Swedish Meatballs

I've never made Swedish Meatballs before, so I thought I'd give it a shot tonight. This recipe was rated pretty highly over at the Food Network. This recipe is from Alton Brown, and was very easy to make. It is also available on the Food Network website http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/swedish-meatballs-recipe/index.html

I served this over egg noodles. I used ground veal instead of beef (just because I had it kicking around). It is quite a tasty recipe.

Ingredients
2 slices fresh white bread
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons clarified butter, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
A pinch plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 pound ground chuck
3/4 pound ground pork
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups beef broth
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
Tear the bread into pieces and place in a small mixing bowl along with the milk. Set aside.
In a 12-inch straight sided saute pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat until the onions are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread and milk mixture, ground chuck, pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and onions. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes.
Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds.
Heat the remaining butter in the saute pan over medium-low heat, or in an electric skillet set to 250 degrees F. Add the meatballs and saute until golden brown on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the meatballs to an ovenproof dish using a slotted spoon and place in the warmed oven.
Once all of the meatballs are cooked, decrease the heat to low and add the flour to the pan or skillet. Whisk until lightly browned, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the beef stock and whisk until sauce begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Remove the meatballs from the oven, cover with the gravy and serve.

Beef Round over Noodles

This is an old standby comfort food type of dinner that my family loves. I had some stewing beef in the freezer and figured this would make an excellent dinner tonight.

This recipe is from an old cookbook I received as a teenager and cut my teeth in the kitchen using. It's called the Encyclopedia of Creative Cooking, edited by Charlotte Turgeon. pg 68 (a well worn stain covered pg 68) I usually double this recipe for my large family.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. peanut or corn oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
2 teaspoon sherry (I use red wine, and use one tablespoons)
3 cups thinly sliced onions
2 teaspoons corn starch
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 pounds beef round cut into 1/2 inch cubes (I use stewing beef)
1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp minced garlic (1 clove)
1 can mushrooms (optional...but highly recommmended)

Heat oil in a large skillet with 1 tsp soy sauce, sugar, and 1 teaspoon sherry (or tbsp as I do). Saute onions until soft.

Mix cornstarch, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 tsp sherry (or tablespoon again..my change) in a bowl. Dredge meat in mixture ensuring all pieces are coated. When onions are ready, add the meat to the skillet and brown. Add the worchestershire sauce and garlic, mix well and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the mushroom about half way through simmering. (juices removed from mushroom can)

Serve over large egg noodles. This recipe as it stands yields about 6 servings, but I usually make a little more and adjust the recipe accordingly.

Shrimp in White Wine Lemon Sauce

Tonight I tried to invent a recipe. I'm going to call it, Shrimp in White Wine Lemon sauce.

I sort of pulled a little of this, and a little of that and developed it. I think it's probably similar to shrimp scampi but I've never actually had shrimp scampi so I can't say for sure. It was tasty though. Light and full of flavours.

The kids ate it pretty quickly and were asking for seconds so I guess I did alright in the end of the day. If you try this recipe and alter it let me know, I'd love some recommendations for improvements.

Ingredients

2 lbs shrimp, deveined, shells removed (you can leave the tail on if you like)

1 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic

1 or 2 shallots. (1 large, or two small)

3/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup cream

3/4 cup shrimp stock (made through initial cooking of shrimp)

salt and pepper

1-2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

Juice of one lemon

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup shredded parmagean cheese (grated)

Salt and pepper the shrimp.

Heat skillet and add the olive oil. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook until just pink. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and pour the juices into a measuring cup. I had more than a cup of juices as I used frozen shrimp.

Place skillet back on heat, add the butter and melt. Add the onions and cook until soft (about 2 minutes), add the garlic and cook for another thirty seconds.

Add the wine, add the stock from your measuring cup, and add lemon juice. Bring to a boil and reduce by about a third. Add the cream and reduce again by another 1/3. Add the parmagean, and mix well until melted. Return the shrimp to the pan and add the parsley. Adjust the salt and pepper if needed. Simmer for another minute or so (longer if you need it to thicken a little more)

Serve over angel hair pasta.

Roman Chicken

I haven't made too many brand new entrees this week so decided tonight to try another one off the Food Network. I knew ingredients I had on hand and landed once again on Giada DeLaurentis' recipe. So far we have batted 100 on anything I've made from her. My husband just bought me her first cookbook, so I made the entree from the website and the side dish from the book "Everyday Italian".

The entree turned out very well. The combination of flavours was excellent. A light dish. I made it with wild mushroom risotto on the side. I think next time I will do this with some plain rice. Both dishes were excellent but I think a simple risotto or plain rice would be better. The blending of fresh herbs, tomato and capers with the chicken was refreshing on the palatte.

An easy recipe to make in about 40 minutes. For the record I eliminated the chicken stock from this recipe, and didn't miss it. I also used boneless chicken breasts as I already had it in the fridge. A final change was I simmered uncovered to allow the liquids to reduce a little better.

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken breast halves, with ribs
2 skinless chicken thighs, with bones
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1 teaspoon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
3 ounces prosciutto, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Directions
Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. In a heavy, large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken until browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the peppers and prosciutto and cook until the peppers have browned and the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, wine, and herbs. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes.
If serving immediately, add the capers and the parsley. Stir to combine and serve. If making ahead of time, transfer the chicken and sauce to a storage container, cool, and refrigerate. The next day, reheat the chicken to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the capers and the parsley and serve.

Chicken Florentine

My husband found me Giada De Laurentiis's cookbook Everyday Italian today. Whilst hanging out in William Sonoma he also saw Margarita mix, which made him flashback to our trip to Mexico and he couldn't resist. I have been drinking margarita's for about two hours prior to attempting this recipe.

I am typing this while attempting this recipe. It says it should only be 20 minutes prep time but truth be told. I'm at that already and the chicken is still in the skillet. I am doubling the recipe as well as the size of our family warrants it. I did have to skip out to the store to get some more wine which forced me to call my 16 year old son up to drive me over as the margaritas have left me incapable of that little feat. He is giggling away at him mommy who never drinks.

So here we are.. (spellcheck is definitely going to be used for this one!!) This recipe source Is Giada De Laurentiis. Everyday Italian on the Food Network.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons shallots, sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen cut-leaf spinach, thawed, drained

Directions

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat lightly. Shake off any excess flour. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep it warm.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute until the shallots are translucent, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet, about 1 minute. Add the wine. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil until the liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the cream and boil until the sauce reduces by half, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices to the sauce, and turn the chicken to coat in the sauce.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in another large skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach and saute until heated through. Season the spinach, to taste, with salt and pepper. Arrange the spinach over a platter. Place the chicken atop the spinach. Pour the sauce over and serve.

Was it close to 20 minutes? Evaluation

Fast forwarding to and hour later. This recipe was quite good. There are a few things to remember while making it. Most importantly is that you really need to let the sauce simmer down and reduce. I followed the 3 minutes as per directions and it really hadn't reduced much. I added another 6 minutes and served. While it was tasty, it wasn't nearly as tasty as the chicken and sauce I left on the stove for another 10 minutes or so. THAT was delicious. The flavours were all beautifully melded by then and very very good. So keep in Mind...be sure to really let it reduce before serving. I served it over a bed of linguine, placed the spinach, topped it with the chicken and a small ladle of sauce. I did top with more fresh ground pepper and parmigiana cheese.

Will I make it again? I'm not sure. It was tasty but not one I'd call an instant favorite.

For the photos.

The chicken coated with flour, salt and pepper.

Chicken being sauteed in pan

Shallots and parsley

Finished Dish