Spaghetti and Meatballs

I absolutely LOVE these bowls. My future mother in law gave me these bowls at my very first bridal shower. It was a bowling bridal shower in Austin last month, so much fun!

Let me tell you about these hand painted bowls! Parisian artist Marc Lacaze drew upon childhood memories of the Mediterranean countryside to create a series of watercolor landscapes for this serving set. Made in Italy, exclusively for Williams-Sonoma, the earthenware pieces create a memorable presentation of risotto, pasta or salad. Each bowl in the set is decorated with a different image. The set includes a huge 14" diameter serving bowl and four 10 1/4" diameter individual bowls. Jim's favorite part...they are dishwasher safe.

After a long day at the office, Jim and I made homemade meatballs together. I wish I had pictures to share, especially because we ate out of these beautiful new bowls from his mother. The meatballs we made together were hands down the best meatball I have ever made. Jim claims it is because he helped. I made the meat mixture, he rolled the meatballs for me. His technique was amazing!

I've made homemade meatballs before, you can see the recipes and pictures here. The chipotle meatballs are delicious but SPICY! This is a more traditional recipe for homemade meatballs that are truly yummy and great for freezing.

After reading a recent PW post on Tasty Kitchen about spaghetti and meatballs I started thinking about revising my recipe again. I wanted to use some of P-Dubs elements and incorporate some other ideas also. Her recipe looked very good but I wanted more flavor and spice in each of my meatballs, after some online research, I found the perfect recipe for me. It was awesome, and best I've ever made...with Jim's help of course.

Other recipes I consulted were Ina Garten's Real Meatballs and Spaghetti. I loved how straight forward her recipe was. I did not like that it calls for Veal, Pork and Beef. Who has that on hand? I wanted to make meatballs without going to the store. I just used a pound of ground turkey! I also didn't like the FRESH white bread crumbs. I used storebought Italian breadcrumbs and panko crumbs (see my recipe below).

HWM Homemade Meatball Recipe

1 pound ground turkey

3 cloves garlic, minced finely

1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmet

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix all the above ingredients gently by hand. Form into 2 inch meatballs and freeze on a cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes. Jim formed exactly 20 meatballs. Heat equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil in a large dutch oven (or skillet). My oil was only 1/4 inch tall in my dutch oven. Very carefully, in batches, place meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat. Don't crowd the meatballs, I only browned 5 at a time, then removed them to a plate with paper towels to let drain a little.

I removed a little bit of the oil, but I didn't clean the pan. Next, I made my AWESOME sauce!

HWM Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe
1 chopped yellow onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3/4 cup good red wine
1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

In the same pot I used for the meatballs, I add the chopped onion and let it cook to translucent for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Then I add the garlic and cook for a minute. Pour in the wine, cook for a minute. Add all the cans of tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, sugar, basil, red pepper flakes, and parsley. Stir to combine and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Add meatballs to the sauce and stir in gently. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring very gently a couple of times during the simmer.

Serve meatballs and sauce over cooked pasta! And in a special Italian bowl if your mother in law is as special as mine and gifted you a beautiful set.

Secrets of a Restaurant Chef: Braised Short Ribs

This recipe for Braised Short Ribs, by Anne Burrell, received five stars from 158 reviewers on Food Network. Have you ever seen her show? She is full of hints, tips and tricks but also really silly in the kitchen - that girl enjoys her job. This recipe is bizarre, it talks about "crud" and scraping it. But it is this recipe that convinced me to pay more attention to Miss Burrell in the future - she knows a thing or two about cooking!

The ingredient list is pretty simple:
6 bone-in short ribs (I used boneless)
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed (plus some roasted garlic)
1 1/2 cups tomato paste
2 to 3 cups hearty red wine
2 cups water (I also dropped a beef bouillon cube in the water)
1 bunch fresh thyme (I used dried thyme)

2 bay leaves

I found these perfectly trimmed and boneless short ribs at my new Sprouts grocery store. I seasoned with salt and pepper.

I used fresh and roasted garlic because I had both on hand.

Place all the veggies in your blender and puree.

At this point I wasn't convinced that this recipe/technique was any good, but I'm so glad I stuck to it. (and you will be too)

Coat a pot large enough to accommodate all the meat and vegetables with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Add the short ribs to the pan and brown very well, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not overcrowd pan. Cook in batches, if necessary.

When the short ribs are very brown on all sides, remove them from the pan. Drain the fat, coat the bottom of same pan with fresh oil and add the pureed vegetables. Season the vegetables generously with salt and brown until they are very dark and a crud has formed on the bottom of the pan, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.

Crud? Really did she just say CRUD? Scrape the crud and let it reform.

"Okay, Miss Burrell... I'm barely hanging on to this recipe. It looks like I've burned the crap out of these veggies."

Scrape the crud again and add the tomato paste. Brown the tomato paste for 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat if things start to burn.

Reduce the mixture by half.

Return the short ribs to the pan and add 2 cups water or until the water has just about covered the meat. I didn't have fresh thyme, so I sprinkled dried thyme on top and dropped in the bay leaves.

Check periodically during the cooking process and add more water, if needed. Turn the ribs over halfway through the cooking time.

Recipe says to remove the lid during the last 20 minutes of cooking to let things get nice and brown and to let the sauce reduce. Most reviews I read said they didn't do this. I didn't bother with it either. When done the meat should be very tender but not falling apart.

I served these tender short ribs on top of my 3 cheese risotto and some of the rich braising liquid.

Every bite will make you moan. I believe this is my new favorite short rib recipe and have made it twice already.

I've made a similar recipe before, Giada's short ribs are also very good but in a completely different way. Review Giada's recipe here.

My mom makes her short ribs another way. Review Momma's recipe here.

Decorating for Valentines

I've always wanted to have a Valentines Party at my house. One of these days I'm actually going to do it, but the month of February usually turns out to be a busy one for me at the office.

The pictures I'm posting today are from a training event I did last year around Valentines Day. Although this was a corporate event, you can use these ideas at your own party - weather you are hosting an event for 8 or dinner for 2.

Here is my prep area in the workroom at my office. I was pulling together supplies for a coffee break, hence the coffee urns. I also put a sweet and salty snack on each table and tried to carry my "love" theme throughout.

My color scheme was pink, red and black. The biggest tip I can give you is that I start at a craft store like Micheal's or Hobby Lobby and decide on a color scheme first. Then I choose different papers in my color pallet and theme.

I used the papers in many diffeent ways, in this picture I used them as matting for labeling the coffee and hot water containers, but you could use this technique in labeling the food on a buffet line.

A trip to the dollar store landed me a roll of this heart patterned wrapping paper, as well as the red curly ribbon. Wrapping paper is another GREAT tip for decorating. It's cheap and can bring your theme to the forefront when used as a table runner, or cut up and used as platter liners.

I went through my house and pulled out anything crystal, silver, or red to use as decor items. I found these hurricane candle holders - and even though they weren't identical, they look good grouped together. The cake pedestal has a piece of rose scrapbook paper cut to fit just inside the lip.

Here is one of my break tables fully assembled. The wrapping paper is used as a runner, and I have tiered serving bowls holding red hots and other goodies, a platter lined with colored paper holding a row of valentine chocolates. Keep it simple. You don't need to put out two dozen of something. On the thin platter I set out a single row of 8 chocolates.

Here is a better picture of the tiered serving bowls. I believe I purchased this at Kirkland's, but I've seen similar pieces at other stores like Costco and World Market. The mini scoops were purchased at the dollar store and can also be found at The Container Store. I filled the bowls with Valentine sweetheart candy, dried fruit mix and red hots.

Don't worry that the paper patterns are mixed and matched. Just make sure your color scheme remains the same on your table.

Going along the lines of VDay, I used my martini glasses as the container for mixed nuts. Remember the rule of three. Things look better when set out in 3, it's a tip I learned from my mother when she was a florist.

I saved money and purchased a couple boxes of little debbie valentine cakes. Then set them out on a paper lined platter. Again, I didn't pile them up but placed them neatly in two rows. It's aesthetically pleasing to look at in my opinion.

To add height to my tablescape I wrapped glass cylinders with fun pink and black polka dot paper and lifted a platter of goodies.

Another great tip. I use these 2 inch frames ALL the time. They are all silver, purchased at Hobby Lobby when they were on sale. And they don't all match, but the fact they are all silver and the same size is good enough to use them collectively. For this event, I printed children's answers to the question "What is Love?" and then placed them on the lunch tables. I use these most often when labeling items on a buffet. If it's not easily recognizable, I like to list the name of the item and the ingredients. Especially for large parties, it reduces the number of questions I get about what each food item is and what's in it.

These glass cylinders and square vases are indispensable. These were used as "decor" although it would not have mattered if people ate the candy out of them.

I clustered a few together to use as centerpieces, but these can also be used to hold flowers, filled with water and float a candle on top - needless to say, I would suggest you have a few of these on hand to use for your home events. Garden Ridge is a good place to find glass cylinders.

Okay, so now that you know some of my secrets for decorating a table or buffet - let's talk about the more important stuff. What to serve for Valentines Day!

I plan to attempt a meal that seems daunting to me - LOBSTER! I've seen Julie and Julia, and the scene where she places a live lobster into boiling water makes me laugh and cringe at the same time. Am I capable of boiling a lobster? I may just purchase the lobster tails and steam them. I haven't found THE recipe yet, but I will be searching online tonight for some directions to follow. For dessert, what else but chocolate? My brother once baked a chocolate lava cake and it was delicious. If he can do it, I can do it too.

I'd love to hear what you plan to do for Valentines Day. Are you celebrating with dinner out? Cooking for 2? Cooking for a group?

Homemade Blueberry Pancakes

There is nothing like homemade blueberry pancakes, warm, fresh, earthy and flavorful. They are truly simple to whip up, add a side of bacon or breakfast sausage and it's also a great way to wake up the household.

This is my recipe. It makes about 8 pancakes.

In case you can't read my chicken scratch:
1 C flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda (make sure it's fresh)
1/4 t salt
2 T sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 C milk
2 T butter, melted
1 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon

And BLUEBERRIES!!!!! We have a new Sprouts grocery store near me and these organic beauties were only $1.50. It's unheard of!

Combine all the dry ingredients, mix well.

Beat the egg, add the milk.

Add the vanilla, mix well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix the two together, but don't over mix - lumps are okay.

My griddle is set to 350 degrees. Once hot, I pour about a 1/2 cup of mix onto the griddle. THEN, I plop my blueberries on top and let them settle in.

When the pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around the edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over.

Serve with butter and maple syrup. Smitten Kitchen has a great post on blueberry pancakes.

Did you know you can freeze leftover pancakes? What Jim and I can't eat, I place on a baking sheet to cool.

Once cooled, stack them with a sheet of wax paper between each. Finally wrap the stacks in plastic bags, label and freeze.

To serve: Put the frozen pancake in a toaster oven, the microwave or heat briefly under a broiler.

Research has proven the blueberries are an important part of a healthy diet. I toss a handful into my cereal for a morning boost. It keeps life interesting.

One cup of blueberries contains 14% DV of fiber 2.41 g per 100g. They are a source of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, phenolics, and flavonoids. Blueberries are very low in fat and sodium.

Based on data from the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (Boston, MA), blueberries are among the fruits with the highest antioxidant activity. Using a test called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), researchers have shown that a serving of fresh blueberries provided more antioxidant activity than many other fresh fruits and vegetables. Source: http://www.blueberry.org/

Baked Tilapia with Garlic Butter and Brussels Sprouts

I found an entire bag of frozen tilapia on sale at my grocery store. It's great to have these frozen fillets on hand when you need a quick and easy dinner.

Did you know you can cook these from frozen? Just add more time (usually double) in the oven, they come out beautifully.

If you wanted to thaw frozen fish or seafood, then be sure to thaw slowly in the refrigerator for 24 hours or, if you're in a hurry, you can run the tightly wrapped fish under COLD water instead of at room temperature. Cook it as soon as possible to minimize the loss of juices. Try not to thaw frozen fish completely before cooking, or it may make them very dry and mushy.

I cooked my fish with a drizzle of olive oil, some white wine and garlic butter for mucho flavor.


This scampi butter was on sale at Whole Foods, and although I wasn't planning any particular meal, I thought this flavorful compound butter would come in handy. I've been putting a dab of it on everything to boost flavor.

I used about a quarter of a cup of white wine.

And probably a tablespoon of butter on top of the frozen fillet. Then I put the dish, just like this, in a 350 oven for 25 minutes - and test with a fork for doneness. Perfectly cooked fish should be opaque and moist, not dry and flaky.

I love brussels sprouts! Here I cut them in half and tossed in a skillet with a few stalks of chopped asparagus also. Brown them in olive oil first, then pour in some chicken stock and let them simmer until stock is almost evaporated.

To tie our flavors together I added a pinch of the garlic butter to the brussels sprouts and asparagus as they simmered with the chicken stock.

And just because I can, I added a little squirt of this fish sauce. It's the umami in my dish!

What a perfect side dish!

And the fish came out great too. It flaked perfectly and absorbed the wine and garlic butter flavors. Super easy weeknight meal!

Fish is rich in heart-healthy omega 3s, so it's worth learning other tasty ways to prepare it so you can enjoy it often. Here are more cooking techniques that are so simple, they can help you add more fish to your menu.

Sautéed fish fillets:

Try this method for any type of skinless fish fillet. First, season the fish with salt and pepper, as desired, and heat a skillet with 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil. Cook the fish over medium-high heat, 2 to 3 minutes per side, for every 3/4-inch of thickness. (The thicker the fish, the longer the cooking time.)

See my Orange Roughy recipe here.

Braised fish fillets:

This preparation style requires cooking in a liquid, such as broth, white wine, clam juice, or water. First, heat some extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add the liquid and any seasonings and bring to a simmer. Add the fish fillets, cover, and cook for 3 minutes on both sides. (Again, a fish thicker than 3/4 inches will require a longer cooking time.)

See my Poached Halibut recipe here.

Baked fish fillets:

Grease a baking sheet with extra-virgin olive oil and arrange with fish fillets seasoned to taste. Bake at 350°F for about 7 to10 minutes for each inch of thickness. It's not necessary to turn the fish.

See my Lemon Garlic Tilapia recipe here.

See my favorite Sea Bass recipe here.

Broiled fish steaks:

Broiling works best with any type of fish steak. Season the steaks to taste and brush with extra-virgin olive oil. Place them in a broiler pan and broil, 4 to 6 minutes on each side or until golden. Allow more cooking time for steaks thicker than 1 inch.

See my Tuna Steak recipe here.

Grilled fish:

See my Grilled Red Snapper recipe here.