Recipes from Kathy Bello

Norristown-raised actress Maria Bello shares her mother's recipes with her friends.

And at age 68, Kathy Bello seems to have embarked on yet another career.

She's the author of a self-published cookbook, Aunt Kath's Kitchen: Cooking with Passion and Love for Family and Friends (available through auntkathskitchen.com) and is 40 recipes in to what could become her next.

"My mother has always gathered people, cousins, friends, family, around the table and had conversations. You know how you're cooking in the kitchen and people just start talking? My mother is that person. And she makes the most delicious, home-cooked, beautiful food," said Maria Bello.

"She's been through everything, and her biggest thing, she just keeps telling me, 'You just gotta laugh.' She has such an amazing sense of humor and such an amazing sense of joy and life. So everybody has her cookbook right now, every friend and every cast member. They come up to me every day, saying, 'I made your mom's meatballs,' 'I made her sauce,' " Bello said.

These two recipes are among her favorites. Brother Christopher came up with the ingenious technique for making a prime meatball.

                                                       -- Ellen Gray

TOMATO SAUCE

6 large cans (blue) Tuttorosa crushed tomato

2 large cans (blue) Tuttorosa tomato puree

1 very large onion, chopped very fine

16 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup olive oil

1/4 cup salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)

Heat olive oil in a large pot; add the finely chopped onions and garlic (I use a food processor to chop them up). Sauté until they are soft and golden; do not brown. Add the cans of crushed and pureed tomatoes, sugar, salt and herbs. Simmer slowly for 1-2 hours, stirring often so that the sauce at the bottom doesn't burn. If by chance it does, DO NOT STIR THE BURNT POT! Just transfer the sauce to another pot and you can save it!

You can add the meatballs or cooked sausage after a half-hour and simmer together for an additional hour or more.

This recipe is for a crowd, but I always make a big pot and freeze the rest in family-size containers or plastic bags. I have found that if I use other brands of tomatoes, the sauce may be sweeter, so please taste the sauce after you put in half of the sugar.

KATHY'S MEATBALLS

(with Christopher's slurry)

1 pound ground meat

2 slices white bread

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped (can also use 1 tablespoon dried)

1/2 cup locatelli cheese

One egg (when making 3 pounds or more, add an extra egg per 3 pounds)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

1/4 to 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Break up bread and add the milk; let it sit for 10 minutes. In the meantime put onions, garlic and parsley in a food processor and chop. After it is finely chopped, add the bread and milk, as well as the eggs, cheese, salt and pepper. Process until the ingredients are completely mixed. (This is called the "slurry." It is a technique devised by my son, Christopher. It ensures that every meatball has consistent flavor without lumps or big pieces of onion or bread in it. )

After the "slurry" is finished, put the meat in a large bowl and add the slurry and 1/4 cup of bread crumbs. Mix well (use your hands!). To make uniformly sized meatballs, I use an ice-cream scooper to pick up some of the mixture. If the mixture is too sticky, add more bread crumbs a little at a time until the meatballs roll smoothly between your hands.

Form them into balls and put them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes depending on how many you have on a pan. Test them by pushing on one - if it indents, it needs more time; if it bounces back, it's done!

At this point, you can either transfer the meatballs to a pot full of sauce to cook further, or let them cool and freeze them in a plastic bag. This way, you can defrost a few as needed.

Note: This recipe is for 1 pound of ground meat. Multiply ingredients per number of pounds.