Nostalgia in a Sub

Last night, I made meatball subs, which would be uneventful to most, but I became unexpectedly nostalgic. I didn't make them with the intention of re-creating childhood memories, but as I was tasting the sauce and toasting the rolls, I found that I was gearing myself up for the disappointment that they wouldn't taste like the meatball subs that my grandfather made one night several years ago.

I can't remember how old I was, maybe 9? But my aunt and her family had just flown in from wherever they were living at the time. Japan? Washington State? I don't really remember the specifics, it's just that whenever they came to Maryland, our very simple and quiet life all of the sudden got crazy. I was an only child at that time and the only grandchild for thousands of miles, but when my aunt came to town she had "the kids" with her.  My grandparent's quiet house would all of the sudden become Grand Central Station. And if I got to go the the airport to pick them up, that was even more of a treat. I got to push the baby stroller with my little cousins in it (both of whom are now in college) and the adults would excitedly chat the whole way home. I remember that this particular night, we got home from the airport pretty late, it was already dark out. Everyone in the house was excited and my grandfather made meatball subs for dinner. I remember standing in the kitchen watching as he methodically put tin foil over the cookie trays so they wouldn't get cheesy, and pop them under the broiler. It was a happy moment, full of life and energy. When they were ready, everybody grabbed their subs and ate them standing up. It was amazing, we didn't have to use a fork and knife, we didn't even have to sit at the table! We all just stood around the kitchen talking. (I felt very grown-up to be included in the adult conversation). It was at that moment that I decided when I grow up, I'm going to have a big family, full of commotion, laughter, and energy. I also remember the subs. Honestly, my grandfather probably just made them because they were easy. It probably wasn't even a big deal to anyone but me. The meatballs were juicy, the sauce was tangy, and not too runny, the cheese was thick and the rolls were toasted perfectly, with a big crunch. 

It's funny how food is so strongly associated with memories, but that is what makes food so emotional for people. Standing around the kitchen, with the people you love eating meatball subs is so much more meaningful than sitting in a stuffy fancy restaurant. In our house, and probably in most, food is what brings us all out of our seperate lives and brings us together. We eat together, talk together and become  closer family.

The meatball subs that I made were done from scratch, which probably isn't the way that Pop whipped them up for a quick late-night family meal, but I have the time. (No big family to attend to yet).

 I simmered the tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian spices, onion, sugar, and salt for 20 minutes. Then I pureed it in my blender to get a thicker sauce-like texture. 

 

The meatballs, I made with ground beef, garlic, parsley, Parmesan, finely chopped onion, bread crumbs, 1 large egg, dry red wine, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and dried oregano. I mixed all of the ingredients together with my hands and then formed balls, which I dredged in flour and browned in a pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. 

 

Then, I cooked them in the oven on 375 for 10 minutes. 

 Then I put them all together and broiled them (without tinfoil) for 2 minutes. 

 The finished product didn't taste exactly the same (it's interesting that I can remember after almost 20 years) but they tasted pretty damn good. The sauce and meatballs had more of an herb-y taste, but the cheese was still gooey and the rolls were toasted perfectly. They did bring me back to that night. I even said to Greg, I can see myself making these for our kids one day.  I probably won't make them from scratch. I won't have the time. But that will be just fine because my house will be full of commotion and laughter and no one will care that I used sauce out of a jar because we will be creating family memories. 

Thanks for reading my thoughts about food.