Meatball Grill Basket

One of the best things about cooking is all the fun stuff that you get to buy to help you prepare your creations. This brings us to today's post, in which I'm going to introduce a segment that I'm going to call Kitchen Lust where we can discuss the things that I'm wanting to add to my kitchen.

I felt that I had to share when I came across this, seeing as this blog was intended to chronicle my search for my favorite meatball. This contraption is obviously intended to allow its user to enjoy meatballs even when you're out grilling, which to me seems brilliant. I definitely need one of these...

These are available at Williams-Sonoma stores and through their catalog, where they have included a tasty recipe. You can all look forward to that coming up soon... not sure if I'll be using the "meatball grill basket" though.

Here's the info from the website: "Our ingenious grilling tool gives smoky open-fire flavor to homemade meatballs. The sturdy stainless-steel basket has 12 perforated wells to drain excess fat as meat is infused with flavor and browns perfectly. With the lid closed, the meatballs are held securely in place and out of the fire. The removable polypropylene handle makes the basket easy to turn – just flip it over for even cooking. The basket works with beef, lamb and poultry as well as vegetable mixtures. Hand-wash. 9 3/4" x 20 1/2" including handle. A Williams-Sonoma exclusive."

Lemon Cake

There are two things that I love to eat... pasta and cake. This blog will probably be dominated by recipes for both, but I don't think that will be too much of an issue since so many other people seem to enjoy them as well.

I do feel that I have to quantify that statement a little though... I love cake, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I love frosting as well. At weddings and birthdays you will usually see me with a large slice of cake on my plate, but once I'm done you'll see that most of the frosting is still sitting there. I bring this up because I was not really a fan of the frosting used in this recipe. The cake was fantastic... at least the little piece that I got to enjoy, the frosting not so much. (I made this cake for Christie to bring to work for a party that they were having). Not really being a fan of frosting might have swayed my vote a little though... Christie was not left with anything to bring home after the party. I am planning on making this cake again sometime though, so this will give me an opportunity to experiment with some other kinds of frosting that I might enjoy more.

For the Cake:

1 Cup (2 Sticks) Butter
2 ½ Cups all-purpose Flour
½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 ½ Cups Sugar
2 Large Eggs plus 3 Large Egg Yolks
1 Cup Buttermilk
3 Lemons (You'll use these for both cake and frosting)

For the Frosting:

3 Large Egg Whites
¾ Cup Sugar
A Pinch Salt
1/3 Cup Water

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 8-by-2-inch cake pans. In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder and soda, and salt) as well as 1 Tablespoon lemon zest.

In a separate larger bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Mix in eggs and yolks one at a time. After measuring out the buttermilk, add 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice and whisk together. Once combined, alternately beat in dry ingredients and buttermilk until just combined. (Be careful not to over mix the batter, it will affect the texture of your cake once baked.)

Divide the batter between both pans, smooth tops with a spatula if necessary. Bake until cakes pull away from sides of pans, around 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing cakes from pans.

While the cakes are baking, bring ½ a cup of sugar and ½ a cup of water to boil in a saucepan. Add one thinly sliced lemon and simmer for 25 minutes or so. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lemon slices to a wax-paper-lined plate to cool. Stir ¼ cup fresh lemon juice into the syrup. Once the cakes have cooled and you're ready to begin frosting, poke holes in the cakes on the racks using a toothpick. Brush with the lemon syrup.

To prepare the frosting. In a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine 3 large egg whites, ¾ cup sugar, a pinch salt, and 1/3 cup water. Cook over medium , stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 to 3 minutes. (I did this just by watching carefully, but if you would like to be extra sure the instructions say to bring the mixture to 150 degrees as read on a candy thermometer). Transfer to a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until glossy, stiff peaks form. (Be careful not to over-beat). This should take around 3 minutes. Once done, reduce speed to low, add 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and beat until just combined.

Recipe Adapted from Everyday Food, May 2009

Quick Marinara Sauce

This is a follow-up from last week, since the Polpetti and Spaghetti recipe calls for marinara sauce. Now it's perfectly okay to use store bought sauces under certain circumstances, but if you're going to go to the trouble of making meatballs, let alone my favorite meatball, one should probably learn to make sauce from scratch. I had visions of a pot sitting on the stove all day long, simmering away with some fantastic tomato sauce in it... but with a two year old at home as well as a crazy work schedule I never seem to have the time for that to come together. Luckily Giada was kind enough to include a recipe in one of her cook books that gives you great flavor without the time and mess of letting a pot sit all day.

I took her advice and portion the sauce into 1 and 2 cup servings and throw them in the freezer for when I need them. This way I almost always have some on hand when needed. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures to accompany this recipe, but if you look at the picture of the Polpetti and Spaghetti this is the sauce you see.

Makes about 6 cups

2 (28 oz) Cans of Whole Tomatoes in Juice
1 Bunch of Fresh Basil, stemmed
1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Small Onions, Finely Chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, Finely Chopped
1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 Teaspoon Sugar
Salt and Pepper to Taste

In a blender, puree the tomatoes and their juice with the basil until almost smooth. Set the tomato puree aside.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, maybe ten minutes. Then add the garlic and let it cook another minute or so. Stir in the tomato puree, oregano and suger. Bring to a simmer and let it bubble until the sauce begins to thicken a bit, around another ten minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Recipe Adapted from Giada's Family Dinners

Coming Soon: Lemon Cake

Introduction, and Polpette and Spaghetti

I know some of you have been wondering what this was going to become... I think I registered the name for this blog a couple of months ago. Well, now you need not wonder...

Every once in a while I was adding some random musings to our regular blog, which is devoted to our lovely son, about the various things that were going on in our kitchen. So I have now decided to create a blog that will discuss, among other food topics, my search for the best meatball recipe.

It's appropriate then that the first post is dedicated to my current favorite:

Polpetti and Spaghetti

Makes 4 Servings

1 Small Onion
¼ Cup Chopped Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley
1 Large Egg
3 Tablespoons Ketchup
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper
2/3 Cup Parmesan
¼ Cup Dried Italian Style Bread Crumbs
6 Oz Ground Beef
6 Oz Ground Veal
6 Oz Ground Pork
¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Enough Marinara Sauce for 1 lbs Spaghetti
1 lbs Spaghetti

Combine onion, parsley, egg, ketchup, garlic, salt, pepper, parmesan, bread crumbs, and meat in large mixing bowl. Gently using your hands, mix ingredients thoroughly. Once combined, roll mixture into balls of your desired size. (Your own mileage may vary, but I've had better luck with smaller meatballs. I use a cookie scoop to make sure all the meatballs are approximately the same size. Also a note about the meat being used. Above is what the original recipe called for but I have successfully made this recipe with any combination of the meats above and also with ground turkey a few times. Adding veal is not necessary, although I would recommend against using solely turkey. The meatball will become too dry.)

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pan over medium to medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, saute the meatballs until browned on all sides, around five minutes. Once all the meatballs are browned, add marinara sauce to the pan. Lower the heat to medium-low and let the sauce thicken and flavors blend, ten minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the box.
Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce and meatballs, and toss gently to coat. Transfer to a serving dish and serve with additional parmesan cheese.

Recipe adapted from "Giada's Family Dinners"

Coming soon: Quick Marinara Sauce