Swedish Meatballs

My handsome, romantic, agreeable Southern husband is one of the major ingredients that keeps this little blog chugging along. Not only does he bravely eat each and every experiment that comes out of my kitchen, he also helps with the chopping, the measuring, and (yes!!) the cleaning up. He cheerfully runs out for those ingredients I inevitably forget and need right NOW. He also gave me this...

And this.

So every now and again I like to make him his all-time favorite dinner, which is Swedish Meatballs. I'm always on the lookout for a good Swedish Meatball recipe, and I've tried quite a variety of 'em over the years. Which made it that much more exciting when I spotted a new one at one of my most reliable cooking resources, Cooks Illustrated. If Cooks Illustrated makes it, you KNOW it is going to be great, and this was no exception. Lots of Swedish Meatball recipes can be heavy and salty and overwhelmingly saucy, but not this one - the sauce is light and delicious and the meatballs are flavorful and just a tiny bit sweet. Pour the whole thing over some noodles (egg noodles if you want to be authentic, bowties if you are me and forgot to get egg noodles and didn't want to send the Southern husband out to the store yet again). Scatter a little parsley on top - not traditional, but good! -- and watch your true love's eyes light right up.

Ain't love grand??

Last but not least, please click here, and then go make some Swedish Meatballs.

Swedish Meatballs, from Cooks Illustrated

1	large egg
1/4	cup heavy cream
1	large slice bread, crusts removed and bread torn into 1-inch pieces
8	ounces ground pork
1	small onion , grated on large holes of box grater (about 1/4 cup)
1/8	teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8	teaspoon ground allspice
1/8	teaspoon ground black pepper
1	teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2	teaspoons salt
1	teaspoon baking powder
8	ounces ground beef
1 1/4	cups vegetable oil
1	tablespoon unsalted butter
1	tablespoon flour
1 1/2	cups chicken broth
1	tablespoon brown sugar
1/2	cup heavy cream
2	teaspoons juice from 1 lemon

1. Whisk egg and cream together in medium bowl. Stir in bread and set aside. Meanwhile, in stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat pork, onion, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder on high speed until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl as necessary. Using fork, mash bread mixture until no large dry bread chunks remain; add mixture to mixer bowl and beat on high speed until smooth and homogeneous, about 1 minute, scraping bowl as necessary. Add beef and mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl as necessary. Using moistened hands, form generous tablespoon of meat mixture into 1-inch round meatball; repeat with remaining mixture to form 25 to 30 meatballs.
   


2. Heat oil in 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat until edge of meatball dipped in oil sizzles 3 to 5 minutes. Add meatballs in single layer and fry, flipping once halfway through cooking, until lightly browned all over and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. (Adjust heat as needed to keep oil sizzling but not smoking.) Using slotted spoon, transfer browned meatballs to paper towel-lined plate.


3. Pour off and discard oil in pan, leaving any fond (browned bits) behind. Return pan to medium-high heat and add butter. When foaming subsides, add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is light brown, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in broth, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits. Add brown sugar and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and return to simmer.


4. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer, turning occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and serve over egg noodles or other pasta.

Click here for printable recipe

Spaghetti Tacos!

So this all started with two things.  First was this show that I have only a dim awareness of...it is called iCarly, and it is usually playing somewhere in the background when the teenager is home, and when she isn't watching House or Glee (two shows that I actually have heard of and like and watch.)  Until last week, I hadn't given more than a split seconds-worth of thought to the fact that iCarly even existed in the world.

Then I read this article in the New York Times.

And it got my competitive juices flowing.  Apparently spaghetti tacos are enough of a phenomenon on this show that kids across the country are asking for them for dinner, thanks to whomever this guy is on the show.

Made the traditional way, I could see why parents are scratching their heads.  But just to be totally fair, I did put one of the classic versions together.

Classic - did I just say that?  Anyway, the "recipe" on the iCarly site calls for spaghetti, meat sauce and a taco shell.  And a spoon.  Creative, but not as tasty as it could be.  I pondered this a while, and then it came to me.  Way back before iCarly was even a twinkle in anyone's eye, the New York Times printed a recipe for something called Spaghetti on a Stick by the always awesome Mario Batali.  It called for making an easy but rich tomato sauce, some gorgeous meatballs, and cooking up a mess of spaghetti.  You douse the spaghetti with the fabulous sauce, swirl a pile of the spaghetti around a chopstick, stick a meatball on the top of the stick to hold the spaghetti in place, wrap the whole thing in a piece of soft flatbread for easier handling, and there you have it - Spaghetti on a Stick.  I made it once, and it was scrumptious thanks to the whole sauce and meatball wonderfulness...but the whole stick thing just seemed like more trouble than it was worth.  But then this whole spaghetti taco business rolled around and a lightbulb went off in my head.

What if I made the Mario Batali sauce?  What if I made the meatballs tiny?  What if I used soft tacos instead of hard ones?  With no stick?

NOW we're talking.

Maybe I need to watch more Nickelodeon.

Maybe not.

Spaghetti Tacos, with thanks to  Mario Batali's Spaghetti on a Stick

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Spanish onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
• 2 28-ounce cans peeled whole tomatoes
• Salt to taste

• 3 cups day-old bread, in 1-inch cubes
• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup grated pecorino cheese
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
• 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound spaghetti
• Flour tortillas

1.

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.

2.

Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes, until carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Simmer 30 minutes. Season with salt.

3.

Soak the bread in water for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and squeeze out excess water with your fingers.

4.

Combine the bread, beef, eggs, garlic, pecorino, parsley,  1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper and mix with wet hands. Form the mixture into one inch meatballs.

5.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil on medium until almost smoking. Add the meatballs and, working in batches to avoid crowding, cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, cover and simmer all the meatballs for 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

6.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions, until tender but still al dente. Drain well in a colander.

7.

Meanwhile, gently reheat the meatballs and sauce. Add the pasta to the sauce in the pan and toss until completely coated and pour into large serving dish.  Warm tortillas in microwave and serve with pasta, allowing folks to scoop out their own spaghetti and meatballs into tortillas.  

Click here for printable recipe

Italian Wedding Soup

Oh, I love and adore this soup. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, til death do us part, I love this soup, and true love lasts forever. For me, this soup is all about the adorable little meatballs, which cook right in the soup. You make them nice and tiny so they fit right on your spoon. Use a really nice prepared chicken broth for the soup base -- these days I am liking Imagine free range chicken broth, which comes in a box and has a smooth and rich chicken broth flavor (some of the canned chicken broths taste a little tinny and watery to me). The broth is enhanced with some chopped sauteed veggies, some pasta, some fresh baby spinach...and of course those wonderful teeny meatballs.

I like to make a nice big batch of this soup on a Sunday afternoon -- it makes a perfect Sunday supper, especially served with some crusty French bread and butter, or even grilled cheese sandwiches if you have an especially hungry crew on your hands. The leftovers save just beautifully and will give you a warm and fuzzy feeling when you look into your fridge wondering what's for lunch and see the container of wedding soup.

Ah, Italian Wedding Soup. Make it for your true love today.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped fine
• 2 ribs celery, chopped fine
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound ground pork/veal/beef combined
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cup dried pasta (I use tiny shells, but your choice)
• 1 pound fresh baby spinach

1. Heat oil in a deep large saucepan over medium heat and add carrots, celery, onion and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, cover pot and cook veggies for 5 minutes, stirring now and then.

2. While the veggies cook, combine meat, egg, garlic, cheese, crumbs and nutmeg.

3. Uncover pot and add broth and water and bring to a boil. When soup boils, reduce heat a bit and start rolling the meat mixture into very small meatballs, dropping them in the soup as you go.

4. When you are done with the meatballs, add the pasta, stir, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. When pasta is tender, stir in spinach. When spinach is wilted, the soup is ready. Taste, adjust seasonings, light some romantic candles and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Skillet Spaghetti and Meatballs

Who doesn't LOVE spaghetti and meatballs? But they are such a production, right? Browning the meatballs, warming the sauce, boiling the pasta...it takes every pot in the house. Right?

Nope.

This recipe makes a FABULOUS spaghetti and meatballs, but here is the beauty part...all in one skillet. And, because everything is cooking up together, the spaghetti soaks up a lot of the gorgeous sauce and meatball flavor, so instead of one sitting on top of the other, all three components are beautifully, harmoniously, delectably, delightfully intermingled. Sounds too good to be true, right? But I am here to tell you, it can be done. And without overloading your dishwasher, on top of everything else.

The basic premise is this: you sear the meatballs (which are made with that beef/pork/veal meatloaf mixture you can get in the supermarket, adding even MORE flavor) quickly just to brown the outside. Then you cook the pasta in a mixture of your favorite marinara sauce thinned with water, and when the pasta is halfway done, you nestle those happy little meatballs into the spaghetti for the second half of the pasta cooking time. 8 minutes later there you have it: perfectly cooked pasta and meatballs, imbued with tomato sauce and ready for the plate.

So if you have been longing for spaghetti and meatballs but have been exhausted by the very thought of it, this is your lucky day, because 30 minutes from now you can be sitting down to this super dish. Pass the parmesan cheese, please!

SKILLET SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

• 2 slices sandwich bread, crusts removed
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 pound meatloaf mix (the combo of ground beef/pork/veal)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups prepared marinara sauce
• 2 cups water
• 8 ounces spaghetti, broken in half
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1. Tear bread into small pieces and mix with buttermilk in medium bowl until it forms a paste. Add meat, cheese, egg yolk, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper and mix. Form into meatballs, using 2 tablespoons of meat mixture per meatball.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. Sear meatballs on one side for one minute. Turn meatballs over to cook very briefly on the other side and transfer to plate lined with paper towel. Wipe out skillet.

3. Add sauce and water to skillet, add pasta and turn heat to medium high. Cover and cook, stirring often, for 8 minutes.

4. Nestle meatballs into spaghetti, seared side up. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for 4 more minutes, stirring from time to time. Uncover and cook for 4 more minutes or until spaghetti is done, stirring gently from time to time.

5. Transfer to plates and sprinkle with basil and more Parmesan cheese.

Click here for printable recipe!