A Tale of Two Meatballs.

I have my favorite shows that I watch on Food Network and one such show is Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives". Not only do I find places to try, but recipes to try out in my own kitchen. I like Guy too; he's funny, ridiculous at times, and knows how to draw you in to enjoy the show. Many of the places he features does Italian food, so I pay particular attention to those, since Italian is one of my favorite cuisines. I watched as one diner owner prepared meatballs, using sliced bread soaked in milk as the binder for the meat. Funny I thought, I'd heard of this method, but hadn't ever tried it myself; to make that is. If I'd eaten this type of meatball before, I really didn't know as I hadn't thought to ask about it.

Growing up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn; I learned in my family, and other families, to use bread crumbs, mainly from loaves of Italian bread that had gone stale, ground into fine crumbs and then added to the meat mixture. After I got married, I learned that was the way my first husband's family, who were Italian, also did it, so who was I to question the norm? Then again, I've become a lot more adventurous in the kitchen since those days, and was going to try this other method of bread soaked in milk.

Back on March 18, 2011, I posted my recipe for Homemade Meatballs, but instead of making you search for it, I'll just repost it today and note what changes I made to try the new way.

Homemade Meatballs

Ingredients:
4 lbs lean ground beef (90% or more)
2 lbs ground pork
1 ½ cups Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/8 cup Italian seasoning mix
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 cup diced onion
¾ cup milk
2 eggs, beaten

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray jelly roll pans with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together thoroughly; making sure all dry ingredients are mixed well with wet ingredients. Form the meat mixture into balls, about 2 ¾” (size of a tennis ball); place on jelly roll pans.

Bake meatballs for 20 minutes; dab on paper towels to remove any grease and immerse into sauce. Allow meatballs to cook in sauce until sauce is ready; 4-6 hours depending on cooking technique being used. Serve with pasta, or use meatballs for a sandwich.

Makes about 20 meatballs.

Out where I live now, you cannot find real, authetic Italian bread made with Semolina flour; it's all made with "enriched white flour" which, to me, is basically plain old white bread.

Instead of the dried Italian seasoned crumbs, I broke up slices of white bread, about 6, and soaked them in 1 cup of milk instead of the 3/4 cup called for in my recipe. I also increased my Italian seasoning mixture to 1/4 cup. Adding this to the rest of the ingredients, I found that you had to work the soaked bread into the meat more, making sure to break up any large clumps. Baking time was the same, but I only got 18 meatballs instead of the usual 20; not a big deal though.

After cooking them in sauce came the taste testing; besides hubby and myself, I asked a couple of other folks to try them out against my regularly made mealballs, without telling them which was which. The conclusion: While the bread soaked in milk meatball had a firmer texture, the overall taste was the same as my original style meatball. Everyone liked both types and would willingly eat both without a problem.

Overall conclusion: it comes down to basically what you grew up on, are comfortable making and eating. At least I know now, that if I'm out of dried bread crumbs, I can use the milk soaked bread and still get a decent result, not a disaster.

Mary Cokenour

So Easy, a Caveman can do it.

Or so as my husband has entitled this blog post. I would have named it, "Not Another What to do with Leftover Turkey Blog Post", but since he cooked, he got the title rights. That's correct, my husband actually took the time to cook dinner once again for me and I bet women all over are jealous. After all the stress and demands of getting Thanksgiving dinner prepped, cooked and cleaned up after, I finally had a melt down. Saturday afternoon the headache and muscle cramping hit big time and decided to stick around until Sunday night. My hunny made me tea and fluffed my pillows, he cooked up scrambled eggs and biscuits as it made me feel calm all over.

However, I had promised him Pepper Steak with Onions for dinner, but I just couldn't find the energy. Who came to the rescue? My hubby and he once again did a great job with the prep work and the cooking of the dish itself. He did moan and groan though and several times gripe, "but it looks so much easier when you do it". Me? I snickered in smug satisfaction.

So kudos to my husband, Roy, and his amazing kitchen skills...when he is desperately hungry that is.

Pepper Steak with Onions

Ingredients:

2 lbs London broil, cut into ¼ inch thick strips
2 medium green bell peppers, seeded and cut into ¼ inch thick strips
2 medium onions, cut into ¼ inch thick strips
2 Tbsp canola oil
½ cup soy sauce
½ tsp white pepper
1 tsp ground ginger

Preparation:

In a large skillet or Wok, on medium-high heat, brown the meat; remove to bowl and set aside. In same skillet or Wok, sauté the peppers and onions with the oil until softened. Add back the meat; add the soy sauce, white pepper and ginger; mix thoroughly. Let cook an additional 10 minutes before serving over white, fried or brown rice.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Traditional Thanksgiving Pies.

As long as I can remember, pumpkin and pecan pies were served for dessert after the huge Thanksgiving meal of turkey, stuffing and all the rest of the trimmings. Whether served plain, with whipped cream or ice cream; when finished with these yummy treats, a good nap was seriously needed.

With all the preparations needed for the feast, baking pies was always the farthest from my mind, so I would purchase pies from the local farmers' markets. This year though, I decided that I had the time to spare and made the pies. Of course everyone was given a steadfast warning, "disturb me while I'm baking and you take your life into your own hands". Yeah, I'm that serious when I'm in the kitchen and need to concentrate; baking takes concentration.

Anyway, the pies came out just fine and it was very hard to resist cutting a slice of each, just to try of course. So here are my recipes for pumpkin and pecan pies.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:
½ cup pecan halves (optional)
2 (9 inch) unbaked or frozen deep dish pie crusts
1 (29 oz) can pumpkin
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp each of ground nutmeg, ginger and cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk (shake slightly before opening)
3 Tbsp brown sugar, divided in half

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425F; place a jelly roll pan in oven to warm up. (this will keep the pan from warping while the pies bake). Divide pecans, if using, between the 2 pie crusts, pressing them down slightly into the bottom of the pie pans. (be careful to not go through the crusts)

In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices, vanilla and eggs. One can at a time, beat in the evaporated milk until well incorporated into the pumpkin mixture. Remove jelly roll pan from oven and place pie pans on top; ladle pumpkin filling into each until it reaches the interior edge. Sprinkle 1 ½ Tbsp brown sugar over the tops of each pie. (as the pies bake, the brown sugar will produce a crème brule’ effect)

Bake pies at 425 F for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350F and bake an additional 50-60 minutes; a knife will come out cleanly from center when done. Let pies cool for 2 hours before serving.

Each pie makes 8 servings.

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Pecan Pie
(Recipe is from Karo Syrup with 2 changes: 1 Tbsp vanilla extract instead of 1 tsp.; 1 ¾ cups pecan halves instead of 1 ½ cups)

Ingredients:
1 cup light or dark corn syrup
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups pecan halves
1 (9 inch) unbaked or frozen deep dish pie crust

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F; place a jelly roll pan in oven. (warming the pan will keep it from warping as the pie bakes) Place crust into pie pan if it isn’t already done so.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the pie crust; pour into the pie crust and place onto center of warmed jelly roll pan. Bake for 50-70 minutes; pie will be done when pressing down lightly in the center, it springs back. Let pie cool for 2 hours before serving.

Makes 8 servings,

Mary Cokenour

Give Thanks to Those Cooking your Thanksgiving Meal.

I love Chinese food; I could go to a Chinese restaurant for days and never order the same thing twice.  One dish I enjoy is Sweet and Sour, but I always have trouble deciding between chicken, pork or shrimp; so I end up ordering the combination.  It's like getting a little surprise in every bite; ok, after a while you can tell what is what, but it's still fun to pretend.

Preparing for Thanksgiving entails a lot of work; cleaning the house from top to bottom, doing the shopping for groceries, baking the pies, and a few odds and ends.  Roy's mom and brother come up from Moab to eat with us, so I want everything as perfect as humanly possible.

So what in the world does Chinese food have to do with Thanksgiving Day?  I get worn out, so to spoil me, Roy decided to make dinner and he made me Sweet and Sour Chicken with Fried Rice.  All I had to do was sit on the kitchen stool and supervise, but he did all the work; and he did a damned great job!!! So for those of you busting a gut trying to get heaven and earth organized for Thanksgiving; step back and let a loved one cook a meal for you as their way of giving you thanks for being so wonderful.

Sweet and Sour – Chicken, Pork or Shrimp

Ingredients:
¼ cup canola or peanut oil
1 cup each chopped red and green bell peppers, onions and drained pineapple chucks
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground white pepper
1 egg
1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups of water
2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes; or medium sized shrimp, peeled and deveined; or a combination equally up to 2 lbs.
1 qt of canola or peanut oil for frying
2 cups homemade sweet and sour sauce; kept warm.

Preparation:
In a large skillet or Wok, heat oil on medium-high heat; sauté peppers, onion and pineapple until the edges just begin to caramelize. Remove from oil and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, 2 Tbsp oil, cornstarch, salt, white pepper and egg; gradually add water until a thick batter forms. Add chicken, pork, shrimp or combination into batter making sure to thoroughly coat each piece. Heat the 1 qt of oil in the skillet or Wok over medium-high heat; when temperature reaches 360F, drop several pieces of battered pieces into the oil, but do not overcrowd. Pieces will be done when they are golden brown and float to top of oil; remove to paper towels to drain. Repeat until all battered pieces are done.

Combine sautéed vegetables and pineapple with battered pieces and warm sauce; serve over white, brown or fried rice.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Sorry Campbell's, My Recipe is Better.

The other day a link to a recipe popped up on Facebook and it referred to a recipe called "Angel Chicken".  Basically it was a crock pot recipe where Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup, a packet of Italian salad dressing mix, cream cheese and white wine cooked for about 4-5 hours and was then served over angel hair pasta.  Simple recipe and I was willing to give it a try, that is until I went grocery shopping.  At City Market, a Kroger store, they had 2 cans of the condensed soup for $3...that's $1.50 per can if you had a shopper's card.  Otherwise it was $1.79 per can...seriously, almost $2 for a 10.5 ounce can of condensed soup?  I don't think so!

I went home, got online and looked up the ingredient list for the soup; salt and sugar were the first two ingredients and the listing of preservatives and chemical additives was longer than the natural  ingredients.  I broke down the basic ingredients to beef broth which already has salt in it, tomato sauce, white wine, a roux of butter and flour, water and mushrooms.  Finding 8 oz packets of sliced mushrooms on sale for 2 for $3 and having the other ingredients at home; I was off to make my own golden mushroom soup.  But wait you're now saying, the price for the mushrooms was the same as if I'd just bought the 2 cans of soup.  I know, but the idea of deconstructing the processed soup and then recreating from scratch was a much better prospect than convenience.

As the cooking process of the soup commenced, the smell in the kitchen was heavenly; if the entire recipe tasted as good as it smelled, this would be one heck of an accomplishment.  Now unknowingly, I had run out of angel hair pasta, so served the chicken, mushrooms and sauce over linguine instead...it was amazing; simply amazing.  More work than opening a little can of soup...oh yes, but so, so worth all the effort.

So sorry Campbell's, but mine is better.

Golden Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients:

8 Tbsp butter
8 Tbsp flour
1 (8 oz) package, cut into cubes and softened
1 (14.5 oz) can beef broth plus ½ can water
¼ cup white wine
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp each crushed, dried basil, thyme and marjoram
¼ tsp ground black pepper
8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, trimmed of fat
1 lbs sliced white mushrooms
1 ½ lbs angel hair pasta

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, medium-high heat, melt butter and whisk in flour; add cream cheese and stir until cream cheese begins to combine with the roux. Add beef broth, water, wine, tomato sauce, garlic powder, herbs and black pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low; let simmer for 5 minutes.

Set 6 qt crock pot on low; place in chicken breasts, mushrooms on top of chicken; pour the sauce over all. Cover and let cook for 5-6 hours; until chicken is moist and tender.

Prepare pasta according to package directions; place a chicken breast on top a serving of pasta and spoon sauce over all.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Bring it to the Party!

Last weekend hubby and I were invited to a "Twilightathon" party at friends', Sean and Heidi, home. While not big fans of shiny vampires, the chance to get out and socialize with other adults was the real treat. Anyone attending was asked to bring a snack to share which is only fair and I had planned on making my Mexican 4-layer dip. Heidi though was hankering for a 7 layer dip and who was I to deny her? Now I'm not going to claim that 4 or 7 layer dip was originally started by me; there are just so many different versions out there, so I'm just posting my take on them.

Anyway, then I was thinking about this little snack treat that I've been dying to make, but it makes so many that it's only good for a party. Hello, did someone say party? I first had this treat way back in 1997 when a coworker brought them in for a Christmas party. They were great and the recipe, only 3 ingredients, was passed around to everyone. Now you can find it on the internet everywhere, so if anyone is declaring they were the inventor....well who really knows by now? Anyway, at Heidi and Sean's party, they went faster than the dip, that's for sure.

So here come the recipes and next time you need a party snack idea, you've got a couple of more recipes to choose from. Enjoy!

Mexican 4 or 7 Layer Dip

4 Layer Dip

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) container French onion dip (Helleva Good is the best)
1 (8 oz) jar medium, chunky style salsa
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
Tortilla chips

Preparation:
Using a 12 inch round aluminum pizza pan, spread out the onion dip evenly out to the edges; next spread out the salsa over the dip. Evenly spread out the lettuce, then the cheese blend.
Serve with tortilla chips for dipping.


7 Layer Dip

Ingredients:
1 (14.5 oz) can refried beans
1 (8 oz) jar medium, chunky style salsa
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 (12 oz) bag shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 ½ cups sour cream
1 ½ cups guacamole
1 cup each sliced black olives and diced onions, mixed together
Tortilla chips

Preparation:
Using a glass or plastic 2 quart rectangular dish, evenly spread out each ingredient, in order, over the next. Refrigerate for an hour to let the layers settle together. Serve with tortilla chips.

Note: For either dip, using a spatula to spread ingredients allows for smoother, more even layers.

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3 Ingredient Pretzel Chocolate Snack

Ingredients:
1 (10 oz) bag square or round waffle pretzels
2 (13 oz) bags Hershey’s Kisses (any one type or a mixture), unwrapped
1 (14 oz) bag plain chocolate M&M’s

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 180F; line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.

Spread pretzels onto parchment paper; place an unwrapped Hershey kiss in center of each pretzel. When all pretzels have a kiss on them, carefully place on center rack of oven, so they do not shift about.

Within 5 minutes the chocolate will get a glossy sheen to it; carefully remove pan from oven. Gently press an M&M candy in the center of each kiss; the chocolate will squash down and adhere to the pretzel.

Place pan in a cool place to let the chocolate firm up and set. The snacks can be stacked inside a plastic container; place a piece of waxed paper between each layer.

Makes about 75 - 100 pieces; dependent upon using whole pretzels only, not broken pieces.

Mary Cokenour

Pies Aren't Always Sweet.

When you hear the word pie, often times your mind thinks of something sweet such as fruit pies or perhaps a rich cream pie with a mile high meringue topping.  Pies can be savory too containing some type of meat and vegetables like Shepherd's or Cottage Pie or even sausage with peppers and onions can make a great filling in a pie crust.

Now how about taking an American classic sandwich, such as the Cheeseburger, and making that into a pie? Yes, it can be done; just check out online recipe sites or basic American cookbooks such as those put out by "Taste of Home" magazine.  Trying to come up with something new for dinner one night, I decided to try my own version of a cheeseburger pie.  Roy and I discussed what we like on a typical cheeseburger; simple items like cheese, of course, lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup, mayonnaise, horseradish mustard, grilled onions and/or mushrooms.  Now how to make this into a pie of some sort and have it be edible; however we both didn't like all the items on one burger, so needed to compromise.

The first attempt wasn't very successful, too bland and if reheated, it was worse.  The filling was also too mushy, so the addition of a binder was needed.  The second attempt came out much better by adding some leftover ingredients from an Italian meal I made, plus using eggs as a binder...sort of like you would with a quiche.  I do intend to play more with this recipe eventually, so don't be surprised if you see an update at a later time.

Cheeseburger Pie

Ingredients:
2-9 inch, deep dish pie crusts (frozen in pans, refrigerated or homemade)
2 lbs lean ground beef
2 Tbsp Italian herbal mix
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 medium onion, diced
1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 (12 oz) bag shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided into thirds
3 eggs, beaten
½ tsp each salt and ground black pepper
1 can Pillsbury Grands biscuits

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350F; if refrigerated or homemade crusts, place in 9 inch pans; place pie crusts in oven for 5 minutes to set dough.

In large skillet, medium-high heat, brown beef; add Italian herbal mix, garlic, onion and mushrooms halfway through browning. Drain excess grease.

In large bowl, mix together beef mixture with tomatoes, tomato sauce, ricotta, 2/3 of the cheddar cheese, eggs, salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Divide between two pie pans. Divide 6 of the Grands biscuits to form 12 thinner biscuits; press the 1/3 of the remaining cheddar cheese onto one side of the halved biscuit dough. Place 6 on top of each pie (1 in center, 5 around), cheese side up; bake for 20 minutes; let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 2 pies; 6 servings in each.

Mary Cokenour