Köttbullar "Mom's Meatballs" - Swedish Meatballs From Scratch

Growing up, swedish meatballs were a staple in our family. The recipe has been perfected over centuries, then promptly ruined by commercialization. Now we're getting back to the roots of a real, hearty, good for you, swedish meatballs from scratch recipe.

Swedish meatballs are essentially beef, onions and mushrooms in a sour cream and parsley sauce. Any dish called "Mom's Meatballs" is bound to have variations inspired by each household, that's why Köttbullar or Swedish meatballs must be prepared, above all, with love. So if you're trying your hand at this timeless recipe, don't feel intimidated by the variety of choices, just go with your gut and make a dish you would enjoy. Apparently, in southern Sweden many people prefer their meatballs with a little more fat, but the further north you go, the less pork you will find in the meatball mixture. Some things remain constant however, bread dipped in milk is a must!

KÖTTBULLAR MEATBALL
2 pounds of hamburger (preferably 1 1/2 lbs. beef and 1/2 lb. pork)
3 slices of bread - your favorite grain
1 cup milk
1/2 onion
2 eggs
salt, white pepper
Butter or lard for frying

SWEDISH CREAM SAUCE
1/2 onion
10 oz (300g) mushrooms
1 tub of sour cream
1/2 bunch of fresh parsley

First dice the entire onion and soften it on the stovetop, set it aside.
Then sauté the sliced mushrooms - don't crowd the mushrooms!

Meanwhile, stir together half of the onion and all of the meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl. Tear up the bread and get it wet in the milk, it will mix more easily. Frying the meatballs might be the most authentic method, but you can also bake them in the oven on a sheet of parchment paper, less mess, less fat.

Chop the parsley with scissors and mix the sauce ingredients together, perhaps in your mushroom pan to heat the sauce one last time before serving.

Tradition would have you serve the meatballs separate from the sauce, and generously pour the gravy over the meatballs. Serve with mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Always accompanied by lingonberries on the side.

Don't Crowd The Mushrooms

The Most Bourguignon Boeuf Bourguignon An American Ever Did Make - Doris Julien's Boeuf Bourguignon

I attended the anniversary party for the Château de Saint-Albain. Hundreds of people gathered together to sing praises of this wonderful château that serves as our favorite conference center in the heart of the Burgundy region of France. As story after story unfolded about the château, it was clear that everyone believed their season in the château's history were the glory years.

One story stands above the rest. You see, a group of local Bourguignon families wanted to thank a family of caretakers who had worked at the château for over two decades. Bourguignon families are very proud (in the best sense), proud of their land, proud of their culture, proud of their cuisine. And so, to flatter this couple and make them feel at home, the best compliment they could come up with was, "Thank you Doris, you make the most Bourguignon, Boeuf Bourguignon that an American has ever made!" Followed by an uproar of applause.

So try your hand at their traditional recipe, but beware, if you change one ingredient in this recipe they'll taste it and say, "Nice stew, but that's not Boeuf Bourguignon." And you can disagree with them all you want, but in the end they did invent the recipe, so you can't really complain if they get to decide whether it has been recreated properly.

Boeuf Bourguignon
6 oz bacon
1 tbsp oil
3 lbs lean stewing beef
1 carrot
1 onion
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp flour (traditionally all purpose flour, but rice flour works too)
1 bottle of red wine from Bourgogne
2-3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp thyme
bay leaf
18-24 white canned onions
1 lb fresh mushrooms
fresh parsley sprigs

You'll need a baking casserole that does double duty on the stove and in the oven. Imagine a big thick iron pot with a lid. Mine is stainless steel, but make sure your handles won't melt.

Fry bacon over moderate heat until lightly brown, remove, break into pieces, set aside in your large baking casserole.

Cut beef into 2 inch chunks. Dry the beef with a papertowel. Sear beef in bacon fat until brown, set aside with the bacon.

In the same fat brown the sliced vegetables, remove to a separate bowl.

Toss meat with salt, pepper, and flour. Place casserole uncovered in the middle of the oven at 450°F for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and continue baking another 4 minutes until flour has browned. Remove and set oven to 325°F.

Empty the bottle of wine and enough stock so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, vegetables, crushed garlic and herbs. Bring to simmer on the stove.

Cover the casserole, place in the lower third of the oven. Regulate the heat so the liquid continues to simmer very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when it falls apart when pierced with a fork.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms by browning them lightly. Add these to the meat 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Check the meat every half hour, if it's too dry add more stock, by the end of the cooking time the sauce should be gravy-like.

Raspberry Roast

A light roast that says, spring is here! Let's all get twitterpated!

If you're feeling like mashed potatoes just won't do the trick tonight then try this nice potato gratin ; parboiled sliced potatoes, cheese, cream, white wine, nutmeg.

Raspberry Roast Sauce
1/4 cup black raspberry preserves
1/4 cup red raspberry preserves
1/4 cup honey
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup wine/grape juice
1/2 tsp ginger

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) reduce to 325°F (160°C) when putting the roast in fat side up smothered in sauce. Cook 25 minutes for each pound (500g).

Because eating should leave you feeling great! - Moussaka Allègée

Who knew a detox fitness retreat could taste so great!

A friend of mine came back from her detox fitness retreat, pumped and ready to live healthy. We talked late into the night about the great friends she met; real quality people who are seeking healthy lifestyles. And we talked food! Menus, calories, and most of all recipes!

Here's her favorite recipe direct from the nutritionist's desk, but you'll never believe it...

Moussaka Allègée
serves 6

2 lb (800g) ground chuck (beef 5%)
3 (9 inch) eggplant / aubergine (750g)
2 tbsp (càs) olive oil
1 large onion
1 tbsp (càs) corn starch (maïzena) ***
1 cup (8 oz / 250g) yogurt 0% fat
3 large tomatoes (375g)
fresh grated nutmeg
1 oz fresh grated parmesan
1 whole egg + 1 egg white
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Slice 2 of the eggplants into centimeter thick slices and salt them so that they start to give off their juices.

Poke the other eggplant with a sharp knife and boil it whole in salt water for 10 minutes. This just gives them a good head start while you're busy grilling...

Grill the sliced eggplants brushing both sides with olive oil.

Soften the diced onion on medium high heat in a thick bottomed pot with no oil, but a spray of water to keep them from drying out as they soften.

Mix the cornstarch into 1/2 of the yogurt.

Peel the whole eggplants and cook the flesh with the onions until it becomes sauce-like.
Peel the tomatoes and add them to to this sauce. When they boil down to sauce add the ground beef. Then when the beef is browned, add the yogurt-cornstarch mixture and grate the nutmeg directly into the pot, add just a pinch of salt and ground black pepper.

Layer your baking pan with grilled sliced eggplant. Cover with the sauce, and sprinkle fresh grated parmesan on top. Repeat as necessary.

Beat the egg, plus the egg white, plus the other half of the yogurt. Pour this over the entire dish, grate fresh nutmeg directly over this cream layer, and sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese.

Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.

***Nichole's variation - If you don't have cornstarch you can thicken the sauce any way you want. Lite : 1 tbsp of rice flour. Less light : 1 tbsp of instant potato flakes.

Lasagnes à la Béchamel - French Lasagne

Lasagnes à la Béchamel
Family sized recipe for 6-10

1 batch of Simply Mouthwatering Homemade Sauce
1 box of lasagna noodles
1 onion
1 carrot
1 branch of celeri
olive oil
5 oz (150g) ground pork
8 oz (250g) ground chuck (beef 5%)
2 batches of Sauce Béchamel
fresh basil

First get your Simply Mouthwatering Homemade Sauce ready and stewing on the stove.

Then soften the diced onion, carrot and celeri in the olive oil. To these sumptuous vegetables, do add the ground pork first, and after five minutes add the ground chuck.

Meanwhile, prepare a double batch of Sauce Béchamel recipe.

When the meat is thoroughly cooked add 1/2 of the Sauce Béchamel.

Boil your lasagna noodles 8 minutes.

Layer noodles, tomato sauce, meat sauce, and basil leaves. Repeat until you run out.

End by pouring the rest of your reserved Sauce Béchamel sufficiently smothering the lasagna with a perfect smooth finish that will become golden and bubbly in cheese during the baking process.

Bake at 356°F (180°C) for 35 min.

Rock-N-Roll - Burger on a Half Bun

"Rock and roll is the hamburger that ate the world." - Peter York

Okay, is it presumptuous to want to write about a hamburger? I mean, who doesn't know how to make a hamburger right?

Here's what I'm thinking - This post is all about the inspiring photos, and maybe one or two highlights. Hey, after all, someone out there has probably never deseeded an avocado before, let's give them some tips... but really, honestly, I just wanted to showcase my awesome hubby, who incidentally, makes the best hamburgers in the world!

LAYERS
Fresh Sliced Onion
Banana Pepper
Canadian Bacon
Big Thick Slice of Avacado
Mega Dose of Tomatoes
Bed of Arugula - Nutty Leaves
American Cheese
Quarter-Pounder
Lightly Toasted Open Faced Bun

Burger on a Half Bun

Step one - Send hubby to the grocery, preheat the oven.

Step two - Put the french fries in the oven, and the fresh green beans on the stove.

Step three - Put the bun in the toaster.

Step four - Slice tomato through it's equator. One tomato made four perfect slices leaving only two quarter sized ends to snack on while cooking. Slice the onion and the banana pepper.

Step five - Slice avocado. You choose a ripe avocado the same way you choose a ripe peach. Don't be scared of it's unsightly rough skin, it should be soft to the touch, not soupy, not hard, peach-like. Use a sharp flat knife (not a butter knife, not a steak knife, a smooth non-serrated knife). Flip your avocado over so you can see it's stem, which always grows crooked, so look it straight in the eye and look for it's seem. Hold your knife handle toward your belly button, and blade facing down. Slice straight in the stem and through the avocado until you hit the seed then maintaining contact with the seed slice backward around the seed until you've made a complete circle. Remove your knife and twist the two halves of the avocado like an oreo cookie. Set the half of the fruit containing the seed on the table in front of you. Wielding your knife like a mini ax, you should be able to wedge the flat sharp blade of your knife into the seed with one flick of your wrist. With the blade embedded in the seed, twist the seed gently and it will dislodge from the avocado. Peel the skin off with your fingers starting at the stem and slowly undressing it. Slice as you like. Wrap unused avocado tightly in plastic wrap, or better yet, eat it immediately.

Step six - Fry the bacon. Canadian bacon has more meat, less fat, and is shaped just right for a burger.

Step seven - When the fries are done, turn off the oven and leave them in to stay warm. Start your burgers. Heat your pan on the stovetop, medium hot. Choose a low-fat meat. (Really, the price difference is worth it, if you don't believe me, try this : buy the cheapest variety, and the leanest variety and cook them side by side and compare the size of the patty after it's cooked!) Season with fresh ground pepper and sea salt.  Cook on one side until it is visibly cooked half-way up the side of the burger. Flip once. Cook on the other side until cooked thoroughly. Add the cheese.

Step eight - Assemble your Hamburger.

Step nine - Eat with a fork and knife.

Here's The Suggested Presentation :

And Here's How I Like To Eat My Burger :

;) YUM!

A Delish Classic in Any Country - Hachis Parmentier

According to Wikipedia :

"In haute cuisine, hachis Parmentier is a dish made with mashed, baked potato, combined with diced meat and sauce lyonnaise and served in the potato shells. In general use, a simpler version is the French equivalent of cottage or shepherd's pie.
The dish is named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a French pharmacist, nutritionist, and inventor who, in the late 18th century, was instrumental in the promotion of the potato as an edible crop. The word "hachis" means a dish in which the ingredients are chopped or minced, from the same root as the English word "hatchet"."

My Mom is going to see this and be like, "What? I've been cooking French food all this time?" Shepherd's Pie was always a classic around our house. It was even a standard in the public school cafeteria. It is woven into our culture. I guess that means we're French ;)

The sauce that distinguishes this dish is called a Lyonnaise Sauce and was invented by Duke Philippe De Mornay, Governor of Saumur, France, sometime in the late 1500s. He was a leader of the Hugenots. Apparently Mornay also invented many other sauces ; Mornay Sauce, Sauce Chasseur, Sauce Porto and that ever favorite French cheese sauce the Bechamel sauce!

So today I'm going to share with you my variation on Shepherd's Pie or Hachis Parmentier. First it is absolutely imperative that you make your own mashed potatoes. Please, humor me and do not purée them into liquid. So for this recipe I am officially forbidding the use of all electric mixers, blenders, and food processors. Only elbow grease will obtain the perfect texture, so all you'll need is a fork or potato masher. Lumps are essential in creating the right combination of flavors. Large lumps. Big chunky bits of potato all smooshed together with some savory sumpin' sumpin' seasonings. mmmm...

About those potatoes... Different potatoes have different flavors, and textures, and juiciness. So I'm recommending good old fashioned brown skin potatoes. Whatever potatoes your region has in knarly shapes with thick skins and clumps of dirt hanging onto them. Apparently, they're a dying breed. The farmers are planting fewer brown skinned potatoes because the stores are ordering more white skinned potatoes because the consumers don't want to get dirt in their SUVs! So let's get our priorities straight. Stop making decisions based on which potato leaves less dirt in your car and start making decisions based on what tastes good. (Let's face it you could stuff those potatoes into a paper shopping bag and save yourself the vacuuming if you really wanted to - you are using paper right?) In this case I used potatoes from my friend's garden so they were quite tasty.

Hachis Parmentier

4 russet potatoes
2 turnips
---
1 lb (.5K) ground beef
1 small onion
5 tb (càs) butter
5 tb (càs) flour
1 1/4 C (30cl) cold milk
salt & pepper
1/2 c (12cl) dry white wine, cold
---
1 baby zucchini
---
4 tb (càs) milk
2 portions of laughing cow cheese
salt & pepper

Let's begin...
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C)

Put your pot of water on to boil. While the water comes to temperature peel and quarter the potatoes and turnips. Drop them in the hot water, add a dash of salt, and let them boil until they're tender.

Meanwhile, sauté your beef in a large skillet. Don't let it get too crispy. You'll cook it again when you put the dish in the oven later, so the goal here is that the beef turns that white-grey color that's no longer pink, but not quite yet brown. Remove the meat and use the meat drippings to cook the onion, butter, flour and milk. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Salt & pepper to taste. Add the cold wine, heat until warm. Add the meat, toss until evenly covered. Distribute into a deep baking dish.

Choose a young tender zucchini (5in /12cm) Slice very thin leaving the skin on. Layer the zucchini slices over the beef.

Strain the potatoes and turnips. Mash by hand leaving large chunks of potatoes. Add creamy cheese and several tablespoons of milk so that they don't get dry. If you can't find laughing cow cheese you are welcome to replace it with philly cream cheese, or you can substitue both the milk and cheese with 1/4 C (6cl) sour cream (so either sour cream or the cheese + milk combination). Layer the potatoes over the zucchini.

Put the Hachis Parmentier in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden on top.

Will You Be My Valentine - Rose Roast Au Jus

My honey and I were celebrating our eighth Valentine's day together, and a friend of ours who shares our passion for food decided to cuisine us a gourmet Valentine's dinner!

The roast was hand picked by our friendly neighborhood butcher. When it was brought home it wasn't refrigerated because the preparation begins with a room temperature roast, so it needed to set out for at least two hours anyhow.

Rose Roast

Preheat the oven to 450F° (230°C). Butter the roast. Quarter a white onion. In a deep oven dish bake the roast with the onion for 20 minutes at 450°F (230°C) to seer the roast, then reduce the temperature 325°F (160°C). Bake another 15 minutes per pound (.5K) Remove the roast from the oven and allow it to set 30 minutes before slicing it.

Tangy Slaw

The yogurt adds the tang, and its creamy texture takes the edge off raw red onion. The parsley complements the yogurt with bright herbal flavor.

1 medium head savoy cabbage
1 large red onion
1/2 bouquet fresh parsley
4 tablespoons (càs) plain yogurt
1 tablespoon (càs) olive oil
1 tablespoon (càs) red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon (càc) salt
1/2 teaspoon (càc) fresh ground black pepper

Thinly slice the cabbage and the onion, chop the parsley. Whisk the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss over the veggies.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention - Bacon Cheeseburger Quiche

Our fall activities were picking back up and the Saturday brunch was just days away. I did all of my grocery shopping in advance and I was ready to start baking. Big giant mixing bowl, apron, and quiche pans are ready... let's go!

The first quiche was gorgeous! I always line my pans with parchment paper before I lay out the salty pie crust. I layered large chunks of a nice cantal cheese followed by spinach broken into manageable bits and finally a handfull of sun-dried tomatoes which I chop with scissors to achieve maximum coverage. I poured my quiche mixture over all of that and popped it into the oven, and it came out fluffy and golden!

My second quiche, on the other hand, was almost a complete disaster. I already had the tombe cheese cut into cubes and rolling around on the pie crust when I pulled out the pepperoni that I was planning to use. On second thought, it smelled pretty bad and had most definitely turned. Don't panic. Don't panic. Look around. Surely there is something around the house that could go into this quiche? But what?

The freezer! I love the freezer. I always find lots of interesting things in there...like... canadian bacon. YES! Jackpot!!! We have canadian bacon. I grab the whole package and chop the frozen deli meat with my kitchen shears directly onto the pie shell. What next... In a moment of insanity I grabbed a bag of frozen chopped onion and poured it into the pie crust as well, immediately regretting this rash action. Oh No! What have I done? This is going to be the worst quiche ever, with raw onions all through it! Yuck.

You should have seen me spinning around in circles in the kitchen checking the cupboards and checking them twice in desperation. (When I'm cooking it never occurs to me to walk across the street and buy more chorizo - my substitute pepperoni)

Back to the freezer. Bottom shelf. Something caught my eye... ground beef. It's really untraditional, but hey, why not? And the cheeseburger quiche was born. I fried some ground beef, sprinkled it over the cheese. The next moment I had a handful of sun-dried tomatoes in my hand and was scissor-chopping on top. One bowl of quiche mixture went over the whole thing and soon it was out of the oven goey-golden-goodness!

This is now our family's favorite quiche yet! Why didn't France think of this sooner?

Bacon Cheeseburger Quiche


INGREDIENTS

9 eggs

3/4 cup (20 cl) heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup (10 cl) milk

2 shavings of nutmeg
1 ready made crust
1 cheese of your choice
1/4 lb (100g) canadian bacon
1/4 lb (100g) raw onion
1/4 lb (100 g) cooked ground beef
1 handfull of sun-dried tomatoes
2 slices of American cheese
1 flat bottomed quiche or tart pan (you can substitue a 9 in round cake pan, but you won't get the best results with a pie pan)


QUICHE MIXTURE
Whisk your eggs, cream, and milk. Rub the nutmeg with the edge of a sharp knife to create nutmeg powder over the mixing bowl.


ASSEMBLY
Preheat your oven to 365°F (200°C).
Lay a sheet of parchment paper on your pan. Lay out your ready-made crust.
Layer cheese cubes, chunks of canadian bacon, slices of onion, ground beef, and sun-dried tomatoes.
Pour the quiche mixture over top.
Place in the oven until golden and firm in the middle.
Garnish with two slices of American cheese after it comes out of the oven.


PARTY
Adapt this recipe for your next party or open-house by cutting the quiche into bit-sized cubes and serving on a tray with toothpicks! Or go all the way and make mini-quiches for a starter course at your next dinner party.