Guess Who Came to Dinner

David doesn't have the chance to see his family all to often. Usually about once or twice a year is all the more he sees them. He did have the chance to hang out with his sister, Robyn and her husband, Anthony this past September in Arizona while I was attending a photography workshop. However, before that it was this time last year after our Disneyland Trip with our friends, Ben and Anna.

So, it was quite a treat for David when he was able to invite his Dad and Grandma to dinner last weekend while they were in town for a wedding. It was a special treat too, because my parents were able to come over. My parents do not live too far away, but it seems like we are always at there house so they don't have much time to come to our house for a bite.

My Dad, David's Dad and David talked about weather (exciting I know) and cars while Mom and I listened to some of Grandma's stories. These are a few of the quick pictures I snapped before everyone scooted out the door:

With dinner I made some of these yummies:
Spicy Smoked Mozzarella Meatballs, Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

1 small (6-ounce) onion, grated
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1/4 cup
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup
1/3 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1 large egg
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
8 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground veal
2 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, cut into 16 (1/2-inch) cubes
1 pound bucatini or other long pasta

For the meatballs: Position an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the onion, 1/2 cup parsley, 2/3 cup Parmesan, bread crumbs, egg, ketchup, garlic, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the beef and veal. Using your hands, combine all ingredients gently but thoroughly. Shape the meat mixture into 16 (1 1/2-inch-diameter) meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Make a hole in the center of each meatball and place a cube of mozzarella inside. Reform the meatball so that the mozzarella is completely covered with the meat mixture. Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes until cooked through.

I had made these one time before so I made a few changes the second time around. Since David and and I try to steer away from ground beef both times we have made this we used ground turkey. So, instead of 8 oz. of beef and 8 oz. of veal we used 16 oz. of ground turkey. Also, instead of 1/3 c. of Italian Seasoned bread crumb I substitued part of that for plain bread crumbs. We though that is had too much Italian seasoning the first time around. Other than that we made it just like the recepie says to. I know that I speak for David when I say that these are delish'!