Comfort Foods....mmmmm

Arancini is a italian (sicilian specifically I think) dish that is balls of rice formed around a lovely mixture of meat and seasonings. Everybody I've ever met makes theirs differently including myself. Don't get me wrong, I love the ones you can get in any brooklyn pizzaria just fine, but at home I want something that is all my own. I'm sending my lover to work tomorrow with a cache of these tasty little treats (yes, I make mine smaller because I have tiny hands and prefer them this way), hopefully he will save some for lunch the next day as well.

I'm going to post my own recipe here, but I encourage everyone to make these their own way.

2 cups white rice
1lb ground beef
1/2lb of ground pork
1/2 can of diced italian style tomatoes
italian seasoning
2-3 cloves chopped garlic
2 eggs - seperated
italian bread crumbs (measure as you go but generally a few cups)
salt and pepper
*red sauce (tomato sauce premixed)

First off, get your rice cooking. It will need to be cooled down to make the rice balls to prevent them being too sticky. I usually put a little seasonings in my rice while it is cooking as well as a little salt and pepper.

Make the meat mixture for the inside of these. Today I'm making them into meatballs and frying them instead of frying the meat into a crumble because I want it to be very juicy inside. Once formed the riceballs tend to soak out all the liquid inside and leave it a bit dry, so I'll try it this way today. Alright so, mix your ground beef, ground pork, chopped garlic, 1/2 can of the diced tomatoes, salt and pepper (eye it), and maybe 1 cup of bread crumbs. Mix in egg yolks.

*today I'm also going to try to make a tiny space in each meatball and fill it with a tiny bit of red sauce

Form into small meatballs and fry in a pan of hot oil, set aside to drain.

After the rice has cooled down mix the egg whites with the rice (set a tiny bit aside on a plate as well). Cup your hand and put some of the rice into it forming a indent in the center. Place your meatball or meat mix in the indent and then add rice over top of it and with both hands squeeze together and form a tight ball. Add a little of the eggwhite left to the outside of the riceball and then roll in bread crumbs. Fry in hot oil. Finished!!

Everytime we eat these I feel so warm, it's one of those home dishes that make a bad day better. It's not on the same level as soups but....it still manages to put a smile on my face for sure. I usually make dishes like these when my lover and I have a fight and it generally puts things to rest. I don't need the backup tonight as we didn't argue (not to worry) but I feel I need some comfort food for myself. The stress of taxes, ju ju's dr appointments (introducing him next post), moving, and finding work is still wearing me down. I need a night out..