Aha! The secret is Parmesan cheese!

Now how did I miss that all these years? I treated meatballs as if they were just a small, round kind of meatloaf, and I don’t put Parmesan in

meatloaf. But there it was in the recipes you sent me when I moaned and groaned about not making very good meatballs. That, plus baking the little buggers in the oven instead of standing around and frying them.

I got a generous amount of help on this one. Sharon Ray from Brewer and Machias’ own Ruth Thurston sent along very similar recipes as far as the basic meat, crumbs, eggs and Parmesan were concerned. They diverged on the seasonings; Ruth’s recipe have a more conservative flavor profile – that is, not as much garlic, less black pepper, and no red pepper in proportion to the rest of the ingredients.

Islesboro neighbor Maryann Tucker’s recipe called for a few tablespoons of wine. (She also sent along a real blue-chip meatball recipe calling for blue cheese and heavy cream!) And from Mt. Desert an old friend, who prefers anonymity, sent along three note pad pages full of advice, including the do-it-in-the oven idea. She wrote, “The biggest ‘tip’ I can give is quit frying [I used to do it, too.] Too hard on my back and the meat balls.” She said to put them on a broiler pan and bake them “[until] brown and crusty, then dump the done ‘balls right into the simmering sauce.”

Brown and crusty is the ticket around here: husband Jamie, for whom we did this whole meatball exercise said, “I think I like them best when they are cooked all crisp before they go in the sauce.”

Now he sure isn’t recalling any way I ever made them, and my nephew who lived with us while he went to high school said during the taste test, “You know, I don’t remember you ever making meatballs.” Right. I never did. I never liked my meatballs, but I sure liked these, and next time I am going to double up the batch and put some in the freezer.

In fact my friend from MDI reports she has turned as much as 25 pounds of meat-a combination of pork, chuck roast, sirloin and turkey and “copious” amount of Parmesan -into meatballs. She varies the seasoning – curry for an Indian accent and five-spice powder for Chinese. “A couple times a year,” she wrote, “I make a million tiny meatballs – freeze them loose on trays and then bag – which throughout the year I throw into soups or use as appetizers.” Good idea!

Another thing: use 85 percent lean beef. Sharon likes the Angus beef she finds in her grocery store. And bear in mind, with all the meat and milk combining here, these meatballs will never pass the abominations of Leviticus test.

The following recipe goes higher on the seasonings, but just remember you can take Ruth’s lead and knock back or leave out the quantities of your less favorite.

One more thing: When you are done baking them, pour off the excess fat, and add a little beef broth or water to the baked on gravy, dissolve it and add it to the tomato sauce you are making. Or if you don’t need brown and crusty, you can do what Sharon does for her “awesome” meatballs, and pour a cup of beef broth into the baking pan and bake for 25 minutes.

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail: tastebuds@prexar.com. For recipes, tell us where they came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and daytime phone number.

Your Basic Meatball

Yields about 40 meatballs

2 pounds ground chuck

1 cup dry unseasoned bread crumbs

2/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup of milk

1/2 cup of beef broth or water

3 eggs beaten

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

2 tablespoons of dried oregano

3 garlic cloves minced

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Mix all ingredients together very well. Pre-heat the oven to 425 F and lightly oil or spray a broiler pan. Form the meatballs into 2-inch balls and place them, not touching, in the broiler pan. Bake them for 15 minutes, turn them, and bake another 15 minutes. Add directly to your sauce or cool them and freeze on a baking sheet to put into a bag to use later.