Spaghetti and Meatballs

(about 6 - 8 servings)

If there's any leftover, the cooked meatballs and sauce freeze quite well.

meatballs
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb pork sausage meat
1 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
small handful parsley, chopped
2/3 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs, (I made these in the food processor)
1 large egg, slightly beaten
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1-2 tbsp oil for frying

Combine all of the ingredients (except the oil) in a bowl and shape into 2" balls.

Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and fry the meatballs in batches until browned on all sides. Set aside.

sauce
1 tbsp oil
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 onion, chopped
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced olives or 2-3 tbsp capers, (optional)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine or 2-3 tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the garlic and fry for about 1 minute, then add the onion and continue to cook until the onion softens and turns a light golden brown.

Add the tomatoes, olives or capers, tomato paste, and the red wine or vinegar and oregano. Stir to combine everything well, lower the heat and simmer, covered for about 25 minutes.

Add the meatballs, and continue to cook (uncovered) until the meatballs heat through and are done; about another 15 minutes or so. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

spaghetti
about 1 1/2 lbs dried spaghetti, cooked according the package directions
grated parmesan or romano cheese

Portion out the spaghetti between plates and top with the meatballs and sauce.
Serve with grated cheese.

Malaysian Satay (Sate)

Every time we have satay, i never have the opportunity to take a picture because it disappeared, devout as soon as they are off the grill. Fortunately, this time, 2 sticks and 2 pieces of cucumber were reserved for me. I was told that the word 'satay' is actually hokkien - 'sa' means three and 'tay' means pieces. That's why there are 3 pieces of meat in a stick.

Ingredients:

600 gm/1 1/3 lb beef , chicken or pork meat

Marinate:

10 small onions / shallots
5 cloves of garlic
2 inch long galanga /lengkuas
2 stalks lemon grass /serai
1 tsp pepper
3 tbsp kurma curry powder
1/2 tsp belacan powder(shrimp paste)
A teaspoon tumeric (kunyit)
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp dark soya sauce
1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp oil or thick coconut milk

a bundle of 6 inch bamboo skewers

1 lemon grass(serai) - crush

oil/coconut milk for basting

Method:

Using the microplane, grate lengkuas and lemon grass.

Using the food processor, chop up the shallots and garlic. Add in the grated galanga ,lemon grass and the rest of the marinate.

Cut meat into 1/4 inch thick and 4 - 6 inch length.(with this length i will have 2 pieces to a skewer)

Marinate meat with the marinate for at least 2 hours.

Skewer meat with bamboo skewers.

Grill meat and using a crushed lemon grass as a brush, baste meat with oil/coconut milk.

Serve grilled meat with Satay sauce, cucumber and onions. Ketupat or Nasi Impit would be good but i stopped serving them as they are always not consumed and wasted all my effort to make them.

Satay Sauce:

1 lb raw peanuts - soak overnight in water and 2 tsp potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution (for picture of bottle refer to Ban Jian Kuih).

1 packet of Chan Hong Instant Curry Assam Mix (available online at http://mytasteofasia.com/)

1/2 lb roasted peanuts - chopped fine

Drain peanuts and wash away the potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution(kan sui) Steep in clean water for 1 hour.

Using the pressure cooker, cook peanuts in water for 15 minutes from hissing.

Remove some liquid (if you have used too much water to cook the peanuts as sauce should be thick ) and use a potato masher, mash the soft peanuts.

Add in the packet of instant mix and bring mixture to the boil.

Add in the roasted chopped peanuts.

Adjust the taste.

Chilly oil or sambal chilly can be added to sauce for additional spiciness.

Serves

Daring Baker Challenge, April 2010, British Suet Pudding; Steak & Kidney

(about 6-8 servings)

This month's challenge was hosted by Esther from The Lilac Kitchen.  She proposed making steamed puddings using suet, and we had the choice of sweet or savory, using one of two methods.

Initially I thought a lot about making a traditional plum pudding, and then toyed with the idea of making something with ginger, pear and caramel. In the end I made a steak and kidney pudding with mushrooms, pearl onions and red wine.

I ended up cheating. Although I boiled my pudding for 5 1/2 hours, the crust refused to turn brown, so I popped it in the oven and left it there for about 20 minutes until I liked the colour.

Dallas in many respects can be lovely, but when it comes to finding certain items, I begin to realise just how pedestrian a place this can be.  Kidneys? OMG! What a fiasco!

I called two Whole Foods markets and neither had any; the second fellow I spoke with, asked me incredulously "kidney beans or kidneys?", (I should add he works in their meat department.) I called a butcher who had been given the "Dallas Butcher of the Year" award a couple of years back and he told me these days, that kind of stuff generally got packed up and shipped to pet food manufacturers. I called at least a dozen places before hitting the jackpot at Central Market.  I had to special order them, and three whole days later, they did not arrive. /cry

Then I remembered Kuby's, the German meat market and deli, and gave them a call. They had veal kidneys! I was way too excited over these kidneys, but heh, this is Dallas.

We were given a few basic recipes which I used as a guide, ending up with the following, once I was done:

Suet Pastry
3 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
salt
1 3/4 cups suet
3/4 -1 1/4 cup water

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the suet and mix gently with your hands.

Add 3/4 cup water and stir. Keep adding the water in small amounts until the dough forms into a ball. Knead a few times and then cover and set aside.

Steak and Kidney Filling
1/2 lb beef, veal or lamb kidneys, (anything you can get your hands on!)
2 cups water
1 tbsp vinegar

1 1/2 lb beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2" cubes
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried thyme
small handful fresh parsley, chopped
salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper
1 cup pearl onions, peeled
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 cup beef broth
1 cup red wine


Remove the membranes from the kidneys and then slice them lengthwise and remove the fatty cores. Place them in the water and vinegar for about an hour. Remove, pat dry and cut into small cubes.

Place the kidneys, beef, onions and mushrooms into a bowl. Sprinkle the flour, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper over the meat and toss to mix.

Remove about 1/4 of the suet pastry and reserve that for the top crust. Roll out the remaining dough and line a well buttered 1 1/2 quart  pudding basin or deep casserole. Leave about an inch of pastry hanging over the edge.

Add the meat and vegetable filling.

Combine the beef broth and wine and pour that over the meat.

Roll out the remaining piece of dough and place over the top. Turn up the overlapping pieces of dough and seal to prevent the gravy from escaping while the pudding is steaming.

Top with a piece of foil or parchment paper. Tie it down with string.

Place the pudding into a *large pot and add enough boiling water to come up about 2/3 of the way up the pudding basin. Cover and boil for about 5-6 hours, checking every hour so to see if you need to top up the water.

*The pudding basin itself shouldn't touch the bottom of the pot. You can place it on top of an inverted plate or a scrunched up piece of foil, or something that can withstand the boiling water.

The pudding will be done when the suet pastry has turned a light golden brown. From what I've read, it's almost impossible to overcook a pudding**.

**I left mine to boil for 5 1/2 hours, after which time the pastry wasn't changing colour, so I popped it into the oven for 20 minutes at 375°F.

Rouladen, German Beef Rolls

(4-5 servings)

I have always loved these. There's different versions of this dish found throughout Germany, and they appear to be adaptations of a French dish.

This recipe is quite similar to my mother's. I think she might have also thrown a few juniper berries into the gravy (not very easy to find in Texas); I'll have to ask her about that.

I made both braised red cabbage and dumplings to go with these. The dumplings were a disaster. I think I added too much liquid to the bread. They didn't hold their shape at all when I tried to simmer them in water (well, except for two of them), so I won't be posting that recipe. :P

about 1 lb of sirloin or top round cut into thin slices.
2 - 3 tbsp German style mustard, Dijon works too
4-5 slices of bacon, cut in half
1/4 red onion sliced
4 small dill pickles, sliced
salt, freshly ground black pepper and paprika

2 tbsp canola oil
3/4 cup red wine
3/4 cup beef stock
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 bay leaf , halved

1 tbsp flour
3 tbsp sour cream

Pound the meat with a meat hammer to flatten as much as possible without tearing.

Spread about a teaspoon of mustard over each piece of meat. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Add the bacon, onion and pickle slices.

Roll up the beef slices and secure with kitchen string or wooden toothpicks.

Heat up the oil in a heavy saucepan or dutch oven. Add the beef rolls and fry until they are brown on all sides.

Arrange the rolls into an even layer and add the wine, beef stock, tomato paste and bay leaf. Cover and cook over low heat for about 1 1/2 hours, (turning the meat over a few times) or until the beef is tender.

Transfer the rouladen to a plate.

Combine the flour and sour cream. Whisk in a few spoons of the hot liquid and, then whisk all of that back into the pot. Simmer for about 3 minutes until the gravy thickens.Check the seasoning and return the rouladen to the pot. Cook for a few more minutes until they heat through.

Traditionally, this is served with bread or potato dumplings and braised red cabbage. They are also very good over egg noodles.

Stuffed Vegetables, Turkish Style

(6 servings)

I love stuffed vegetables. These have a Turkish flavour to them; the mint does it, I think.

These almost didn't get made today. I slept in unintentionally and to make up for lost time decided to shop at a grocery store which is closer to me and is supposed to have a decent organic section. What a disaster! The meat and fish isle stank to high heaven. Some of the chicken actually had a green hue to it. How can anyone shop there and then think about cooking?

I hightailed it out of there and drove the extra way to Whole Foods. I get annoyed by some of their prices, but at least it doesn't stink.

12 small bell pepper, tomatoes, or 6 zucchini ,(I used zucchini and tomatoes; the peppers were too large today)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp dried mint
1 1/2 tsp dried dill
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup rice
1 lb ground lamb or beef
1/4 cup dried currants, I  had to use raisins again; does no one in Dallas know what bloody currants are?


Cut off the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds, or cut the tops of the tomatoes and scoop out the centres or cut the zucchini into 2 pieces (across) and scoop out those. Reserve the scooped out tomato and/or zucchini.

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and minced garlic and saute until the onion is soft. Add the mint, dill, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup of broth (reserve the other half) and the rice. Add the scooped out tomato and/or zucchini. Lower the heat a bit and cook for about 10-15 minutes until the liquid has absorbed into the rice. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a bowl combine the rice and vegetable mixture with the ground beef or lamb and currants; if you can find the damn things  /cry.

Fill the prepared vegetables with the meat mixture and place them in one layer on the bottom of a casserole dish. Pour in the remaining 1/2 cup of beef broth. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about an hour.

Yummy Meatloaf

(8 servings)

Hmmm.. meatloaf, one of the ultimate comfort foods. There's lots of variations for this dish and the one below makes good use of the veggies left in your crisper at the end of the week. Most combinations would be fine here; mushrooms, celery, broccoli, green beans and parsnips come to mind.

Leftover meatloaf heats up quite nicely, and makes good sandwiches if you prefer it cold. I often portion what's left and freeze it.

3 slices stale bread, torn into small pieces
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp horseradish
small handful of fresh parsley, chopped
about 1 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
3 carrots, cut up
1 green bell pepper or a small zucchini, cleaned and cut up
1 tbsp oil
2 lbs lean ground beef

2-3 tbsp ketchup

Place the bread into a large bowl and pour the milk over that. Add the mayonnaise, egg, horseradish, parsley,salt, pepper and thyme. Toss the mixture a bit and set aside.

Place the onion, garlic, carrots, green pepper or zucchini into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until all of the vegetables are finely minced. You will have about 2 3/4 to 3 cups.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the minced vegetables and saute for about 10 minutes, or until the raw onion smell is gone. Remove from heat, cool a bit and add to the mixture in the bowl.
Add the ground beef and combine just until everything is evenly distributed, don't over mix, otherwise the meatloaf might become dense. Hands work well here.

Gently pack the meat mixture into a 9"x5" loaf pan. My loaf pan is 8"x4" and I had a large mound over it, which was fine, I placed a cookie sheet underneath to catch the drippings. Spread the ketchup evenly over the top and place into the centre of the oven.

Bake the meatloaf for about 1 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 170°F.

Remove from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes before slicing.