Grilling still seems a way off. I'm not one of the brave souls that likes to wear a parka to grill outdoors. Maybe wearing a parka is a slight exaggeration, the temperatures still do require a coat on most days. It's been awhile since I made meatballs so now seemed a good time since I had all the ingredients at hand.
Porcupine Meatballs
1# extra lean ground beef
1/3 cup rice, cooked
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 small onion, minced
1 tbsp parsley
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
Place all the ingredients into a medium bowl. Roll meatballs and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°. Serve on top of mashed potatoes with sauce (recipe below) or alone.
Sauce For Meatballs
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups beef stock
1 garlic clove, minced
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 cup Half and Half
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Melt butter and stir in flour. Cook for a minute over medium heat. Gradually stir in beef stock. Add in garlic and carrot and cook until sauce thickens. Add in Half and Half and season to taste. Serve over meatballs.
I have found my new summer drink. I hope summer arrives since spring seems to be failing to bring warmth and sunshine. This drink is light and refreshing. And don't think that making a simple syrup is hard to do...it wouldn't have simple in it's name if it wasn't.
Blackberry Italian Cream Soda
1/4 cup blackberry simple syrup (recipe below)
sparkling water
ice
1 tbsp Half and Half
Blackberry Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup blackberries (I used frozen since they release more juice)
Stir and combine the water and sugar. Add in the blackberries and heat over medium heat until the berries release their juice. Let cool down and strain out the berries.
In a tall glass, add in the blackberry syrup, ice and sparkling water. Pour a splash of Half and Half on top.
Sometimes you just need a fun breakfast, especially on a chilly and rainy Spring day. It's nice to have ripe strawberries on little pieces of toasted bread as a treat when most people would serve this later on in the day for company.
Strawberry Bruschetta
French bread or a bagette, cut into 1/2" slices at a diagonal
4 oz Mascarpone
2 tsp strawberry preserves (use a good brand)
strawberries, sliced with the hull intact
honey
Slice bread and place it in the oven at 350° until lightly toasted. In a small bowl, cream together Mascarpone and strawberry preserves. Spread a little on the cooled toasted bread slices. Cut the strawberries in thin slices almost to the top of the berry. Gently fan the slices and place on top of the Mascarpone. Drizzle a little honey on top of each piece.
I was interested in trying more savory snacks after my Parmesan Madeleines worked out so well. I've made the standard brown sugar tassies and my chocolate raspberry tassies so it was time to take it up a notch. These have a little hidden bite from the crushed red pepper flakes that you might not notice at first.
Ham & Fontina Tassies
1 stick butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp oregano
3/4 cup ham, diced
3/4 cup Fontina, shredded
Crushed red pepper flakes
Blend together the butter and cream cheese. Beat in the oregano and flour (a half cup at a time). Make sure the flour is all incorporated and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for one hour.
Grease a standard muffin tin with a spray oil. Roll large balls of dough, flatten and press into the cups. Form sides to each cup to hold your filling. Place some ham in each cup. Sprinkle some grated Fontina on top and then a few pieces of crushed red pepper flakes. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°. Serve warm.
Makes 12 tassies.
I ran across my Madeleine pan while digging in my pan cupboard last week and decided it was time to make some more of the little buttery trepats. I went for a sweet Madeleine last time so I wanted to try something a bit more savory this time.
Parmesan Madeleines
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp oregano
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp milk
Whisk together all of the dry ingredients, spices and Parmesan cheese. Add in beaten eggs and milk. Fold in melted butter and spoon dough into your Madeleine pan. Bake for 12 minutes at 375°.
Looking for an easy weeknight chicken recipe that has lots of flavor....this is it. A touch of Italian spices with an easy coating, these chicken breasts fry up with a crispy shell.
Italian Fried Chicken
2-3 chicken breasts, pounded to an even flat size between 1/4 & 1/2" thick
In a large zippered plastic bag mix together ~
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
2-3 dashes hot sauce
Add the flattened chicken breasts to the bag and let marinade for 30 minutes.
On a dinner plate, mix together the following ~
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Heat a large skillet with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. When hot, remove chicken breasts one by one from the bag and dredge both sides in the flour mixture before placing in the hot skillet. Cook both sides until crispy and the internal temperature is 165°.
Finally warm temperatures in the valley for the Easter weekend. That means it's time for a nice Spring dessert and lemon and blueberries are always a wonderful combination.
Lemon Blueberry Pudding
In a large saucepan combine ~
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Whisk in ~
2 1/2 cups milk
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp lemon zest
pinch of sea salt
Cook until thick over medium heat.
Stir in ~
the juice of 2 lemons (approximately 1/2 cup)
2 tbsp butter, softened
Pour into a dish and fold in 1 1/2 cups cleaned and drained blueberries. Allow to cool to room temperature and then place plastic wrap on top of the mixture so a skin does not form and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving.
