15 Camille’s Meatballs

Food has always been the focal point of gatherings in our family; since we all live in different places, the only time we all come together is for celebratory meals. For my family, one dish stands out as a beloved staple and a symbol of our Italian-American heritage: meatballs. To uncover the story behind this fan-favorite dish, I turned to my grandmother, Camille Keilty, who has been cooking every day of her life for over 50 years. Throughout our call on November 5th, she recounted the journey of this cherished dish from her childhood in Brooklyn to the heart of our family gatherings today.

Grandma Camille was born in 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, a borough known for its vibrant Italian-American communities. Growing up in Coney Island, food was central to her family’s way of life. Camille recalls that every Sunday her mother always had a pot of sauce simmering on the stove, “I was allowed to dip the bread into the sauce before dinner,” Camille shared, remembering this small but special moment from childhood. “It was the first taste of real food babies get.” (Keilty, Personal Communication, 2024) This tradition, rooted in her parents’ Italian heritage, was an anchor in her otherwise Americanized upbringing.

Making meatballs is a ritual that ties Camille to her mother, Jean, who first taught her to cook. Camille reminisced how they’d always cook together on Sundays—moments that became a cornerstone of her childhood and a tradition she continued with her children and grandchildren. As she explained, food has always been the medium through which the family connects, celebrates, and remembers its roots. It’s no surprise, then, that “the Latin origins for the words company and companionship mean the people we share our bread with” (Zong, 2022, p. 4). For Camille, those shared meals and traditions are about more than sustenance—they are about preserving a sense of belonging and history.

The meatball was most notably passed down from Camille’s Aunt Margaret, who emigrated from Italy and was lovingly known as the “queen of meatballs.” Margaret’s meatballs were more than just delicious; each bite carried a connection to the old country. While the recipe has evolved, the core ingredients have remained the same. Camille’s aunt in Sicily added pine nuts and raisins to her meatballs, inspired by Sicily’s historical Arab influences. Still, the rest of the family recipe kept it simple: ground beef, an egg, breadcrumbs soaked in water, fresh Italian parsley, Romano cheese, and garlic. Camille swears by mixing everything by hand to keep the meatballs light. “The trick,” she says, “is to add a little water—it makes them airy and soft”  (Keilty, Personal Communication, 2024). Some family members have experimented with using turkey instead of beef for a healthier version, which Camille doesn’t mind, as long as they’re made right.

For me, meatballs were the first family recipe that I was taught how to cook. It was simple enough that my Grandmother felt comfortable leaving me to my own devices to cook while she handled the rest of dinner. It was also the first time I was a participant in helping with Christmas dinner. As my mother isn’t quite fond of cooking and I am the only one of my siblings who took an interest in it, I do feel like cooking and continuing my family’s cultural recipes has fallen solely on me much like the way David Sutton described- “a fully social apprenticeship of a younger generation to a set of female relatives, in which one learns much more than how to get dinner on” (Sutton 2018, p. 94). But hearing from my grandmother, and the other women who taught me how to cook with so much care made me feel more connected to my past.

So, Grandma Camille’s meatball recipe is more than a family tradition; it’s a testament to resilience, adaptation, and the enduring power of food to connect us to our roots. From the bustling streets of Coney Island to our dining table today, these meatballs have carried with them the flavors of Italy and the warmth of family. As I learn to make them myself, I realize that I’m not just cooking; I’m carrying forward a legacy—one meatball at a time.

Grandma Camille’s Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1-1.5 lb chop meat beef 85% lean
• 1 egg
• 3 tbs chopped Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
• 3 slices white wonder bread
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic

How to Prepare

1. Put all ingredients, except bread, in a bowl.
2. Soak bread in water (Note: I use wonder bread and take off some dark crust).
3. Add gooey bread and mix in with the other ingredients by hand. Do not overmix.
4. Mixture should be kind of wet because that makes the meat balls soft and airy.
5. Shape into golf-size balls and fry or bake.

References

Zong, J. (2022, October 26). No, immigrants aren’t eating dogs and cats – but Trump’s claim is part of an ugly history of myths about immigrant foodways. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/no-immigrants-arent-eating-dogs-and-cats-but-trumps-claim-is-part-of-an-ugly-history-of-myths-about-immigrant-foodways

Sutton, D. (2018). Cooking skills, the senses, and memory: The fate of practical knowledge. In Food and Culture (pp. 88-109). Routledge.

Keilty, Camille. Interview by Megan Szot. Jackson, NJ, November 5, 2024.