“Friends are the most important ingredient in this life”… yamasaki  You never understand how true those words are until there are no friends around your dinner table, laughing til all hours of the night, eating up the deliriously delicious food made together… and this is the military life.  Here’s to all the wonderful friends we’ve made, all around this great big world ~ may we sit and share once again. love to you all ~ v

• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 3/4 pound ground pork
• 3/4 pound ground veal
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup canned sliced water chestnuts, rinsed, drained, and finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus 1/4 cup sprigs
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 500°F.

Pour milk over bread crumbs in a large bowl and stir until liquid is absorbed. Add ground meat, egg, water chestnuts, salt, crushed red pepper, chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons oil and mix with your hands until combined well. Shape 3 tablespoons meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a 13- by 9-inch glass baking dish. Make more meatballs with remaining mixture, arranging meatballs about 1/2 inch apart in baking dish. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together lime juice, water, sugar, remaining 4 tablespoons soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a bowl until sugar is dissolved.

Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tablespoon sauce and sprinkle with cilantro sprigs.

Serve meatballs with remaining sauce.