SWEDISH MEATBALLS

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

Well, I know it's been ages since I posted anything, but here's one new recipe I thought was worth sharing... Now, I couldn't remember my Dad's recipe, but I found and modified one that Alton Brown did a while back. You see, I bought ground pork (pork mince) when I saw it because it can sometimes be hard to come by, but then thought, "what the heck am I going to do with it this time?". I have done the meatloaf thing, and stuffed peppers, mushrooms, and made burgers, so...meatballs were the obvious solution.

I did try to talk hubby into eating out since we were running errands anyway, but he pointed out to me, to my reluctant agreement, that mince (ground meat) should be used right away. Hmph...well, when we arrived home I started mincing the onions, so here is how you can make these tasty meatballs too.

First, my notes: I used panko bread crumbs rather than fresh white bread (we don't buy white bread normally, and I didn't think wholegrain bread would be the same). I also didn't add any ground beef because I had a rather large package of pork. Alton’s recipe didn’t call for sherry or sweet wine, but a splash would be good in the sauce, added just as the roux is ready and before adding the stock. Lastly, I didn't use heavy cream either, only regular cream because I had just enough to do the sauce, and didn't want to open a new container.

INGREDIENTS:
½ Cup Onion (1 Small Onion), minced and sautéed till soft and clear
½ Cup Panko Bread Crumbs (or 2 Slices White Bread, torn up)½ Cup Milk
2 Egg Yolks
½ Tsp Salt
½ Tsp Black Pepper
¼ Tsp Ground Allspice
¼ Tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 Kilo (~2 Lbs) Ground Pork Mince
¼ Cup Clarified Butter
¼ Cup White Flour
3 Cups Beef Stock
¼ Cup Cream (Heavy Cream if you want it richer)

DIRECTIONS:
First preheat the oven to about 95°C/200°F and put an ovenproof baking dish inside to warm.

In a medium bowl, soak bread or crumbs in milk and set aside.

Using a teaspoon or two of the butter, gently sauté the onion and set aside to cool.

Now add the egg yolks, spices and meat to the bowl and mix well with your hands...no better way to make sure everything is combined and evenly distributed.

Add the sautéed onions to the bowl and mix in well.

Roll about 30 meatballs and place onto a plate or sheet ready to brown in a skillet.

Cook about 6 or 8 of the meatballs at a time (using another teaspoon or so of the butter if needed) in a skillet about 7 minutes over medium-high heat until browned all over, then transfer into the dish in the oven to keep warm.

Once the meatballs are done, pour the remaining butter into the skillet and add the flour, whisking to make a roux and allowing it to cook about 2 minutes or so.

Now add your dash of sherry or wine (if using any) and then slowly add the stock a cup at a time, stirring gently to avoid lumps and sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Once the sauce begins to thicken, add the cream and continue stirring and cooking until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.

Pour the sauce over the meatballs and serve with wide egg noodles (if you have them).
Unfortunately, all I had in the pantry as far as pasta goes, was egg vermicelli and large shell pasta, neither is ideal, but the meatballs were very good with the thin vermicelli noodles last night. I have friends who serve Swedish Meatballs with rice, which might also work, but the wide egg noodles are what I remember from years gone by, and that’s what I would personally try to stick with. Anyway, it’s a perfectly yummy meal with a green salad or steamed veggies.

Enjoy!

PANCIT CANTON

PANCIT CANTON

I love this dish! There are many, many different versions of this Filipino dish and you can add just about anything you like in the form of different meats, and veggies and even different sorts of noodles. It doesn’t need anything else because it’s wonderful just like this, but different people have different tastes, so modify away!

The only key ingredients that truly make it a genuine pancit, and are non-negotiable, are: Onions, Garlic, Chinese Sausages and noodles…everything else is a personal choice!

I love the baby mung bean sprouts, so I added them to my recipe. I also sometimes add baby corn or water chestnuts, but this recipe is to be modified according to your own taste, so feel free to add or subtract away…you’ll need to multiply too if you plan on taking it to a party because this dish goes FAST!!!

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbsp Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, crushed
500 Gm Meat , (sliced Chinese sausage, and anything else you want to add)
1 Stalk Celery, diced
1 Shredded Carrot
¼ Head of Cabbage
250 Gm Mung Bean Sprouts
4 Cups Stock (Chicken, Beef, Veg…doesn’t matter)2 Eggs, sliced
3 Spring Onions, chopped
*Noodles
*Sesame Oil
*Sesame Seeds, lightly toasted
*Good Soy Sauce to brown and season the noodles (I used Mushroom Soy Sauce)
*Freshly Ground Black Pepper

*Amounts vary to individual tastes.

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oil in the saucepan and soften the onion first.

Next, add the garlic and cook for an additional minute before adding the next ingredients. The onion should just start to brown.

Now add a bit of soy sauce and black pepper.

Next, add your Chinese sausage (essential ingredient for this dish and cannot be substituted, to my knowledge) and any other meat you like (shredded chicken, shrimp, diced beef, etc.), and cook until the sausage pieces begin to brown.

Now add the celery, carrots, cabbage & bean sprouts and cover the pan allowing the veggies to steam for a few minutes. At this stage you can choose to add more soy sauce & pepper for flavour if you like.

Meanwhile, boil some stock for your noodles and cook the noodles in your stock according to the package (use pancit canton noodles if you can find them, but rice stick noodles and many others are perfectly acceptable for this dish).

Now, grab a large bowl and combine the noodles and the cooked mix really well.

Top it all off with your egg slices, a bit of sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, and the spring onions (scallions).

This is a wonderfully tasty dish and can be served hot or cold.

TJ's LASAGNE EXTRAORDINAIRE

An old friend from years gone by recently reminded me of an old favourite I used to be “known for”. She wanted to know how to make my lasagne as she remembered that I did not boil the noodles first, nor do I use ricotta cheese in my lasagne, which seems to be a common way of preparing it. I always preferred to eat my own lasagne due to the fact that is stayed together well and it was rich & cheesy with a certain zing.

Now, sometimes I would add spinach to the sauce or add layers of micro planed slices of courgettes (zucchinis), grated carrot, or fresh basil leaves, etc., but this basic recipe is pretty much a no-fail for any lasagne lover out there.

Obviously, with this much cheese and meat in one recipe, this is going to serve several people or provide a few leftovers for lunches or, at the very least, another dinner (Mine ended up being about 12 servings). This is perfect for refrigerating; portioning into foil parcels, and freezing for lunches later on too, so keep that in mind when reaching for your wallet to purchase all of the ingredients.

Here we go...

INGREDIENTS:

2 Large Brown Onions, finely diced
2 Large Red Capsicums (Bell Peppers), finely diced
400 Gm Ground Beef
400 Gm Ground Pork
3-4 Cloves Crushed Garlic
2 Tsp Dried Oregano
2 Tbsp Fresh Basil, finely chopped
*Salt & Pepper
1-2 Tbsp Tomato Paste (I use double concentrate)
1 Can Chopped Tomatoes with Basil
1 Can Italian Crushed Tomatoes
1 Cup V8 Vegetable Juice (**Spicy, if available)
**If Spicy V8 is not available, add a few dashes of Tabasco Sauce or ¼ Tsp Cayenne Powder
1 Box Dry Lasagne Noodles
1 Tub Spreadable Cream Cheese
2 Cups Tasty or Cheddar Cheese, grated
2 Cups Edam or Jack Cheese, grated
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated or sliced very thin

*Amounts vary to individual tastes.


DIRECTIONS:

Firstly, you need to make your sauce.

Start by browning the onion and pepper together in a large pan or stock pot.

Once the onions begin to go translucent, add in the beef and pork (you can use one or the other if you don’t want to combine them – or, substitute with, chicken, turkey, or other protein of your choice).

Now, add in the garlic, oregano, basil salt & pepper and brown the meat so that it is completely cooked through.

Once the meat is cooked, add in the tomato paste, tinned tomatoes and juice. If you cannot find Spicy V8 Juice, then also add in the Tabasco or cayenne pepper now. This is not going to make it very spicy, it only adds a little bite to the sauce...kicks it up a notch without burning your mouth!

Now, you want your sauce to be a little on the thin side because you are not pre-cooking the noodles. The pasta will soak up the extra liquid and make the lasagne more firm and easier to cut and serve.

Preheat your oven to about 200-220°C (400-425°F) and get out a large lasagne pan.

Spread cream cheese on several noodles, to prepare them for layering, and mix the grated tasty & edam (cheddar and Jack) cheeses together.

Begin with a thin layer of sauce to cover the bottom of the dish, then add a layer some of the cheesed noodles to cover the sauce.

Next is another layer of sauce then a layer of the mixed grated cheese.

Continue layering until you end up with the last of the sauce and cheese on top...I ended up with 3 layers of noodles in mine.

Add the parmesan cheese at the end to top it off.

At this stage your dish may be close to overflowing, so I suggest putting it onto a baking sheet before placing it into the oven, just in case it bubbles over.

Finally, bake the lasagne in the oven for about 30-40 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and the lasagne is bubbling on the sides.

Allow this to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving and savour every bite!

CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

This is a really good one...although, half the family claims this style of dumplings to be German, and the other half say it’s French (Joie, any opinion?). These dumplings are made more like a sort of noodle rather than an American biscuit or doughy spoonful of half-cooked goo. I think this is what I like so much about my dumplings as opposed to anything you can get in a restaurant or at a friend’s house for dinner.

I thought this would be a good down-home comfort-food style recipe to post in honour of my late Aunt Ruth. She passed away this week after an awful struggle with diabetes and associated complications. She was a real countrified lady who knew her way around a kitchen. I remember her house was always full of music, laughter, and usually a pot-luck style feast for about 20 people or so! She was a real biscuits & gravy, country fried steak, deep fried southern-style chicken, Johnny Cash & Loretta Lynn lovin’ woman.

Aunt Ruth raised some great kids with the help of her husband, my late Uncle Lew, despite not having much in the way of money much of the time. They were never short on love. Her family have all had great faith, strength, and now a knowledge that their Mom is in a far greater place...with the man she loved for most of her life, and the daughter she had recently lost to the angels. Aunt Ruth was a kind and thoughtful wife, mother, aunt, and granny.

The weather is chilling down here now...not much like the heavenly warmth of Hawaii over the last couple of weeks...and I am hankerin’ for some real comfort food, so I hope you try and enjoy this family favourite that my folks shared with me and, that I am now passing on to you.

SOUP ~ INGREDIENTS:

500 Gms (1 Lb) Chicken Pieces, with skin preferred (I use boneless thighs and/or breasts)
*Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, paprika to taste
½ Cup Flour
1 Tbsp EVOO
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Carrots, roughly chopped
2 Celery Stalks, roughly chopped
1 Med Onion, roughly chopped
1-2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
4 Cups Chicken or Veggie Broth
1 – 2 Cups Hot Water - optional

*Amounts vary to individual tastes.

DIRECTIONS:

First lightly season and flour the chicken pieces, and then lightly coat with flour.

Now, in your soup/stock pot, heat oil and quickly brown the coated chicken pieces then move them onto a separate plate to the side for a moment.

Next, add the butter and quickly heat the carrots, celery and onion before adding the garlic and cooking an additional minute.

Return the chicken and add the broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Add hot water if you like more broth in your soup, otherwise this will become quite thick and gravy-like.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer.

Now it’s time to make the dumplings...


DUMPLING ~ INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Flour
1 Tsp Salt
½ Tsp Pepper
½ Tsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp Chicken Fat, skimmed from soup (or oil)
1 Egg
**1 Cup Milk
2 Tbsp Parsley, finely chopped

**Only add a bit at a time, enough to bring dumpling dough together into non-sticky firm ball for rolling flat.

DIRECTIONS:

Sift all dry ingredients together into a medium bowl and slowly mix in the fat/oil and the egg.

Carefully add the milk in just a bit at a time until the dough is fully combined and the dry ingredients are fully incorporated, but dough is not sticky. (If the dough becomes sticky, just add a spoonful of flour at a time until the consistency is right.)

Now add the parsley and knead gently on a floured surface.

Roll the dough into a rectangle only about ½ Cm (¼ In) thick and then, using a sharp knife, slice into ribbons and then again crossways into little squares.

Carefully drop the dumplings into the soup and allow the soup to simmer for about 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy this one – it’s simply delicious.

SWEET & SOUR PORK

WITH SOMEN NOODLES

In our household, I try not to make too many beef or lamb dishes on account of the health and nutrition issues constantly being reported as risk factors associated with red meat. Instead, we eat quite a bit of chicken, pork and seafood. Yes, on occasion I need to have a steak or make a meatloaf with beef mince, but overall the red meat is more of an occasional treat rather than an everyday main meal.

Limiting any one thing in your diet can present challenges, such as; what to use as a satisfying substitute, how to season and flavour it, how to cook it and, of course, what to eat with it. I sometimes find myself fixing the same old pork roast or the same old sesame chicken and have to stop and think about what other options I have. Usually, the options are limited to what happens to live in the pantry at the time but more, and more often I find that I am actually planning things in advance (shocking, I know) because I have little precious time to do it after 3 o’clock when my darling daughter is off school. Usually, I am racing home for clothing changes and off to the activity of the day...swimming, dance class, gymnastics, whatever - home again just in time to cook dinner.

In this instance, I had found that I was making my same old stand-by sweet & sour sauce for chicken or pork and decided this time was going to be different. Rather than using the old pineapple juice and vinegar method, I tried a distinctively more flavoursome combination that turned out to be quite lovely (even if I do say so myself). Even my finicky daughter devoured her supper, so I must have done something right! One of the keys to getting more flavour into the meat is to marinate for at least an hour – overnight is even better!

So, here we go...

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cloves Garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp Sweet Thai Chilli Sauce
(or one chilli, deseeded and finely diced)
1 Tsp Ginger, crushed
½ Cup Plum Sauce
½ Cup Hoisin Sauce
1 Tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
700 Gms ~ (about 1 ½ Lbs) Lean Pork, cut into strips or medallions
1 Tbsp Rice Bran Oil
2 Bundles of Somen Rice Noodles
2 Cups Vegetables, diced or julienned for stir fry
(I used carrots, sweet peppers, onion and scallions, but
baby corn, snow peas and cabbage are all great options too!)


DIRECTIONS:

First, combine the garlic, chilli sauce, ginger, plum and Hoisin sauces, and Chinese five spice in a small bowl and mix well.

Next, marinate the pork in this sauce mixture for at least an hour before proceeding to the next step.

Once the meats has marinated, heat the oil in a good sized pan and begin cooking the pork in batches. This will allow the meat to cook thoroughly and, keeps the pan temperature from dropping too low when you add the meat. Use cooking spray in between batches if necessary.

Meanwhile, boil a pot of salted water for the noodles (which only take 2 minutes to cook fully).

Now, remove all of the meat and stir fry your vegetables for about 2 minutes before adding the pork back in.

Cook your noodles while stir frying the veggies and then serve the pork and veggie mixture with the noodles.

Just one more quick & easy recipe that is very tasty even for finicky little ones. This would also be great with chicken, lamb or even beef, if you prefer.

Enjoy!