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.

Maple Beer Ham with Sweet Hot Mustard

I realize that a lot of the recipes I post are not always the simplest meals, or the quickest to prepare. This one takes a long time to make, but most of that time is in a slow cooker! It's a great one to prep in the morning, or even the night before. The ham is absolutely delicious... it practically falls apart when it's done, and the maple & beer add a really amazing flavour to it. We make the biggest possible ham that will fit in our slow cooker, and use the leftovers to make ham sandwiches, or fry up some bigger chunks for a ham & egg breakfast. The sweet hot mustard is an adaptation of a recipe my grandmother passed on to me - mine's a bit spicier than hers is, though! It doesn't taste like much immediately, but develops a great flavour after a couple of hours.

Maple Beer Ham with Sweet Hot Mustard

Ham:
One bone-in ham, 3-7lbs
1 large onion, sliced
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp dry mustard
1 1/2 cups beer (nothing too pale or too dark, a nice medium brown beer is best)

Lay the sliced onions in the bottom of your slow cooker. Place the ham on top, season with salt & pepper.

In a bowl, whisk together maple syrup & mustard. Stir in beer, and pour over ham. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.


Sweet Hot Mustard:
1/2 cup flour
5 tbsp dry mustard
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup vinegar
2 tbsp water

Combine flour, mustard, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add vinegar and water, stirring into a smooth paste. Pour into a jar and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight before using.

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.