I had a fair bit of leftover sauce from the dish I posted on the 24th. I'm on my own this weekend (nothing sinister to read into that! ) and I had some meatballs that came with an order from a really good online butcher that I use - I hadn't really wanted them, but adding them to my order got me over the threshold to save £5 postage!

Anyway, following the instructions on the pack, I browned the meatballs for a few minutes then simmered them for about twenty minutes in the leftover sauce. They were very nice, but two things: they were quite dense in texture, and they, well, just lacked a bit of character.

Sometimes you need to use bought ready-made things in your recipes so that you can bolster your opinion on your own cooking (as well as saving time in emergencies). I've made Marcella's meatballs a good few times, and you do sometimes wonder (if you're highly self-critical) whether you've done a good job. Well, though tonight's meatballs were fine, give me Marcella's any day. Cheered me up, it did!