Let me just come right out and say it.  These Swedish meatballs are the bomb!  Seriously.  They. Are. Awesome.  IKEA had better watch out. I’m just sayin’.

Swedish meatballs are a perennial favorite among the smörgåsbord set, which is why I had to include them in my Meatball Week series.   These plump and moist little nuggets of meat are delicately seasoned with fragrant spices like cardamom, allspice and nutmeg before being bathed in a rich and velvety cream sauce.  As with most traditional ethnic dishes, you’ll find as many different recipes for Swedish meatballs as there are cooks who make them.  I’ve tried many different versions, and I think this one is the best I’ve tasted.

The basic recipe for my meatballs came from Marcus Samuelsson, who got it from his Swedish grandma.  When a recipe comes from a famous chef’s grandma, you just know it has to be good.   With ingredients like honey and pickle juice, it’s unlike any I’ve seen before.    I did deviate quite a bit from the original, but that’s just how I roll.  That’s the great thing about recipes like this.  There’s lots of room to improvise.

The meatballs themselves are made with a mixture of beef, pork and veal.  I’ve always been a fan of using veal in meatballs.  I think it gives them a lighter texture and better flavor.

Let’s get started! 

To make the meatballs, you first sauté some finely diced onions in olive oil.  Set them aside to cool while you gather up the rest of the meatball ingredients.

Toss the sautéed onions in with the other ingredients and mix them all up together in a big bowl.   Form as many golf ball sized meatballs as you can get.  I got a ton.  Then, brown them in a skillet.  But, don’t cook them all the way through.

Yes, that is butter that those meatballs are frying in – big, fat, voluptuous butter.  But, it’s okay.  I don’t do this every day.  And, I don’t have an endorsement deal with any big drug companies.

Next, whip up that fabulous Swedish meatball sauce.   You start by making a roux, which is used as a thickening base for all kinds of sauces, gravies, soups and stews.  A roux a mixture of butter and flour that is cooked together until it reaches varying shades of brown, depending on what it’s being used for. Cooking the flour allows it to thicken the sauce without giving it a “raw”, starchy taste.  The roux for this dish should be on the lighter side – sort of like a café au lait color.  Marcus’s grandma’s recipe doesn’t call for a roux.  But, I wanted a sauce with more body, so I made one.

When the roux is ready, add some stock, a little at a time so that it doesn’t sputter up and splash you in the face. Trust me, that is not pleasant!

Then, add some heavy cream, lingonberry preserves and pickle juice.   No, that’s not a typo.  I thought the pickle juice was weird too.  Just do it, though.  You’ll thank me later.

When the sauce starts to bubble,  gently plop the meatballs in.   Then, simmer them in that glorious sauce until they’re cooked through.  Honestly, it took almost all of my self-control not to just slurp that sauce up with a big, fat, giant spoon!

Serve them with more lingonberry preserves and some pickled cucumber slices -  and watch your guests drool.

TOUCHDOWN!

If you missed the first two Meatball Week installments, you can find them here:

• Scallion Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Glaze
• Kefta Meatballs in Moroccan-Spiced Tomato Sauce

Coriander, cumin, paprika and cinnamon are but just a few of the staple ingredients you’ll find in the Moroccan dada’s  pantry.   The cuisine is earthy, fragrant and complex, redolent of rich spices, chiles, onions and garlic -  punctuated with  bright bursts of citrus, cilantro and mint.    To me, it is both straightforward and mysterious at the same time.  I think that’s what I love most about it.  And, that’s why I decided to make the second quarter of my Meatball Week all about Kefta Meatballs in Moroccan-Spiced Tomato Sauce.

My source for this dish came from Paula Wolfert’s The Food of Morocco, considered by many to be the definitive work on Moroccan cuisine.  With a lifetime spent immersed in Moroccan food and culture, Wolfert’s name has become synonymous with it.  And, luckily for the rest of us, she loves to share her enthusiasm.

The original dish is a tagine, which is a slow-cooked stew named for the pot that it is traditionally cooked in.   Wolfert’s kefta tagine features little lamb meatballs simmered in a cumin and paprika-laced tomato sauce.  Before serving, eggs are draped on top of the stew and poached.  Oh my!  I had to fight myself not to chuck the whole meatball plan and just make the recipe as written!  But, I’m hopelessly devoted to you, dear readers, and I could not leave you “meatball-less”.    So, here we go… 

The first thing you need to do is make your meatballs.  Wolfert says to use either lamb or beef, and I chose the more traditional lamb.  Onions, spices, garlic and crème fraiche are added to the lamb.  Crème fraiche!?!?  Yeah.  I had the same reaction, but it works.  The meatballs turn out kind of light and fluffy and have a subtle, pleasant tang to them.

Here we have the “Offensive Line” ready to cross the line of scrimmage.

Next, we start to make the line of scrimmage, er….um… I mean the tomato sauce.

Sauté finely chopped red onions in olive oil, then whisk in tomato paste.

Mix in the tomatoes and spices, and let it come to a bubble.   Wait a few minutes and then, breathe deeply.  It will smell heavenly.

Finally, add the kefta balls to the sauce and gently poach them for about half an hour.  Resist the urge to crack a few eggs in there.

Aaah!  Mmmmeatballs!

It’s meatball week here at Chez SGCC.  That’s because we love meatballs and think they make the perfect Super Bowl nosh.   They’re compact, easy to eat and can be made a zillion different ways.  So, as we count down to the big game, I’ll be sharing some different and delicious meatball recipes for you all to try out.

Let’s kick off with these yummy Asian-style Scallion Meatballs with a Soy-Ginger Glaze.

The original recipe for these tasty little morsels, from Canal House Cooking, calls for ground turkey.  I decided to make them with a combination of ground chicken and pork.    You can use whatever you want.  Turkey is perfectly fine.   I just think that Asian meatballs should be made with chicken and pork.   I also put a splash of fish sauce in my meatballs.  Don’t ask me why.  I’m just crazy like that.  I think it ups the umami quotient. 

I like to pulse the meat up a few times in the food processor before I mix in the rest of the ingredients.  You don’t have to do this either.  I find it gives the meatballs a finer texture, though.

There are no bread crumbs or other thickeners in the original recipe either.  I found the meatball mixture to be a little too wet for the balls to hold their shape, so I added a little cornstarch to it.  It worked great!

I love these gratuitous frying pan shots, don’t you?  The bubbles make me giddy!

Once your meatballs are all cooked, serve them with a drizzle of soy-ginger glaze.  They taste even better if you eat them with cute little curly-topped bamboo toothpicks like these.

I have been dreaming about this cauliflower soup ever since I first saw it on the Food 52 site last month.  I don’t know why.   There’s nothing at all that’s fancy about it.   And, it’s probably one of the simplest soups in the world to make.   But, something about it just spoke to me – or rather gently whispered in my ear, over and over again.  It looked so light and bright and pure – almost cleansing, in a way.   I filed away the recipe, knowing that I would get back to it as soon as I found some beautiful, fresh cauliflower that was worthy of it. 

This recipe for this soup comes from Paul Bertolli’s book, Cooking by Hand.  Bertolli was a chef at the famed Chez Panisse for over ten years, so it’s not surprising that he knows exactly how to make a cauliflower sing.  And, sing it does!  There are only five ingredients in this soup, and one of them is water.   None of them are butter or cream.  Yet, it is so smooth and velvety, you’d never guess.  It’s the perfect little, guilt-free indulgence after eating your way through a long Holiday season.

To start, onions are sautéed in olive oil over low heat until they are tender and sweet.

Then, the cauliflower is added and stewed with the onions.  After that, the water is added to the pot and everything simmers.   I swapped out a cup or so of the water with some chicken stock.  You don’t need to do this.  I just did because I had some broth in the fridge that I needed to use.

Once the cauliflower has finished cooking, the whole pot is pureed into the smoothest, most divinely luxurious soup you’ll ever taste.  I swear!  But, don’t take my word for it.   Make a pot for yourself.  Then, slide into your fluffiest bathrobe, put some cool cucumber slices over your eyes and pretend you’re at a fancy schmancy spa.

Thanksgiving is, without a doubt, the most food centric holiday of the year. And, anyone who has ever prepared a Thanksgiving dinner knows how much work – and stress – is involved. We obsess over every little detail as we strive to wow our families and friends with our culinary prowess. But nobody’s perfect, and sometimes even the best-laid plans go awry. That’s when it helps to have a few tricks up your sleeve.

One year, my mother-in-law accidentally turned my oven on to “broil” while I had two beautiful pumpkin pies baking in it. As I sifted through the ashes of my poor, incinerated pies, I just wanted to cry! Actually, I did cry. But then my creative spirit kicked in, and I came up with this super quick and easy alternative using ingredients that I already had in my pantry.  

Pumpkin Pie Parfaits with Gingersnap Crumbles are a riff on a traditional pumpkin pie. They have all the delicious components of the classic, with a fraction of the effort. The parfaits can either be made the day of or prepared in advance. Thus, they won’t take up valuable real estate in your oven.

The base of these parfaits is a cool and creamy custard made with cook and serve vanilla pudding mix and canned pumpkin puree. The custard is layered with freshly whipped cream and spicy, crunchy gingersnap and pecan crumbles. Despite their humble beginnings, they make a lovely and elegant holiday dessert.

Whether served in pretty wine goblets or funky vintage jars, your guests will never suspect that these scrumptious, little Thanksgiving treats didn’t take hours to prepare.

One of the more annoying things about living with a food blogger is that they rarely make the same recipe twice.  This is especially irksome when a dish is particularly fabulous, because the blogger’s poor family knows that the chances of enjoying it again are virtually nil.   But hey,  I’m not heartless.   I realize that there are certain dishes that are favorites and beg to be made again – like these killer candied sweet potatoes.  They are absolutely to die for!  That’s why I always include them on my Thanksgiving menu -  and you should too. 

The original recipe for this dish was given to me by my mother.  It was one of her Thanksgiving specialties when I was growing up.   She only made them once a year, and believe me, they were worth the wait!  Earthy sweet potatoes are bathed in a pool of rich, gooey brown sugar syrup and baked until meltingly soft and caramelized.   Then, they’re topped with marshmallows and popped back in the oven just long enough for the marshmallows to puff up like crazy and get all browned and toasty.   It’s like eating candy for dinner.  Oooooh!   I get verklempt just thinking about it!

I’ve tried making this dish a couple of different ways, and I’ve found that it is best to partially cook the sweet potatoes before adding the syrup.  You can either boil, steam or bake them for about fifteen minutes or so.  I prefer baking the potatoes first because that leaves one less pot for me to wash, and I’m all about efficiency.   Also,  there’s less risk of the potatoes falling apart that way.   It doesn’t matter which way you choose.  You really just want to reduce the “candying” time so that the syrup doesn’t burn.

While I almost always use both light and dark corn syrup to make this dish, I have tried it with maple syrup instead of the dark corn syrup. It is really delicious that way too. In my experience, the syrup doesn’t get quite as thick, but the maple flavor is really wonderful.   One year, I also added some chopped pecans to the syrup, for a little crunch.   I liked it and would definitely do it again.

Woo Hoo!  Look at those marshmallows puff!   My salivary glands are in overdrive right now just looking at them!

I have to tell you that while I love sweet potatoes in any way, shape or form, these are something special.  Maybe it’s because they conjure up lots of sweet memories of Thanksgivings past for me.   Or maybe, it’s from the anticipation of waiting a whole year to eat them.  Whatever the reason, Thanksgiving at my house just wouldn’t be the same without my mom’s  candied sweet potatoes.

Seriously!  Are these little jars filled with creamy peanut butter and banana lusciousness not the cutest things ever?  I could just eat them up with a spoon.  As a matter of fact, I did just that.  And they were wonderful. I call them Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pies in a Jar, because…well…because that’s pretty much what they are.  They include all of the components of a classic pie, except they’re layered in small, self-contained, single serving jars.  Pretty clever, huh?  Yeah.  I think so too.

I was cleaning out a few things in my prop room, when I came across some Bormioli canning jars that I didn’t even remember I had.  I couldn’t find the rubber rims, so actually canning something in them was pretty much out of the question.  I thought it would be fun to fill them with some kind of scoopable dessert, like a custard or panna cotta.  Then, a bunch of bananas sitting on the counter caught my eye.  “Hmmm,” I thought, “What about banana pudding with vanilla wafers, just like my mother used to make?” That sounded like a plan.  Then, I noticed the jar of peanut butter next to the box of vanilla wafers, and remembered the most amazing peanut butter cream pie that one of our local restaurants is famous for.  I die over that pie!   Honestly, I just couldn’t choose between the two, so I decided to make them both – in the same dessert.  Peanut butter and bananas are already BFFs, so it made perfect sense to pair them up.  It was one of the best decisions I ever made! 

To make the “crust” for my “pies”, I pulverized some vanilla wafers into crumbs and mixed them with a little sugar and melted butter.  Then, I pressed a thin layer of the mixture down into the bottom of each jar.  After that, I added layers of homemade vanilla bean pastry cream, sliced bananas and peanut butter crumblies that I made by blending crunchy peanut butter and powdered sugar together.   After they were assembled, I snapped on the lids and stored them in the fridge until I was ready to serve them.   It was as easy as pie (pun intended)!  And OMG people, they were unbelievably good!   I could have slurped down that whole bowl of pastry cream all by itself.   Mixed with the other ingredients, it was completely off the charts!

I’ve made other desserts like this before.  I love the idea that everybody gets their own individual portion.  It’s a lot easier than slicing up a pie, it’s neater to eat and it’s a lot more fun.  I think I might really be on to something here.  I’m already toying with the idea of pumpkin streusel pie in a jar for Thanksgiving and apple crumb pie in a jar for Christmas.  Think about it.  You could literally do this with any kind of pie ingredients.  The possibilities are endless.  Deliciously and gloriously endless!

When I was a kid, the word “jam” meant Welch’s Grape Jelly.  That was what my mother kept in our house, and it’s the only kind of fruit spread that I remember ever eating.  It came in Flintstones jars, and each jar featured a different Flintstones  character.  After the jelly was used up, you could use the jars as juice glasses.  We had several sets of those Flintstones glasses.   The Flintstones were hot, hot, hot when I was little, so this was a great marketing strategy .  While it was an animated series, it was one of those cartoons designed to appeal to adults as much as children  Even my parents loved to tune in.  So, who wouldn’t be thrilled to have their very own set of Flintstones jelly jars/juice glasses?    Yabba Dabba Do!

It wasn’t until we moved to Florida that I realized that there was a whole world of jams, jellies and preserves out there.   You see, the supermarkets down here didn’t carry Welch’s grape jelly in those days.  They only had “exotic” sounding brands like Smuckers and Bama.  And, while there were all sorts of flavors available,  grape was hard to find.  So my mother adapted.  And as a result, my spreadable fruit horizons were broadened to include strawberry, raspberry, apricot and peach.

By the time I got to college, I thought I was pretty jam savvy.  That is, until my friend Lauri introduced me to tomato jam.  Tomato jam?  I had never heard of such a thing!  In my little Italian mind, tomatoes were for sauces and salads – certainly not jam.  But then I tried some, and I fell in love.  It was lush and sweet, but not too much so.  The tomato flavor was subtle, with slightly grassy undertones.  Although I wouldn’t have served it on a peanut butter sandwich, it was divine paired with cream cheese and spread on crackers. 

Smuckers used to make a tomato jam.  I don’t know if they still do, but I haven’t seen it in my grocery store in years.  So, when I was able to get my greedy paws on several pounds of beautiful heirloom tomatoes a while back, I decided to try my hand at making a batch of tomato jam from scratch.

For years, I shied away from making my own jams because I thought it would be too complicated.  I was wrong.  While it is time consuming, it actually isn’t difficult at all.   You basically just dump all of your ingredients into a pot and cook them down until they turn into jam.  And when you make your own, you can experiment with all kinds of different flavors to get exactly what you want.

For this tomato jam, I was looking for something that was both sweet and a little spicy.  In addition to the tomatoes and sugar, I put in cinnamon,  cumin, smoked paprika, and a few whole cloves.  I also added some lime juice and zest, sherry vinegar and believe it or not, a splash of fish sauce.  Yes, that’s right – fish sauce.  It is well documented that fish sauce has a high umami quotient.  Umami is one of the five basic “tastes”  along with sweet, salty, sour and bitter.   It intensifies the sweet and salty, and rounds out the sour and bitter.  Since umami is known to accentuate the other “tastes”,  I wanted to see what it would do for my tomato jam.

Another jam-making trick I’ve learned is to add some grated apple to the mix.  Apples are naturally high in fruit pectin and help jams and jellies to thicken without the use of commercial pectin products.  The grated apple breaks down during the cooking process, and by the time the jam is ready, has completely dissolved.   You won’t really taste the apple, unless of course, you’re making apple butter or jam.

Jam needs to simmer low and slow. This tomato jam needed about two and a half hours of simmering to get where I wanted it to be.

I didn’t can this jam after I made it because it was a small batch and I knew I would use it up quickly.  If you’re making a lot of jam or are planning to give some away as gift, I would advise you to can it.   Canning is also not difficult to do.  You just need to have the right supplies and good instructions.  When I do can, I use the guidelines from the USDA Guide to Home Canning.  It provides detailed instructions on canning and preserving, and is a great resource.

So, I’ll bet you’re wondering how this jam tasted. In a word, fantastic!  It was sweet, but the sweetness was rounded out by the spices, giving it a warm, earthy quality.  The jam had a deep, intense tomato-y flavor. I can’t say for sure that this was from the fish sauce, but I’m guessing that it helped.  I think it works equally well in both sweet and savory dishes. I spread it all over bagels, muffins and scones, as well as on my beloved cream cheese and crackers. This jam would be wonderful served alongside a beef or pork roast.  I could even see it used in place of cranberry sauce to go with your Thanksgiving bird.

I also used some of my tomato jam to make this easy peasy tomato galette. All I did was schmear some of the jam on a round of pre-made refrigerated pie crust and roll in the edges. Then, I baked it at 350 F. until browned and bubbly. It was a nice little nosh to have with my morning coffee!

Now that the cooler weather is rolling in, this is a great time to play around with making your own jams and jellies.  Get a batch simmering on the stove, put on your fuzzy slippers and curl up on the couch with your Kindle.  I guarantee it will inject a little sunshine into any gray, chilly day.

Every year my mother makes a prime rib roast for Christmas dinner.  It’s tradition.  And, every year that prime rib causes some kind of drama.  That’s tradition too.  Apparently, prime rib is fickle.  There’s something about it that just seems to defy consistency.   My mother always prepares it the same way, and while it often turns out great,  sometimes it’s overdone, and other times it just doesn’t seem to want to cook at all.  The rest of the family has started an annual “prime rib pool”, taking bets each year on which way the prime rib will sway.  Let me tell you, having a prime rib roast that misbehaves on Christmas doesn’t make for pleasant dinner conversation – especially at my mother’s table.  The rest of us couldn’t care less. Overdone or underdone, it always still tastes good.  But, Mom spends the rest of the meal obsessing over it and analyzing every little thing that could have gone wrong.   That’s how she rolls.  And, that’s why I’ve never attempted a prime rib – until now. 

The supermarket where I shop has one of those butcher display cases.  This is where you’ll find the organic, grass-fed, dry-aged and generally “fancier” cuts of meat.  A real live meat guy works the counter, and you can ask him for special cuts or just bombard him with meat-related questions.  Last week as I was strolling by, I saw some standing rib roasts in the case. This was a rarity.  Usually, these have to be ordered in advance.  You almost never just find them like that.  They were gorgeous, too!  Plus, they were were the perfect size for a small family – about three or four ribs each.  Those fleshy, beautifully-marbled slabs of beef were were strutting their stuff, begging be taken home -  daring me to break the prime rib curse that had plagued my family for years!

Never one to shy away from a challenge, I bought a five pound roast and went on my merry way.  Now, all I had to do was figure out the best way to cook it.

While doing some research, I found a rather lengthy and detailed treatise on cooking a perfect prime rib at Serious Eats.  Usually, I pass those types of articles right on by.  I mean, who has the time to even read one, much less follow all of the numerous painstaking  steps involved?  But, we were talking about prime rib here.  PRIME. RIB.  With the holidays looming, I owed it to my family to conquer that sucker.   Besides, if I pulled it off I would be a hero -  a cooking ninja – a kitchen goddess!   Instead of visions of sugar plums dancing in my head, I saw accolades.

The SE article promised a deep brown, crispy, crackly crust on the outside, with a consistently juicy, deeply pink,  medium-rare interior.  It eschewed searing and embraced a “low and slow” method of roasting, followed by a blisteringly hot blast at the end.  Hmmm.  Interesting.  I didn’t have anything to lose, except a ridiculously expensive piece of meat, so I decided to give it a try.

As recommended, I let my roast “air dry” uncovered in the fridge overnight.   I seasoned it very simply with salt, pepper and some dry mustard.  Then, I set it in a 200 F. degree oven and went shopping with Mini SGCC for about four hours.  When I came home, the roast’s internal temperature was 125 F. – exactly where I wanted it to be.  I removed the meat and let it “rest” for half an hour while I let the oven fire up to to a toasty 550 F., and prepared the rest of the meal.  The final step towards prime rib nirvana involved sticking the roast back into that oven inferno and praying that it didn’t incinerate.

So, what do you think?  Looks pretty close to perfect to me.   And, it was so tender that you could almost cut it with a fork!  Like buttah!

I’m volunteering to make the prime rib for dinner this Christmas.   I just hope that Mom doesn’t feel too badly when I knock everyone’s socks off. 

Now, if I could only come up with a way to deal with all of that icky fruitcake we end up with every year!

With the heat-o-meter high up in the stratosphere these days, I’m always looking for ways to keep cool. Spending hours in a hot, steamy kitchen, churning out heavy meals is not my idea of a good time! This is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of what the summer’s best produce has to offer, and eat lots of salads. But, I’m not just talking about a slab of iceberg lettuce here, folks. Why not take the opportunity to get a little creative and take your salads to the next level, like with this light and lovely Green Bean and Potato Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette?

Crisp tender green beans, potatoes, sweet grape tomatoes and thin slivers of red onion are paired with a zesty vinaigrette, and accented with Dijon mustard, lemon, garlic, honey and fresh herbs. The dressing is enriched with hard-boiled egg yolks for a bit of richness without the health risks associated with raw yolks, making it an excellent menu choice for extreme temperatures.

Any kind of green or yellow string beans will work in this recipe. However, if you can find the slender, little French green beans, known as haricots verts, go with those. They’re delightfully crunchy and they cook in half the time as regular green beans. The same goes for the potatoes. I like to use those tiny, little Yukon gold potatoes. You can boil them whole and they’re done in ten minutes.

Of course, as with any dish, the end result is only as good as the ingredients you put into it. Make sure that all of your vegetables and herbs are super fresh, and please, please, please, people, use real Dijon mustard and the best extra virgin olive oil you can afford!

Paired with some succulent grilled meat or fish, this Green Bean and Potato Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette makes a wonderful accompaniment to any meal, be it a picnic at the beach or dinner “al fresco” on your lanai.