"meatballs" news and stories

Fennel seeds are the seeds of the fennel plant, and they have a wonderfully intense anise (or licorice) flavor that works well in a variety of dishes. Kitchen Daily expert Gail Simmons likes to showcase their flavor in her tender Braised Pork and Fennel Meatballs. They're wonderful with a glass of red wine and some crusty bread.

Get Gail's recipe for Braised Pork and Fennel Meatballs.

Marco Canora's meatballs combine triple-ground veal (so it's extra smooth) with creamy ricotta cheese, and they're served with a very simple tomato sauce fragrant with basil. This is a recipe chef Canora learned in Italy, where the Italian chef made the meatballs with ground chicken. Who needs the spaghetti? This meatball is so flavorful it doesn't need any backup.

Get Marco Canora's Recipe for Veal and Ricotta Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

More Recipes from Marco Canora

Donatella Arpaia's win at the Meatball Madness event last week (part of the New York City Wine & Food Festival) featured a couple of "minis." The first, a mini version of the meatball sandwich she serves streetside at her restaurant Mia Dona (which were here accompanied by a coconut cupcake). The second mini was a little more form-fitting -- a red mini dress with a matching chef's coat that vied with Arpaia's meatball sandwich for attention.

The attractive brunette -- who bested the competition that included Felidia, Locanda Verde, Pulino's and Tarallucci e Vino -- worked the crowd, cheerfully posing for photos, personally handing out hundreds of little plates, and soliciting votes like an eager sixth grader running for class president.

The biggest star of the evening, though, was Meatball Madness host Giada De Laurentis, who, next to Arpaia and her red mini, looked downright conservative. Giada, who also had her own station, circuited the cavernous space sampling the competition, trailed by a crowd of picture-snapping fans and a hulking bodyguard.

In case you were wondering, our personal fave was Locanda Verde's lamb meatball slider with caprino (goat's-milk cheese) and pickled cucumber. Nothing mini about that one.

• Pizza on the grill? Heck yes.
• Philadelphians have a can-do attitude about fruits and veggies...
• ...but they really love a good meatball.
• Joe Sixpack has a few words to say about beer records.

In the arena of giant food, the record for the world's largest meatball doesn't last long.

It was just this September that Jimmy Kimmel and crew bested a Mexican meatball to take back the prize of world's largest meatball for America. But just five weeks later, the late-night funnyman's large lunch was bested by an Italian eatery in New Hampshire.

Nonni's Italian Eatery crafted a meatball on Sunday at a Holiday Inn in Concord, N.H., that decimated Kimmel's 198.6-pound meatball by about 25 pounds.