Sausage by Victoria Wise

at least 1 hour, or up to overnight, to firm the meat and meld the flavors.
    To form the meatballs, roll them into 1- to 2-inch balls, depending on how you are going to use them. Press an indentation into the center of each ball, tuck in ½ to 1 teaspoon or so of the cheese, and then press the meat mixture over the indentation, enclosing the cheese in the center.
    Sauté, grill, or braise, or cook as directed in individual recipes. (The uncooked meatballs will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days; they do not freeze well.)

Italian American Spaghetti and Meatballs in Red Sauce
    Whether the tomatoes are fresh or canned is a seasonal matter: in summer, choose fresh ones; in winter, use canned ones. Both make a delicious, rich sauce for braising meatballs. When using fresh tomatoes, I like to peel them and I don’t bother to seed them, but that is the cook’s choice, depending on time constraints and inclination. The herbs are also a matter of choice: fresh or dried basil (the most usual addition), marjoram, or tarragon all enhance the sauce with a mildly sweet herbal presence; oregano or bay add a more assertive flavor. Spaghetti is traditional for this everyday, home-style dish, but other shapes, such as bow ties, small rigatoni, or penne, will also capture and hold the sauce as the pasta is lifted from plate to mouth. For the meatballs, I like to use my
polpette
, because their cheese centers add an extra oomph to the dish. But you can also use meatballs fashioned from either sweet Italian or Tuscan sausage with good results.
    SERVES 6 TO 8
    2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
    1½ pounds Beef Polpette with a Cheese Center , or Sweet Italian Sausage or Tuscan Sausage , formed into 1½- to 2-inch balls
    2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
    3 pounds tomatoes, peeled or not and chopped, or 6 cups diced canned tomatoes, with juices
    2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil, marjoram, tarragon, oregano, or bay, or 1 teaspoon dried of any of the herbs
    1 teaspoon sugar
    1 teaspoon kosher salt
    ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    1½ pounds spaghetti or other dry pasta
    ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
    To make the sauce, heat the 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonreactive pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding, sauté the meatballs until browned all around, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining meatballs, adding more oil to the pot if needed to prevent sticking. Set the meatballs aside.
    Add the garlic to the oil remaining in the pot and sauté over medium-high heat until it is ever so lightly golden. Add the tomatoes and their juices, the herb, sugar, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer, cover partially, and cook until the sauce is reduced and no longer raw tasting, about 1½ hours.
    When the meatballs and sauce are almost done, cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions, drain briefly, and return it, still moist, to its cooking pot. Cover and set aside in a warm place while the sauce finishes cooking.
    To serve, combine the pasta with the sauce and meatballs in a large bowl and toss gently to mix. Serve right away, with the Parmesan on the side.

Beef and Eggplant Sausage in Eggplant Shell Casings
    Imam bayildi
, as this dish of Turkish origin is called in Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece, and its story have a special place in my cooking repertoire and in my heart. It was introduced to me by Susanna Hoffman, my longtime friend and sometimes cookbook coauthor, who is, among other things, an esteemed social anthropologist whose special field of endeavor is Greece.
    The story of
imam bayildi
has many versions, but details aside, it is essentially a tale of love and household thrift. A bride new to the house of her new husband, an imam, came with a dowry of olive oil. But there was only a certain amount. And the imam loved eggplant above all other foods. In practice, because eggplant, as