It’s 7:50am and I’m awaiting the arrival of P. Diddy and his posse. Of course I’ll hit him up for his favorite family recipe. But if he doesn’t have one off the top of his head, no fear! We have cutie-pie chef Rocco DiSpirito on at the end of the show and I plan to extract his mama’s famous meatball recipe from him. Then we can all blindfold ourselves and do a taste test comparing the DiSpirito meatballs vs. the Valli ones.

UPDATE! (8:10am)

Well it just happened and, I admit, it was more thrilling than I’d expected. I happened to be darting over to Studio A to heat up my stale coffee (Stephen Colbert stole our microwave from Studio B) and I run right up against a swarm of good-looking, hip yet serious looking people surrounding what appears to be their king: a dashingly handsome presence in a dark cashmere coat and white scarf. He seemed to be floating above them but maybe he’s just taller than I knew. So this is the Diddy Entourage I’ve always heard about. I was almost swept up in its gravitational pull as it breezed by.

UPDATE (8:45am)

I guess Rocco’s mama’s meatball recipe isn’t the closely guarded secret I thought it was…Rocco coughed it up immediately and even gave us this handy link.

He said his Mom’s “secret” is that she blends the chicken stock, parsley and garlic in a food processor first then blends with the meat.

MAJOR UPDATE (9:10am) !!

If you watch the After Show Show, you just witnessed our first live match-making! That was not staged — it was all real. In the greenroom, I sensed some chemistry between Rocco and Jenna. And now they’ve made a date! I volunteer to chaperon when he makes her dinner.

Diabetes Friendly Tomato Sauce

2 large cans Tomatoes (either sauce or puree)
1/2 onion chopped
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. oregano
thyme to taste

Heat oil in sauce pan, saute onions until they start browning. Combine sauce, parsley, oregano and thyme and heat thoroughly, stirring often. Slowly add parmesan cheese, then salt and pepper if you like. Add prepared meat (like turkey meatballs!) and simmer slowly for about 1 hr.

There’s nothing quite as mouth-watering than when two Italians start swapping their grandmothers’ recipes. Frankie Valli and I just bonded over our families’ homemade meatballs. Frankie’s so right when he says the secret is not the meat but rather the breadcrumbs.

Soak them first in milk and make sure it’s warm. Then add those breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese to a pound of beef, plus one egg, chopped parsley, pepper, salt, and a bit of garlic. Then mix it up with your hands (oh, and take off your rings first — as my father once learned in a hilarious stuffed pepper incident). Brown the meatball well in olive oil, then toss it into the simmering tomato sauce (gravy, for all you paisans out there). Serve with a chunk of crusty bread and a simple salad tossed in olive oil and wine vinegar. Is it lunch time yet?