'Rao's: Recipes from the Neighborhood'

Nov. 2, 2004 -- -- Frank Pellegrino of New York's famous Rao's restaurant, joined Good Morning America to share the latest recipes from his new book, "Rao's: Recipes From The Neighborhood."

Check out his recipes for Frankie's Meatballs, Potatoes and Eggs and Spinach Pie and more. If you want to print these recipes, simply scroll down to the bottom of this page and click on the "print this article" option. Then send the newly formatted page to your printer.

Makes 14 to 18 (2 1/2 to 3-inch) meatballs.

This recipe is the same one my aunt Anna would use for the restaurant. She inherited the recipe from her mother, my grandmother Paolina. Everyone in my family makes the meatballs the same way. Instead of buying separate ground beef, veal, and pork, try using 2 pounds of meat loaf mix from the supermarket.

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 to 1 small garlic clove, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups plain bread crumbs
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, lightly smashed

With your hands, combine the beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add the eggs, cheese, parsley, minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste and blend the ingredients together. Add the bread crumbs and blend into the meat mixture. Slowly add the water, 1 cup at a time, until the mixture is moist. Shape the meat mixture into 2 1/2 to 3-inch balls.Heat the oil in a large skillet. Saute the whole garlic until lightly brown to flavor the oil, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and discard. Add the meatballs and fry in batches, being careful not to crowd the pan. When the bottom half of the meatball is well browned and slightly crisp, about 5 to 6 minutes, turn it and cook the other side for 5 minutes more. Remove the meatballs from the heat and drain them on paper towels.

Serves 4 to 6

When I was a little boy growing up in East Harlem, both my parents had to work, so I was often left in the care of my grandmothers. Once I was down in the street, they could never get me to go back upstairs to have lunch. However, grandmothers are never happy unless you eat. My grandmother Antoinette, a genius in her own right, would make me a potato and egg hero, a flask of caffe latte, sometimes with a touch of anisette, put it in a brown paper bag, tie the bag with a rope, and send it out the window, going down three stories. I would untie the bag and eat my lunch in the empty lot next to our building or on the front stoop. My grandmother was happy, and so was I. God bless you, Grandma.