Polpette

For part 2 of my European Soccer spread I made some polpette, which are Italian meatballs.  Meatballs are like bbq; everyone has an opinion on how it's done.  This version is pretty straightforward: 2-1 ratio of ground beef to ground pork, eggs, chopped flat-leaf parsley, minced garlic, dried oregano, Worcestershire sauce, salt/pepper, bread crumbs and milk (more on this coming up).  I usually add Parmesan cheese, but I forgot it this time.  Any meatball is judged by how light and tender it is.  Nobody likes a dense, heavy meatball, unless you're a fan of the Olive Garden.  The key ingredient to achieving this (in addition to not over-mixing) is a panade, which is bread soaked in milk.  The Italians soak whole slices of bread in the milk and tear it into the mix by hand, but I used Panko bread crumbs instead.  When I'm feeding a group, I like to bake them on a cookie sheet rather than pan fry them to save time, and I paired these with a simple Marinara sauce.