Son of Hans: Big news in the Hood - Hickory Hill Hans has a family. That's correct, two young 'uns that we saw for the first time on Friday afternoon, frolicking in our garden. Here's a picture of one of the offspring, peeking out from behind the beech tree.....

and here's Hans, himself. Rob and I were just trying to figure out how many years he's been living under our woodpile - at least four or five, maybe more, although we do think he has a vacation home over at the Dinehart's.

Maddie, the Amazing Barking Dog cares nothing about Hans or his children, or the birds or squirrels, or even the chipmunks, anymore. She only cares about what I might be up to in the kitchen.

Some weeks back, I promised a recipe for stuffed meatballs. I got it from Stormy, who made them once when her family was all home. They're certainly good meatballs, alright. My only issue with them is that the recipe calls for ground beef, pork, and veal, which makes for a whole lot of meat, and makes them a little pricey. Here 'tis:

Spaghetti with Stuffed Meatballs

1/2 cup milk

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

1 lb each ground pork, veal, and beef

1/3 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish

3 eggs, lightly beaten

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/3 lb. mozzarella or provolone, cut in 1/2 inch squares

Olive oil for frying

About 6 cups tomato sauce

2 lb. spaghetti, cooked and drained

Grated Parmigiana-Reggiano for serving

In a large bowl, combine milk and bread crumbs. Add meats, 1/3 cup parsley, eggs, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix briefly with hands. Form into 2 inch balls. Seal a cheese cube into the center of each ball. In a large skillet, heat 1/2 inch oil until almost smoking. Brown meatballs 1 minute per side. Transfer to paper towel-lined tray.

Discard oil in pan. Pour tomato sauce into pan; bring to simmer over medium heat. Add meatballs, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until cooked through. 3o minutes. Uncover; cook 10 minutes more. Serve over pasta with cheese. Serves 10-12.

'The promised land always lies on the other side of the wilderness." Havelock Ellis