Grandma's Old Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

Step 1
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in the bottom of a large saucepan, and fry garlic cloves until brown and fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove garlic cloves and set aside. Place pig's feet and pork neck bones in the saucepan and fry, turning occasionally, until meat and bones have browned, about 15 minutes.

Step 2
Return garlic cloves to the saucepan, and stir in tomato paste and 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and pour in tomato pur?e. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3 hours, stirring from the bottom often to prevent burning, until pig's feet are tender and mixture begins to thicken. Stir in sugar, pepper, and baking soda. Continue to simmer while you prepare meatballs.

Step 3
Soak torn bread with 1 cup of water in a bowl. Squeeze excess water out of bread and place bread in a large bowl with 6 beaten eggs, ground pork, ground veal, and ground beef. Mix thoroughly and form into 24 meatballs about 2 1/2-inches in diameter.

Step 4
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, stir in minced garlic and chopped fresh basil, let them cook for about 1 minute, and then add meatballs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and fry them on all sides until brown, about 15 minutes, working in batches, if necessary.

Step 5
Place browned meatballs, along with oil, garlic, and basil from the skillet into sauce, stirring lightly to avoid breaking them. Add whole hard-boiled eggs and simmer for about 1 1/2 more hours, until meatballs are cooked, sauce is thick, and all flavors have blended.