Grammy’s Meatballs

My husband’s family hails from Rhode Island. On his father’s side, second generation Italian and on his mother’s, Portuguese. Both have rich culinary traditions.

Grammy, his paternal grandmother, is quite the cook. My first memory of meeting her, she was chopping, mixing and hand-forming these delicious meatballs. After she cooked them, they went on to simmer in an incredibly rich sauce, infused with the flavors of pepperoni and spareribs.

This picture shows her on her wedding day, flanked by a new mother-in-law, her sister and aunts. I like to think that she may have learned this meatball recipe from one of these women, a family recipe passed from one generation to the next.

I recently bought the cookbook Frankies Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual which is filled with American-Italian staples of the same ilk. Authors Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, who are co-owners of the Brooklyn restaurant Frankies Spuntino, both cite their families, and their grandmothers in particular, with shaping their love of food.

Reading their book is what inspired me to revisit Grammy’s meatball recipe. The recipe and the ingredients are quite simple – the only flavorings to speak of are garlic, parsley, salt and pepper – but what happens when they cook, is nothing short of magical.

Serve a couple in a bowl of pasta dressed with a basic red sauce. If you have any leftovers, cleave them in half and tuck them into a soft Italian roll, topped with red sauce and a shaving of parmesan. The best meatball sandwich you’ve ever had. Heck, it’s worth making the meatballs just for that!

Grammy’s Meatballs

1/2 pound of ground beef
1/2 pound of ground pork
2 eggs
4 or 5 slices of stale Italian bread, crusts cut off
¼ c chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 large garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper

Tear bread into small pieces and soak in a water until soft. Remove from water and squeeze bread with your hands. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with hands until thoroughly blended. Wet hands slightly and form meatballs. Makes 8-10 meatballs.

Instead of frying them on the stove top, a la Grammy, I took a cue from the two Franks and baked them in the oven. Space the meatballs evenly on a baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes. The meatballs will be firm to the touch when they are cooked. Cut open to check.  Simmer in sauce before serving; this adds extra flavor to the sauce and meatballs.

Zesty French Toast

While the origins of French toast may be uncertain (evidence suggests that Romans, Englishmen and Danes enjoyed it as much as their French brethren), one thing is indisputable – these days it’s an American breakfast staple.

That slightly crunchy exterior, rich and creamy interior, and a slathering of butter and syrup make it an irresistible morning treat.

This winter, inspired by a recipe a friend shared, I’ve been experimenting a bit. Her version used orange zest and cream. The bread soaked overnight and baked in the oven. Being the last-minute gal that I am, I usually don’t have cream on hand or the foresight to know that I’ll want French toast in the morning. Thus, I improvise.

In this case, milk stands in for cream and my bread lazes only a few minutes before hitting the frying pan. The citrus is a fantastic addition, giving the finished toast a bright note that perks up what can sometimes be an overly sweet dish. If you want to get real fancy, you could supreme some blood oranges or tangerines and add them to the maple syrup.

When I made this over the weekend, I used a wonderfully soft sweet raisin bread that I picked up Privet European Food & Bakery. It’s made by Eurobread Bakery out of Portland. The occasional raisin added yet another little flavor punch to the French toast.

Zesty French Toast
(serves 4)

1 loaf of challah or soft Italian bread
6 eggs
½ cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon
zest of one orange
½ c orange juice (fresh squeezed, if available)
1 tsp vanilla

Wisk all of this together. Slice bread into medium, one inch-ish slices. Soak in liquid until wet through. Heat a pat of butter in a sauté pan and cook the toast over medium heat until browned on both sides and slightly puffed. (I turn mine often so that it doesn’t over brown, but is still cooked through.) Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup and butter, if desired.

Perfect Pancakes

Nothing says Saturday morning, like a batch of warm and fluffy homemade pancakes. Over the years I’ve tried many recipes, but this one is tried and true. And so simple. I promise you’ll never resort to Bisquick again. (Yes, I’m talking to you!) Another bonus: this basic recipe can be tweaked endlessly. Stir in some pureed pumpkin and add some ginger and cinnamon. Layer on bananas and walnuts. Toss in a handful of blueberries. You get the picture. I like to use ample amounts of butter when cooking them, so you get that nice crunchy edge. Mmmmm.

Perfect Pancakes
This recipe makes enough for about 10 4-inch pancakes. Double the recipe for more.

1 cup flour (can use all white, or combination white and whole wheat, or all whole wheat)
1 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
small pinch of salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
Whisk together flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg and add milk. Add the wet ingredients to dry, stirring to combine. It will be lumpy and that’s OK. Let stand for a few minutes. Heat griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Butter pan and cook pancakes … add blueberries or whatnot before you flip. Enjoy!

Winter White Bean Soup

This is the best time of year for a full-bodied, creamy soup. So comforting. One that I turn to again and again is this White Bean Soup from Janet Fletcher, author of Fresh From the Farmers’ Market. (As an aside – this is a great book. Published waaaay back in 1997, it’s one of the first to arrange the recipes seasonally. Check here for a more detailed description, but it’s one of my all time favs.)

Back to the soup. It’s a snap to make and consists of only a few ingredients. Nonetheless, it has such a deep, satisfying flavor – almost smokey. Once it’s pureed, it’s also very creamy, without a lick of cream. The only thing that requires a bit of forethought is soaking the beans. And do soak the beans. Canned don’t do this soup justice. Trust me.

White Bean Soup (adapted from Janet Fletcher)

1 lb dried cannellini beans, soaked 8 hours or overnight
1/4 c olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c Italian parsley, minced
2 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
fresh grated parmesan

Heat oil and in it saute onion, carrots, garlic, parsley and bay leaves for about 10 minutes. Add drained beans and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 1 – 1.5 hours or until the beans are soft. Use an immersion blender or food processor to puree all or part of the soup. Return to pot. Thin with stock if needed. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of cheese.

Zena Farm Stand @ Willamette University

Salem now has another option for buying local produce. The Zena Farm, a small half-acre plot tended in a joint effort by the Alternative Agriculture Community and the Center for Sustainable Communities at Willamette University, is setting up shop on Jackson Plaza (it’s near the clock tower) on Mondays from noon – 4 p.m.

This past spring, we had the opportunity to visit Zena Farm and learn about all the cool things happening there. Last week, I even enjoyed an Asian inspired slaw made from Zena cabbage, which was featured in one of Goudy’s infamous small plates. Topped with seared Kobe beef, it was a far cry from my college cafeteria fare. But I digress.

Located on university-owned land in West Salem, Zena Farm is a living laboratory that gives Willamette students an opportunity to learn and gain hands-on experience with sustainable farming practices. The university’s Alternative Agriculture Community is a student club that spends every Sunday weeding, tending crops and harvesting fresh produce at Zena.

So, check it out. I for one plan to be there to see what tasty morsels are available.

Nectarine Golden Cake

I’m not much of a spring cleaner. Once the weather warms up and the sun comes out, I’m too busy outdoors to notice the dust and clutter that has accumulated over the winter. Instead, my ‘spring cleaning’ comes in the fall. That’s when we start to retreat inside, the long summer evenings giving way to an early dusk.

True to form, last week I started roaming from room to room and pitching all the piles of magazines that hold sentry at my various reading spots – the basket by the side of the couch, the spare bedroom and my nightstand. Old issues of the New Yorker, the Atlantic and AARP (I’m forever scooping up cast-offs at the library!) were tossed into the recycling tout de suite.

But the cooking magazines? They are much harder to let go. I used to have about seven year’s worth of back issues of Gourmet (sniffle, sniffle), Bon Apetit and Martha Stewart Living, which I finally doled out to friends when we last moved.  Since then, I’ve been much better about not holding on to magazines for too long, knowing that most recipes are just a click away.

Still. There’s nothing quite like sitting with a magazine and a cup of tea glass of wine, perusing for ideas and inspiration.  So I did spend a few hours doing just that, tearing out any recipes that I found especially compelling. Who knows if I’ll ever get around to making them.  Time will tell. But for some reason, I’m comforted to know that they are at arm’s reach.

Among the keepers was this recipe from Gourmet for Nectarine Golden Cake. It caught my eye because of its odd name and because it is very similar to a cake I’ve been making for years. That one features apples and pears, together with pine nuts. It’s a cinch to throw together and very forgiving. I’ve made it with and without the nuts, with only apples and with only pears and it still tastes great.

Sure enough, Nectarine Golden Cake is another winner. Simple to pull together and imminently versatile, it’s just sweet enough for dessert and not too sweet for breakfast or afternoon tea. Quick! Make it before nectarine season is a distant memory.

Nectarine Golden Cake
(Adapted from Gourmet; I’ve upped the almond extract and added a scattering of actual almonds, which give the top layer a nice crunch.)

1 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp + a smidge of salt
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 nectarines, pitted and sliced into 1/2″ wedges
1/4 c sliced almonds
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg + 1 T sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9″ springform pan. Cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add this mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Spread batter into pan (it is quite thick). Arrange nectarine slices on top of the batter. Sprinkle almond slices over top, and then sprinkle the nutmeg and 1T of sugar over everything. Bake for 45-50 mins. Cool 10 minutes and then remove sides of pan. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Köfte

I’ve been making lamb köfte for a few years now, having finagled the recipe from a Turkish friend. Though I must admit that I’ve taken some liberties with the version passed down from my friend’s mother, my understanding is that it is A-OK. Much like American meatloaf, the basic concept of Turkish köfte may be the same from household to household, but every cook has his or her own recipe. In fact, my friend tells me that köfte recipes can be the subject of serious debate in some families.

I promise that you will love these tasty meatballs. They are delicious! Even my husband, who is not a fan of lamb, enjoys them. This means that: a) I’m a bad wife for cooking lamb when he doesn’t like it, or b) these köfte are kick-ass delicious. I like to think that ‘b’ is the correct answer.

Generally, I serve these with another of my friend’s stand-bys: shredded zucchini sauted with garlic and mint. My friend serves the zucchini with a dollop of plain yogurt, for a creamy counterpoint.

You could also slice the köfte and tuck them into pita with tomato, cucumber and some yogurt with dill. I have also grilled them as a kebab, forming the meat mixture around a wooden skewer. Yum!

Another thing to recommend köfte is that kids love ‘em. Served with a yogurt or marinara dipping sauce, they perk up a ho-hum lunchbox.

Köfte
1 lb ground lamb
1 small handful of parsley
½ medium onion
1 garlic clove
1 tsp – 1 T red pepper paste (find in Middle Eastern markets, called Aci Biber Salçası, or you can substitute a pinch of red pepper flakes or ½ tsp hot paprika)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
½ tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp dried mint
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs

In a food processor, pulse parsley, onion, garlic and red pepper. In a large bowl, mix together this mixture with the lamb and remaining spices. Lightly beat the egg and combine it, along with the bread crumbs, with the meat mixture. Form the meat into slightly oblong forms, using your finger to make a depression along the center. Place on a baking sheet covered with foil (this will make them easier to remove after baking). You should have about 16 köfte. Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes.