maw maw's meatballs

Are you ready for the secret recipe?  This is my Italian grandmother's recipe for the best meatballs you'll EVER eat.  They are easy to prep, although I have to warn you, this recipe makes over 80 huge meatballs.  But, the good news is that they freeze beautifully.  So, take a Sunday afternoon to roll out these little babies (because it will take you a good couple hours) and you'll be patting yourself on the back for 5 more meals.

Maw Maw's Meatballs

Makes over 80.

3 1/2 pounds ground chuck (81%)
3 1/2 pounds ground turkey
Olive oil
2 onions, diced
3-4 ribs of celery, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder (not salt)
3 extra large eggs
1 1/2 cups Parmigianno Reggiano
6 slices of white bread, dampened with milk
10 cups chicken or beef stock, or a combo

Preheat your oven to 350*.
Throw all the meat in the biggest bowl you've got.  Set aside.

Heat a couple glugs of olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat.  Saute onions and celery until translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Set aside and let cool a bit.
Add parsley, basil, pepper, salt, garlic powder, eggs, and Parm to the meat mixture.

Tear the milk-soaked bread into little pieces and add to the meat mixture.

Add the cooled onion mixture.

Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined but do not over mix or your meatballs will be tough.

Roll into balls, a little larger than golf ball-size.

Place the meatballs in pretty much all of your lasagna pans or any large oven-safe dishes.  Pour in the stock until it comes to about halfway up the meatballs.

Bake for 30 minutes then flip over and bake for another 30 minutes.  Remove and let cool completely.

If not using in tonight's meal, pack a meals' worth into freezer-safe Ziplock bags and pour in a bit of the juices.  Label and freeze!

If you are using it for tonight's meal, simmer with marinara sauce and pour over pasta!  Enjoy!

borscht

Okay, major disclaimer here.  I wanted to try borscht.  Traditional Russian beet soup.  I looked up about a thousand borscht recipes and literally nothing in the ingredient list but the beets was the same.  So, I decided to combine all of those recipes and make something that I was terrified of, but actually ended up really enjoying.  So, don't judge me.  This probably isn't traditional Russian borscht (unless I got really lucky) but it's delicious either way! 

Borscht

Serves 4-6.

Serve hot or cold!

Freezes beautifully for a husband's lunch!

2-3 beets, about 1 pound
2 carrots, about 1/2 pound
1 cucumber
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the side of your knife
1 cup chicken stock
1 beef bouillon cube
Salt and pepper
1 cup orange juice
1 lime, juiced
Sour cream, for garnish

Using gloves, peel the beets and dice them.  Peel the carrots and dice.  Peel and seed the cucumber and dice, setting aside 1/4 cup for garnish.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot and add onion and garlic.  Saute for about 5 minutes then add the diced beets, carrots and cucumber.  Add stock, bouillon cube and 2 cups water and season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 45 minutes.

Remove from heat and taking caution, puree in a blender in batches.  Transfer to a large glass bowl and add orange and lime juice.  If serving hot, serve immediately.  If serving cold, chill in the fridge completely.

Serve with sour cream and the reserved cucumber.  Enjoy!

hot stuff

This recipe has been in my family for generations.  Not the Italian side, but it still merits!  It's simply called hot stuff.   It's sort of like a tomato-y hash with ham.  It is spicy but other than that, I think they just couldn't come up with a better name.  Nevertheless, it's a great dish.  We have this all the time with eggs or quiche or waffles or something - for breakfast or dinner.  It's really fast (under 30) and really delicious.  But beware, it is  hot. stuff.

Hot Stuff

Serves about 4.

Really good cold too, weirdly.

4 potatoes, Yukon gold or Idaho
1-2 jalapenos, depending on how spicy you want it
6 ounces Canadian bacon, ham steak, leftover Easter ham, whatever you want
2 cans tomato sauce
salt and pepper
olive oil, for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 450*.  Wash and dry your potatoes.  Slice thinly (about 1/8") and lay out on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper.  Remember that potatoes suck up salt so sprinkle a healthy tablespoon or so on.

Bake for about 15 minutes until mostly tender when pierced.  Set aside.
Dice the jalapenos and cube the ham.  Set aside.

Get a medium cast iron skillet on medium and start layering!
First, a layer of tomato sauce.  Layer on the roasted potato slices and sprinkle on the jalapenos and the ham.  I would do about 1/3s of each for 3 total layers, beginning and ending with tomato sauce.

Then let the hot stuff go to town!  Let it start bubbling around the edges and then flip over with spatula.  This does not have to be precise!  You are trying to get everything nice and hot and meld all the flavors.  It doesn't matter if the potatoes break apart...all the better!  But you might have to reduce the heat to medium low so the bottom doesn't start to burn.  When it's hot and bubbling, (about 10 minutes) it's ready to serve!  (I like to serve right in the cast iron.)  Enjoy!

Easter dinner!

I promised you Easter dinner and so I am delivering but be forewarned:
This goose stunk. 
I'm quite positive that it's a fine recipe (as I've used it before for chicken and duck) but I'm equally positive that it was the poor goose itself that was so terrible.
Okay, okay.  Not terrible.  Definitely edible and Dad liked it!  But a wild goose that your father shot out of the sky is a bit different from one that you could buy at a market.  And I'm sure that if you used a nice, fat, fresh duck instead of a winter-worn scrawny one, this dish would be a success. 
But, the point of a blog (a cooking one) is to show you successes and failures. So, here we are. 
Hope everyone had a happy Easter and good lucking cooking next year!

Roasted Goose with Orange Mustard Glaze

Serves 4-8.  (...depending upon whether one of your guests (or yourself, in my case) is pregnant and can't stand the thought of eating much meat, especially not wild goose.)

1 10-12 pound goose or 2 4-5 pound geese, skin on
Salt and pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, whole
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Wash and dry your goose.  Trim any excess fat and skin and discard.  Prick skin with a fork.
Place into large roasting pan and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne on both sides.
Combine bell pepper, onion and garlic and season with about a teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper.
Stuff your goose with vegetable mixture.
Roast for 1 hour and 45 minutes for the large goose, or 1 hour for two small geese.

Meanwhile, combine orange juice concentrate, mustard and honey in a small saucepan and heat on low until combined.
Remove the goose and brush on the glaze.  Return to oven and roast for another 10 minutes, until the thigh registers 165 degrees.  

Remove from oven and let rest for about 30 minutes, tented, until ready to serve.  Carve and enjoy!


Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes

Serves 4-8.

1 head garlic
3-4 pounds red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered or halved if large
Salt
1 stick butter
Dash of cream

Start by halving your head of garlic.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.  Wrap in foil and roast on 400 degrees for about an hour.  Remove to cool.

Add potatoes to a pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes.  Drain and return to hot pot.  Add butter, salt and pepper to taste and cream. 

Add cloves (squeeze from the head once cool) and mash until creamy.  Serve!

Glazed Carrots

Serves 4.

4-6 large carrots, peeled and cut on a bias into large chunks
3 Tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup chicken stock

Melt butter in a large skillet and add carrots.  Season with salt, pepper and sugar and saute for a few minutes. 

 

Add stock and cover to steam over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Remove lid and saute in remaining butter until caramelized, about 3 more minutes.  Test to make sure they are almost tender and enjoy!

disappearing bunnies

Happy Easter!!  I will be posting our Easter dinner in a couple days but for now, a little treat!

See the bunnies' little booties disappearing into the holes??

After the carnage...poor bunnies.

Happy Easter, everyone!  

And make sure to remember what the real reason for this holiday is!  

Praise Him!

breakfast polenta bar

Do you like polenta?  I do. 
I love it with tons of butter and cheese.  Along side a lovely, tender piece of beef is pure heaven.
So why limit it to dinner only?  Let's make it for breakfast! 
Keep a big pot warm on the stove until everyone wakes up.  Then everyone can help themselves, as they come, and make their own creation. 
Mike and I made this breakfast for two but you can easily make this for a crowd.  This was a Christmas hit when we had both of our families in town.  It's very versatile and everyone can personalize it to suite their breakfast craving.

Now, by now, you should know that I have the sweet tooth and my husband likes the savory. 
So this is "his" and "hers" breakfast polenta :)

Breakfast Polenta Bar

Serves?  This recipe is for 4-6 but please double and triple for crowds!

4 cups water
2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups yellow cornmeal, finely ground, or stone-ground polenta
Toppings:
1/2 pound bacon, crisped and crumbled
1 cup loosely packed herbs, whatever variety you like
4-6 eggs, depending on who wants them
1/2 cup cream
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup mixed fresh berries
1 cup mixed nuts, whatever variety you like

Heat water and milk over medium heat until low boil.  Add salt.  Gradually add the cornmeal or polenta, whisking all the while to prevent lumps.  The slower the better!

Whisk until tender and creamy, about 10-15 minutes.  Keep warm on very low heat while you prep the toppings.

Wash, dry and chop the herbs and set aside.  (I used basil, rosemary, thyme, and oregano.)

Poach the eggs slowly and set aside.  For poaching technique, click here.

Heat the cream and the cinnamon stick in a heat-safe container in the microwave until steaming, about 2-3 minutes.  Set aside.

Toast the nuts and chop them coarsely.  Set aside.

Collect all the toppings into little dishes or mise en place bowls and set them up on your breakfast table.

Now, start with a big pile of hot polenta and start building your breakfast!

.....or.....

Guess which one was which :)

Enjoy!