato salad and a 7 x 5 x 4 inch slab of prefabricated meatloaf stuff. Life is a picnic, after all.
So comes forth the discovery of this delicacy, Oven Porcupine Meatballs, which seems to have been cribbed directly from a long lost community recipe book published by a church parish in the 1950's. But why are we wasting our time analyzing it like it is some sort of Rosetta Stone to the culinary branch of anthropology? Food, after all, is for eating and enjoying, not merely probing, even if we must need to dissect it before we can eat it. Enjoy.
Oven Porcupine Meatballs
(from wikiHow: The How-to Manual That You Can Edit)
Should you find the recipe steps too labor intensive to follow, or if you would like to just watch some internet video for a while to prepare, the page includes that for you as well.
Don't they look freakin' awesome?
"Here's another old-fashioned recipe that is inexpensive and tasty to make. Lean ground beef, rice, tomato sauce and seasonings are used to create this homey meal. The white rice gives the meatballs a spiky appearance, hence the name!"
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 cup uncooked white rice (regular rice)
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
15 ounces tomato sauce, 1 large can
1 can beef broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Steps
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix meat, rice, 1/2 cup water, the onion, salt, garlic powder and pepper.
Shape mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls into balls.
Place meatballs into 8 x 8" baking dish.
Stir together remaining ingredients; pour over meatballs.
Cover. Bake 45 minutes.
Uncover and bake 15 minutes
Things You'll Need
Measuring cups and spoons
8 x 8-inch baking dish
Can opener
Knives
Cutting board
