Swedish Meatballs

One of my most favourite things to make with ground beef is meatballs. Meatballs are so much fun - add them to pasta, make a sweet chili sauce, cook 'em up with pineapple and peppers in a sweet and sour dish... the possibilities are endless! One of my foodie friends once told me about the amazingness that is the meatballs from the Ikea cafeteria. I was skeptical of how good meatballs at a furniture store could be, but these ones blew me away, especially with the tangy lingonberry sauce. Weeks later, I happened across lingonberry sauce in Superstore and bought it in case I ever had the inclination to recreate the Ikea-style meatballs. Sure enough, the craving hit again, and I ended up making the following recipe. The meatball recipe is now my go-to recipe whenever I want to make a meatball dish - all I do is change the sauce, and sometimes the seasoning. Also, there's an adaptation at the bottom to make these meatballs gluten-free for those in your family who may be sensitive to wheat.

Swedish Meatballs
Adapted from Joelen's Culinary Adventures

Meatballs:
2 eggs
1/3 cup cream or milk
5 slices bread, torn into small pieces
1 large onion, finely diced or grated
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground beef

Sauce:
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp butter, divided
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb button mushrooms, sliced
salt & pepper
2 tbsp water
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups beef broth
2 tbs brown sugar
1/3 cup cream
1 tbs apple cider vinegar

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and cream. Stir in bread and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine grated onion, spices, sugar, baking powder and ground pork and mix well. If you're not squeamish, now is a good time to get in there with your hands.

Mash bread mixture with a fork until no large bread chunks remain. Add to the pork and mix until well combined, then add beef and mix in thoroughly.

Form into 1-1.5" meatballs with wet hands or a small ice cream scoop - should make 48 meatballs.

Place meatballs on a greased baking sheet, or in the wells of a greased mini muffin pan, and bake at 350F for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a wide-bottomed, heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, melt together olive oil and 2 tbsp butter over medium high heat. Add mushrooms, season with salt & pepper, and water - stir and cover with lid. Let cook 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove lid, lower heat and allow mushrooms to continue cooking, stirring often, until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are a lovely golden brown all over and are nicely caramelized. Deglaze pan with a splash of white wine or water, cook until liquid has evaporated, and remove mushrooms to a bowl. Set aside.

In the same saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium high heat until sizzling. Add flour and whisk together to make a roux. Whisk constantly until mixture is a light golden brown, then whisk in broths. Stir in mushrooms & sugar, bring to a simmer and allow to reduce until nice and thick. Stir in cream and reduce heat to medium.

Add meatballs to the sauce, and simmer until heated through. Stir in vinegar and serve.

Serves 6-8

To make gluten-free, cook 1 cup of brown rice in 1.5 cups water. Omit milk but soak cooked rice with egg as per directions above. Mash and proceed with the recipe as usual.

Guinness Cottage Pie

Growing up, shepherd's pie was one of those meals that my mom used to make on a regular basis. It was never one of my favourites, and after I moved out on my own, it took me over a decade to even want to give it a try again. My husband and I love casseroles, and we love things made with beer, so we decided to give this Gordon Ramsay recipe a go. Needless to say, my opinion of this dish has changed immensely! And something I did not know - shepherd's pie is made with lamb, and the same dish with beef is cottage pie. Interesting!

I adapted this recipe a little, to make it less meaty and to add some vegetables. The original is fabulous, but a one-dish meal that has vegetables other than potatoes is important for feeding my kids.

This recipe is also a great way to use leftover roast beef, diced into 1/2" cubes, instead of ground beef. Substitute about 2 cups of cooked roast beef for the ground beef. In addition, if you have leftover gravy, warm it up (with some water to thin it if necessary) and substitute for some of the chicken stock. This substitution may change the stovetop cooking time, so watch your pan accordingly.

Guinness Cottage Pie
(adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Great British Pub Food)

Olive oil
1 lb ground beef
salt and pepper
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried thyme
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 bottle (341mL) Guinness
5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup frozen peas
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup finely grated cheddar
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp parmesan cheese

In a large saute pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until nicely browned. Remove from pan and drain excess fat. Set aside.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and add sliced mushrooms. Shake pan so they are evenly distributed, reduce heat to medium and allow to cook 4-5 minutes without touching, until they are a nice golden brown underneath. Stir and continue to cook until mushrooms are nicely caramelized. Remove from pan & set aside.

Heat another tablespoon of oil, and cook onion until soft and beginning to brown. Add garlic and thyme, cook for another 30 seconds while stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add tomatoes, tomato paste & cooked ground beef, cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add Guinness and worcestershire sauce, simmer until liquid has reduced by half. Stir in chicken stock and let simmer until thick and glossy, about 25 minutes. Stir in corn, peas and reserved mushrooms. Remove from heat.

Cook potatoes in a pot of salted water until tender. Drain, return to pot and mash roughly with butter & cheddar cheese.

Spoon beef mixture into a 3-quart casserole dish. Top evenly with mashed potatoes, roughing up the top with a fork. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top, and bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Serves 4-6

Westernized Bánh mì (Vietnamese Subs)

Several years ago, when my husband worked downtown, he used to go to this crazy little Vietnamese place for lunch all the time, and he raved about their sub sandwiches. Not loving the crazy spicy food, I avoided them until I noticed two restaurants near my office that served these, and both would have lines out the door, even in the dead of winter. I decided to join the masses, and ended up totally hooked on these delicious buns full of satay & vegetables. Now that I'm at home with the kids and my husband no longer works in the downtown core, we set out to figure out how to replicate these subs in our own kitchen, and I think we've come pretty close to the westernized versions that are readily available. It's probably not very authentic, but it's delicious nonetheless!

Westernized Bánh mì (Vietnamese Subs)
Adapted from Chowtown

4 6-8" sub buns
Mayonnaise
Satay beef, chicken or pork
Mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
1/2 of an english cucumber, sliced thin
1/2 a medium onion, sliced thin
Do Chua (pickled carrots & daikon), squeezed in a paper towel to remove excess liquid
Bunch of cilantro
12 fresh red Thai or bird chilis, stems removed
Sriracha hot sauce

Split sub buns and lay open on a baking sheet. Cover bottom portion with satay meat, and cover meat with mozzarella cheese. Place under broiler until bun is toasted and cheese is melty & bubbly.

Spread the top of the bun generously with mayonnaise, and fill with cucumber, onion, do chua, cilantro, and chilis, and finish with a squirt of sriracha. The chilis and sauce are hot, so if you prefer a milder version, feel free to leave them out.

Makes 4 6-8" subs.


Satay Beef, Chicken or Pork

4 tsp peanut oil
1 small onion, finely diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece of ginger, minced
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 cup coconut milk
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp sambal oelek
1 pound thinly sliced beef, chicken or pork

Heat 2 tsp oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger and saute until onion begins to brown.

Reduce heat to low, add remaining ingredients and simmer until thick, about 10 minutes. Taste, and add more sambal oelek if you like it spicier. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large pan, heat another 2 tsp oil over medium heat. Add meat and cook until nicely browned. Add satay sauce, reduce heat and let simmer until the sauce is nice and thick. Remove meat from sauce with a slotted spoon and set aside.


Do Chua (Sweet Pickled Carrot & Daikon)

3/4 lb carrots, peeled & trimmed
3/4 lb daikon, peeled & trimmed
1 tsp salt
2 tsp + 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups rice vinegar
1 cup lukewarm water

Cut carrots & daikon into matchstick-sized pieces. Place in a bowl with salt and 2 tsp sugar. Knead gently for 3-4 minutes, until the carrots & daikon begin to release a significant amount of moisture and lose about a quarter of their volume.

Combine 1/2 cup sugar, vinegar and water in a bowl. Stir to dissolve sugar.

Rinse carrot & daikon under cool water in a colander, and gently press out excess moisture. Return to a bowl and pour the vinegar mixture over top. Let marinate a minimum of 1 hour, but this may be made ahead and refrigerated for up to a month.

Perfect Prime Rib

A well-cooked prime rib roast is, in my most humble opinion, one of the finest pieces of beef you will ever eat. It's hard to cook a truly bad prime rib, but it's so easy to cook an amazing one. This is not so much a recipe as it is a guideline - there are no fancy ingredients, no tricky techiques to master. All you really need is an oven and a whole lot of time. A high-heat start gives the roast a nice crisp outside, while roasting for the majority of the cooking time yields a lovely tender roast with an even doneness. Because roasts don't come in standard sizes, and oven temperatures may vary between models, it is absolutely vital to use a meat thermometer to determine when the roast is finished. This roast is best cooked to no more than medium, any more and it's really just a waste of this cut of meat.

Perfect Prime Rib

Prime rib roast of your desired size
Sea salt
Freshly cracked pepper
Herb rub of choice
2 carrots
1 large onion

When choosing a roast, a good guess is to estimate that you can feed 2 people per rib. A 3-rib roast would easily serve 6 adults. Ask your butcher for the 'small' end of the prime rib if you ca, but as I said above, a bad prime rib is hard to come by. I have cooked both ends and found that they're both delicious!

A couple hours before roasting, remove the roast from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. Rub the meat all over with herbs. My rub of choice consists of rosemary, thyme, sage, basil and oregano. You can use fresh if you'd like, but I keep this dried herb blend on hand for various seasoning purposes, and find it's perfect for this. Just before cooking, season with salt & pepper.

Preheat your oven to 450F. Scrub your carrots and remove the ends, no need to peel. Cut them into a couple large pieces. Trim & peel the onion, cut it into quarters. Scatter the carrot & onion pieces in the bottom of a roasting pan, and lay the roast, rib side down, on top of them. If you have a remote meat thermometer, now is a good time to place the probe in a good position to monitor the internal temperature.

Place the roast in the oven and roast at 450F for 15 minutes. Without opening the oven door, turn the oven down to 250F, and continue to roast for 20-25 minutes per pound, until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 130F for medium rare. If you like your meat done a little more, roast to 140F for medium.

When the roast is done, cover it with aluminum foil and a kitchen towel to allow it to rest. It's important to allow the roast to rest for at least 20-30 minutes before carving.

If a jus or gravy is your thing, move the roast to a board for carving. Remove the carrot & onion pieces from the pan, and heat the drippings over medium heat. Deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine and, if necessary, supplement the drippings with beef stock. For a thick gravy, bring to a simmer and thicken with a couple tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in a bit of cold water. You may find, however, that this roast rarely releases enough drippings to make a jus or gravy without supplementation. This is not a bad thing, it just means all those delicious meaty juices are still inside your roast!