Chipotle Meatballs

These chipotle meatballs are so good. I would say they are a little more work than your average meatball, but only by a few ingredients and trust me - it's worth it. I found the recipe online, but unfortunately I don't know exactly who to contribute the recipe too since too much time has passes since I found and made these meaty chipotle bites.

Do you know why I'm going to make these again this weekend?

Because Jim gave me this beautiful FREEZER for Valentines Day. Woo Hoo!!! I've been wanting one of these for about six months and am just thrilled to have one now. When I make a pan of lasagna, I'm making TWO so one goes in the freezer for later. I can now take advantage of specials at the supermarket and freeze excess food.

THIS freezer is why I'm making another batch of chipotle meatballs to freeze for last minute hors d'oeuvres.

Here are the ingredients to gather:
1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
6 bacon slices, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded canned chipotles in adobo
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons water
3/4 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground veal
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
lime wedges (garnish)

Cook bacon in a heavy skillet until crisp, then remove to a papertowel to drain. When cool enough to handle, crumble and set asside. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease so we can cook the onions in it next.

When I photographed this recipe I was in Houston visiting my family. Isn't the natural light in my mother's kitchen beautiful?

The next step is to dice an onion and add to the skillet with a little of the bacon grease.

Chop up the chipotle peppers. These are HOT so be careful how much "heat" you add.

Next add the chopped garlic to the onion mixture.

Then throw in the chipotles, cumin, and oregano. Saute for about 3 minutes over medium heat. If/when the mixture gets too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time and scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.

Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl combine the bread crumbs and milk.

Ground pork. If I was really crazy, I would have bought the Jimmy Dean HOT sausage! But seriously that would be "burn your butt" hot.

I didn't find ground veal in my grocery store so I purchased ground sirloin instead.

1 large egg, lightly beaten.

A bunch of cilantro chopped.

Now dump everything together in your bowl with the milk and bread crumbs.

Add the onion mixture also.

Mix well with your hands.

Form your meatballs by hand. I made these about an inch in diameter. This is the point where I would form all the meatballs and then freeze on a baking sheet in my new freezer. Once the meatballs are frozen individually, I would plop them all into a freezer zip top bag and store for a quick and last minute appetizer.

To cook the chipotle meatballs, I used my greasy skillet to brown on all sides until a nice crust formed. If they aren't cooked through, then they will need to go in a 350 degree oven and cook for a little bit longer- just check them every 5 minutes so they don't overcook.

I served these hot from the oven in a shallow bowl along with some of the best bbq glaze.

This Raspberry Peach Chipotle Glaze is really good from Fredericksburg Farms.

I simply put a little bit on the bottom of the dish, then placed the meatballs on top.

Short Ribs

When I was home for Thanksgiving last year I had the pleasure of cooking with my mom in the kitchen. She’s genius in the kitchen! Just in this one short recipe I gained two REALLY smart tips.

It really doesn’t get much better than slow cooked meats. Low and slow – that’s the way it’s done. My mom makes a fantastic pot roast and used those same basic techniques to create a lovely non-traditional short rib dinner for Thanksgiving.

I snapped a quick picture of my mom who wiped down her granit counter top with a damp cloth then stuck wax paper to the top. Since the counter was damp the wax stays in place as she prepares the meat.

My mom uses her signature seasoning blend which we call “SPOG” – salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder.

Genius tip number two: she puts a plastic baggie over her hand to rub the meat so that she doesn’t get seasoning and meat juice under her perfectly manicured fingernails.

To seal in the spices, she pats them all down with whole wheat flour.

In a hot skillet with a little bit of olive oil, she sears the short ribs on all sides until golden brown.

In a big roasting pan she adds half a bottle of red wine. Here we use Tobin James red blend.

Next she places all the short ribs, a package of baby carrots and a package of mushrooms in the pan, and then tops off with water until the meat is mostly covered.

Roast for 3 hours at 300 degrees. The meat will literally be falling off the bone, and the carrots will have a wonderfully seasoned flavor. To serve, she put the carrots in a bowl, the mushrooms in a bowl and the short ribs on a platter. We passed everything around the table so guests could help themselves to the pieces they wanted.

The best reason to make this meal for guests is the smell-factor. Your friends and family come over and the first thing they smell when they walk in your home are these short ribs from the oven. They are mouthwatering good! Thanks Mom!

Brioche Croissants

Brioche Croissants. Man these were good but a completely frustrating recipe. It is THIS attempt at homemade croissants that set me on a NO BAKING binge last year. I don't know what it is about kneading dough that makes me so mad, it's never the right consistency and I have no patience for such things.

I actually started making these croissants Sept. 15, 2008 and put the dough in the fridge after a long battle with the mixture. I then let it sit there for five days before I had the energy to pick it up again and finish out the recipe. Every time I logged on to post a recipe I saw this sad folder of pictures labeled Croissants. It was this nagging folder that reminded me weekly that I haven't really completed the recipe until I post the finished product. For five months I tried to forget, like a chore that I constantly overlook. Well, I am finally getting around to posting these dang brioche croissants.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
3 1/2 - 3 3/4 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups soft butter
1 1/4 cup lemon curd or pie filling
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Begin by adding milk to a saucepan and heat until lukewarm.

In a large bowl add sugar and warm milk. Add one cup of flour, mix until smooth.

Add lightly beaten eggs and mix completely.

Add in instant yeast and another cup of flour.

Continue to mix. Add in salt and a half a cup of flour.

Mix until the dough comes together.

Add a little flour on a flat surface and pour out the dough. I'm cringing as I look at this picture. Just look at how thin this "dough" is. I wish I would have added more flour and let it come together a little more. Back when I made this I didn't have a mixer, which would have made this recipe a lot easier.

Knead dough for three minutes adding a little bit of flour at a time.

Recipe says dough will be on the sticky side. Ummm... I'm pretty sure this is TOO sticky.

The recipe says the dough will become easier to handle as you knead. I didn't think so. This is the point I nearly gave up, I knew it was off but I didn't know how to fix it.

The next step is to add 1/4 of the soft butter to the bowl and mix together by hand. This was a big mess for sure.

Once the butter is completely incorporated add another 1/4 of softened butter, continue until all the butter is mixed in.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.

My mixture of mess sat in the fridge for five days. I couldn't gather enough energy to deal with this for a while.

When I agreed to finish this recipe, I took the dough out of the fridge and put dough on top of some flour on the counter.

I cut the dough in half and began working with one ball of dough.

Roll out dough into a 15 inch diameter circle.

Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into eight slices. These steps are going much smoother than actually making the dough went.

Here is where I got CRAZY! I took some semi sweet chocolate chips and melted them in the microwave. Have you ever had a chocolate croissant - they are hands down the best variety I've ever had. Double yum!

Another CRAZY idea I had was to use the pineapple cream cheese that I got free at HEB. Simply spoon a tablespoon of whatever mixture you want onto the larger part of the triangle.

Okay, I obviously went overboard when I sprinkled some sweetened coconut flakes on top of the pineapple cream cheese. Aloha Croissants!!

Start from the base of the triangle and roll each one up and curve into crescent shape, pinch the ends closed. Place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap for 45 minutes.

After they rest, they will get puffy again. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15-17 minutes.

Allow to cool on a wire rack, then sift a little powdered sugar on top.

The Hawaiian croissants were good, but oh-my-goodness...the chocolate croissants were out of this world! I melted a little more chocolate and drizzled on top.

If I had added a scoop of blue bell this could have been DESSERT! Now for the second half of the brioche dough.

I rolled it out into a 15 inch diameter circle and put a dollop of homemade lemon curd at the end of each croissant. If you like lemon, be sure to check out my lemon curd recipe.

Roll each on up and curve into a crescent shape.

Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes. When I made this second batch I brushed each with egg wash before putting in the oven, it made a great difference.

I must not have pinched the sides closed enough because some lemon oozed out. No big deal, they still tasted GREAT.

Even though this recipe gave me trouble in the beginning I thought it was a great learning oportunity and in the end the croissants were great. I would only make these again for guests - maybe for a brunch with friends or family. If you feel like you have a knack for homemade pastries then by all means, give this recipe a try. I'd love to hear what creative fillings you come up with too.