Good morning!

I'm currently sipping some coffee out of the most gigantic owl-shaped mug I've ever laid eyes on, and it's making me quite happy. I love weekend mornings-- the ritual of leisurely sipping your beverage (caffeinated or alcoholic. Or both?) and planning a day that is wide open.

Lately, Matt and I have been partaking in what we call "surprise Saturday." I'll share photos from our last few adventures soon but, basically, one of decides what we will do and the other gets to be blissfully ignorant until we arrive at each destination. Last week, I took Matt to a driving range in Koreatown and out for shabu. The week before, he greeted me after my shower with a mimosa, and declared it "treat yoself!" day. We went for pedicures shortly thereafter.

There's just something about not knowing what today will bring (it's his turn. All I know is we are taking the train somewhere,) that seems to have invigorated us both to step out of our comfort zone, and explore LA beyond our little 'hood. Whatever today brings, I'm sure it'll be delightful.

But before we're off, I wanted to share another weekend-friendly post. I have some more breakfast ideas for you, but I also like to use the weekends to make more labor-intensive types of dishes. Rice balls almost always turn into a huge pain in the ass, it's just the nature of the beast, but they're almost always worth it. As per usual, I had to make these gluten-free (can you imagine if I made like twenty rice balls and then just looked at Matty and said, "oh, sorry, you can't have these." That would be a real kick in the rice balls.)

Italian Sausage Brown Rice Balls and Quick Tomato Sauce

Makes about 25 rice balls
Takes ~40 mins, using cooked rice

What They're Made of
Rice balls:

• 3 spicy Italian sausage links, casings removed
• 1 cup breadcrumbs, divided in half (I used Trader Joe's Gluten-Free bread, toasted, and pulsed in the food processor)
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 2 shallots, minced
• 3 eggs
• 6 oz mozzarella cheese, cubed into 1/2" pieces
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Quick Tomato Sauce:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 heaping Tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 plum tomatoes, roughly diced
• Handful cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

How they're Made:

1. First, head a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown sausage, about 8-10 minutes, breaking it up as much as you can with a wooden spoon. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels until cool. Add the shallots to the pan and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 more minutes. Remove and add to the sausage to cool. Reserve whatever fat is in the pan to use for your sauce.
2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the breadcrumbs, the cooked rice, and the cooled sausage and shallots. Beat two of the eggs lightly, then fold into the rice mixture and combine. Add additional breadcrumbs, a tablespoon at a time, if it seems like the mixture is too loose. 
3. Form the sausage rice mixture into balls, about the size of a golf ball, with your hand. Press a cube of mozzarella into the center of each and ensure the rice mixture covers it. Set aside on the parchment-lined pan.
4. Once you have formed all the rice balls, pop the sheet pan into your freezer to further help set the rice balls while you make your sauce. You can also crack that third egg into a bowl and beat it, and pour the remaining breadcrumbs into a different shallow bowl--you're going to dredge the balls once more before you fry.
5. Now, set up your frying oil (I use a large dutch oven over high heat, but if you have a fryolater now is obviously the ideal time to bust that sucker out) and start to heat that while you make your sauce. In a medium saucepan, add 1 tablespoon or so of the reserved sausage fat (or olive oil, if you ran out of fat), then add the onions and garlic and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add a palmful of salt and the tomato paste and stir. Add the tomatoes and sugar, then pour in the red wine and bring to a boil. Add the crushed red, stir and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer about twenty minutes, then transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to puree until smooth.
6. While your sauce simmers, fry your rice balls. Remove from freezer, roll each ball in egg and breadcrumbs, then drop into 350 degree oil. Fry each ball for just about 5 minutes, until golden brown. Remove carefully with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
7. Serve rice balls on top of the sauce, so the bottom starts to soak up the delicious tomato flavor and the top is still crunchy and golden. 

The cheese in the middle is the best kind of surprise.

Happy Saturday, kids. What're you cooking this weekend?