Meatballs, with a twist

Casual entertaining with comfort foods is definitely “in” for these cash-strapped times. When planning our menus, we like to take something everyone loves and give it a little gourmet twist.

Take today's Prosciutto Meatballs with Crushed Tomato Sauce. Homemade meatballs do take a bit more time to prepare than just pulling out the frozen ones we typically use for Desperation Dinners recipes. However, they are incredibly easy to make with a wonderfully distinct flavor, owing to the prosciutto.

Prosciutto can be found in most supermarket delis, and you can have it shaved thinly for this recipe. Sometimes stores sell it already sliced and packaged, and this type works fine, too.

Once your meatballs are baking, you can whip together our extremely easy Crushed Tomato Sauce. This sauce has a bright, clear flavor, thanks to its simple ingredients.

The meatballs would anchor any appetizer party, too, but all you have to do to make it dinner-party worthy is add some pasta, and then the dish would easily serve eight. (We prefer short pastas like penne for entertaining, as they're easier in general to deal with in larger quantities.)

One final convenience tip for entertaining: You can make our meatballs ahead and freeze them, either raw or already baked. Thaw the meatballs in the refrigerator overnight or use your microwave defrost function, or let frozen, cooked meatballs defrost slowly in the simmering tomato sauce.

All in all, this recipe is a winner on so many fronts that we know you're going to love it as much as we do!

Suggested menu: Prosciutto Meatballs with Crushed Tomato Sauce with pasta of choice and tossed salad.

• Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross are co-authors of “Desperation Dinners!” Write them at Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, or tellus@kitchenscoop.com. More at kitchenscoop.com.