On Top of Spaghetti ....

... all covered with cheese!

I was quoted in The Boston Globe on Friday in an article about none other than meatballs! The reporter was covering a local business who has seen a tremendous rise in meatball sales and she was trying to analyze why.

One of my clients, IKEA, is also a huge meatball supplier ... Swedish meatballs to be exact. But that by no means makes me an expert. But I am a connoisseur.

Spaghetti and meatballs is a Sunday night tradition in my family. Had them last night while we were watching the Golden Globes! Not sure how it all started, but we've been doing it for years now. Mostly at home, but if we are out we go to a restaurant that serves it, and if we have company then they too join in the feast. We do it every single Sunday night. Right now we are on Weight Watchers (still keeping that New Year's resolution!), so last night we made turkey meatballs and a low fat sauce on top of whole wheat pasta. Totally fit the bill.

We look forward to it every single Sunday night.

I do have a theory on why meatball sales are through the roof ... the local Boston company has seen it as has my client IKEA. It's comfort. We are still living in trying times, despite all the accounts saying we are out of the recession. Yeah right, I still see vacant store front after vacant store front and it's quite sad. We've seen things around us disappear over night and our trust in the institutions that we often relied upon has dwindled.

Now the meatball won't save the world, but it does help in our little corner of it. For me, our traditional Sunday night meal has become something that we do all rely on. Something that brings us together when we are all running around like crazy. We sit at the table together and we talk, and we get ready for the week ahead of us. Sometimes, really, for the first time all week. And if we are home cooking, we've all been gathering in and around the kitchen during the prep as well. It's very comforting, and in a time when not a lot is comforting, I am happy for my spaghetti and meatballs. All covered with cheese.

I have a feeling that I'm not alone, and not just for the meatball. Judging by the comments posted on The Boston Globe article, I know I am not! Comfort foods, home and away, give us that feeling of security and feeling of home. Sometimes we need it more often than others.

What's your experience? Jim.