Menu of the Week

Menu of the Week

Menu of the Week

Our family enjoyed some new recipes this week. A few of these were requested to be "regulars" from now on. Keep reading to find out which we loved the most... Company Pot Roast from Ina Garten, Smoked Samon Tartines and Crab Cakes, Spaghetti Carbonara, Crawfish Pie, Mini Pizza's and Salisbury Meatballs over Egg Noodles.

Salisbury Steak Meatballs

When I was a child I remember hearing adults say how so-and-so is photogenic but so-and-so is not photogenic. I didn't understand what that meant until I started blogging and realized how some foods don't photograph well - no matter how scrumptious it may be, the picture looks like a regurgitated version of it's former self.

 

Trust me this is a before picture.

 

Salisbury steak is a dish made from a blend of ground beef and other ingredients, which is shaped to resemble a steak, and is usually served with gravy or brown sauce.

 

Menu of the Week + Pork Chops with Kale, Polenta and Anchovy Gravy

This turned out to be a great meal plan, pulling from both my HWM archives and some recipes I’ve previously made with Plated.

The Pork Chops with Kale, creamy Polenta and Anchovy Gravy is a repeat dinner in our house. Jim loves pork chops but I’m kind of indifferent towards this cut of meat. I love polenta however, and by incorporating kale into the meal – this dish is a winner for all. Keep reading for the step by step instructions on how I did it.

Meatball Tortellini Soup

I was really surprised how much we all liked this recipe, Harper included. Although it's not as quick of a meal for a weeknight, there are ways to prep on the weekend to speed up the time spent standing over the stove. It's perfect for a Saturday or Sunday because it can feed an army or you can plan to eat this for lunch during the week like I do.
The recipe has three main components: Soup, Tortellini and Meatballs. I used this recipe from Food Network as my inspiration, but called on a couple other blogs and recipes I've made in the past as I went along. Keep reading to find out how it all came together.

Spicy Asian Meatball Appetizer

I made two types of appetizer meatballs for our 2010 Christmas Party. The first, Cranberry Cabernet Meatballs, were a huge hit and 2 lbs completely disappeared quick. The second meatball appetizer I made were Spicy Asian Meatballs based on a sub recipe I found online.

The sauce I used for my appetizer was inspired by a recipe on Food Network for Asian Meatball Subs With Hoisin Mayonnaise. Picture above from FN.com. The ingredient list was lengthy but the bones of the recipe sounded just divine!

HWM Spicy Asian Meatball Appetizer
2 pounds fully cooked frozen meatballs

1 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice (there is no harm in using the bottled stuff if that is what you have on hand)
4-8 teaspoons Asian chili-garlic sauce (you control the level of spice with this ingredient)
½ cup chopped scallions to garnish (optional)

In a medium-size saucepan over medium heat, add all the ingredients except meatballs; stir to combine. Let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.
 
I found a whisk to work best in incorporating all the ingredients. The sauce thickened up nicely and the flavors were bold and spot on!

Remove from heat and either add cooked meatballs and serve... or you could let it cool and place in the fridge overnight. I made the sauce the night before the party and refrigerated overnight.

The night of our Christmas party I baked the meatballs in the oven and warmed the sauce on the stove top. Then serve the cooked meatballs with the sauce and garnish with scallions. It's a beautiful presentation (sorry I didn't get any pictures.)

For the meatballs, you can either heat them in the microwave or oven and then stir into the sauce and serve. Likewise, if you are putting this into a crockpot, you could add the cooked and frozen meatballs into the sauce and turn the crockpot on high for an hour or so until the meatballs are thawed and hot.

These meatball appetizers were my favorite for flavor and ease of preparation! Be bold in the kitchen my friends!

More HWM posts on meatballs:

Cranberry Cabernet Meatballs

Ultimate Party Meatballs

Chipotle Meatballs

Homemade Spicy Meatballs and Tomato Sauce

Cranberry Cabernet Meatballs

Jim and I threw our annual Christmas party last month and I did all the food planning and cooking. It is an event I look forward to every year and I begin the planning process in November. One of the appetizers I decided on early were these Cranberry Cabernet Meatballs. I could just imagine how the flavors would come together and I knew I could get this made the night before and quickly put out with little preparation the next evening. It's a winner folks!

Here is what I used:
2 lbs fully cooked frozen meatballs
2 cans whole cranberry sauce (not the jelly)
2 cups firmly-packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons hot Chinese mustard

2 cups GOOD Cabernet Sauvignon (I can't emphasize the need to use good wine enough. I used a Murphy-Goode Cab from California)

This recipe could not be simpler. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add cranberry sauce, brown sugar, Cabernet wine and Chinese mustard.

Stir and let the mixture simmer for five minutes. Remove from heat, let cool and then I placed mine in the fridge overnight until it was party time.

The night of our Christmas party I poured the sauce back into a saucepan and heated until warm. I thought the sauce was too thin, so I mixed about a tablespoon of cornstarch with some water and stirred into the sauce. Within a minute the sauce thickened up to my liking.

For the meatballs, you can either heat them in the microwave or oven and then stir into the sauce and serve. Likewise, if you are putting this into a crockpot, you could add the cooked and frozen meatballs into the sauce and turn the crockpot on high for an hour or so until the meatballs are thawed and hot.
 

I served the Cranberry Cabernet Meatballs in this chafing dish and I couldn't BELIEVE the reaction I received. I am not exaggerating, everyone went nuts over this appetizer and the meatballs went so quickly! Jim is still pissed that he only got two...he says when he went back for seconds they were all gone. I made 2 lbs of Cranberry Cabernet Meatballs!

I would say that the wine you select is very important for this dish. The meatballs themselves also need to be a brand you know and trust. If you want to make the meatballs yourself, even better. Here is my recipe for homemade meatballs. If using homemade, I would suggest you cook them fully before adding to the sauce so that they hold together and not fall apart. I've done this before and ended up with meat sauce instead of meatballs in tomato sauce. I wouldn't say it's a terrible thing, I just served it over noodles and called it something entirely different.

Next up is the other meatball recipe I used at the 2010 Christmas party. It was actually MY favorite, but for some reason most guests (or at least the first 20 people) gravitated towards the Cabernet Meatballs. Oh, and I couldn't end the post without pointing you to the first cocktail meatball recipe I ever tried. The ingredient list will surprise you but your guests will love you for serving them. Check out these Hard To Believe Meatballs, I will give you a hint...there is grape jelly in the sauce!

Hard to Believe Meatballs

This combo reminds me of something you would find on Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. It's not really my style, but I tell you what... when you are hosting a party and want to get a bunch of appetizers out quickly, this is a SURPRISINGLY great recipe to use along with your other homemade recipes. Thanks to Erica Daniels from Dallas, TX for sharing this recipe with Erin Gunter, who shared this with me!

Look, you can find a similar recipe right on the back of the Heinz Chili Sauce bottle. Here is what you need for Erica's version:

1 bag frozen meatballs, already cooked
1/2 jar of grape jelly
1 jar of chili sauce, found near the ketchup
1 small can of tomato paste

THAW meatballs and set aside.

COMBINE jelly, chili sauce and tomato paste in a large pot. Simmer on low until sauce is fully combined.

FOLD in meatballs and stir to distribute the sauce fully. Simmer on low heat in stove top or in a crock-pot. Serve with toothpicks.

But actually, know what I did? I simply put everything in a crock pot... even the frozen meatballs. I simply dumped all the ingredients and turned the crock pot on high until meatballs were thawed and sauce was hot. People LOVED these, and I couldn't believe how well the sweet jelly and spicy chili sauce blended together. You don't even have to share with your guests how easy this actually is!

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.

Homemade Meatballs and Tomato Sauce

Lucky me, I stumbled upon 99 cent packages of Jennie-O ground turkey at Randall’s. You better believe I snatched up a few of those.

I made dog food with six lbs of turkey yesterday, one batch last a month. Here is a pic of one week of food for two toy poodles.

(See the complete recipe for homemade dog food here)

With one package I decided to make homemade meatballs and use a technique I just read about called flash freezing. Let’s start with the ingredient list for “spicy meatballs.”


1 lb of 99 cent Jennie-O ground turkey, 1 log of Jimmy Dean’s Hot Sausage, half an onion, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, two eggs, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, basil and flat leaf parsley.


I start by chopping up the onion really fine and sautéing in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until translucent.


Then I chop up the garlic and the parsley and add it to the onions. Here I add another tablespoon of olive oil because I wasn’t hearing the “sizzle” I like so much. Once it looks about right, take it off the burner and let it cool while you prepare the MEAT!


In a large mixing bowl I dump the sausage – yeah, that looks gross.


Here is everything else I dumped: two eggs, sausage, turkey, cheese and a squirt of basil. I use the basil in the tube because it’s not practical for me to have fresh herbs on hand all the time, especially when I get the urge to make something last minute like I usually get. This is a step up from dried herbs, but not quite as proper as using fresh basil…whatever.


Go ahead and use your (clean) hands to mix in the onion/parsley/garlic mixture into the meat. Be careful not to overwork the mixture - It will make the meatballs tough, at least that is what I’ve read.


Now for the fun part. If you have kids, I’m sure they would get into this. Lucky me, I don’t…so I get to play by myself while my two dogs drool at my feet. Roll up as many two inch meatballs as you can. I happen to be able to roll 31 meatballs out of this batch.


I put two dozen in neat little rows on a cookie sheet and pop those into the freezer to “flash freeze” them for an hour. Once frozen I will dump them in a ziplock bag and they will stay good for about two months. Next time I want a home cooked meal without the effort I will sauté a couple of these bad boys up and serve them over pasta or on crusty bread for a meatball sandwich with some melted mozzarella on top – YUM!


I reserve seven of the fresh meatballs and that is what I am cooking with tonight. I use the same pan from before with all the onion and garlic and brown bits on it.


Add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and brown these on all sides. It takes me about 10 minutes total. They will not be cooked through all the way, but you simply want it to hold its structure and get a nice flavorful crust on the outside. Once they are brown all over, pull those off and cover with foil for later.


Now we make the homemade tomato sauce – you can’t find stuff this good in a can!! The ingredients I’m using are…garlic, onion, basil, olive oil, salt, pepper (all are still on my counter from the meatballs) and I add to it several cans of tomato in different forms. Here I have diced, and sauce. I also have a delish bottle of red wine and manchego cheese. The manchego cheese is for me to snack on while I sip some wine and make this sauce.


In that same grimy pan, I add my ½ chopped onion and another tablespoon of olive oil and cook over medium high heat until it gets golden brown, about 5-8 minutes. Then I added a tablespoon of chopped garlic and a squirt of basil. I stir it together and let it cook for another minute.


Now I take a sip of red wine and dump the rest of my glass in there, about a ½ cup. Let this simmer while you fill up your wine glass again. Stir it occasionally, but you want most of the liquid to evaporate, about 3 minutes.

The last step is to throw in a can of your tomatoes. Use what you have on hand. I think the best would be a large can of crushed tomatoes and a can of tomato paste. I only had a can of diced and a can of tomato sauce. I also found some cream in my fridge that was about to expire, so I dumped the last 1/3 cup in there along with a heavy pinch of salt and pepper. Then I turned the burner to its lowest setting, added back the seven browned meatballs and covered this bad boy for 25 minutes.

During this time I boiled water and threw in some noodles to cook until al dente. Once 25 minutes goes by the meatballs are cooked through and very moist. The sauce has melded together and is nice and rich. I spooned pasta into bowls, topped with sauce and added four meatballs for Jim’s bowl.



He is a happy man. I wish I had a picture of his face when I told him there were more homemade meatballs in the freezer…like two dozen more!