Ding Dong Eight-Alarm Chili

Don’t you love the name of this chili?  I think that’s what drew me to it.  I was craving chili the other day and normally I would make my normal chili (blogged about here). I don’t have a strict recipe, I kind of just use my judgment and throw things into the pot.  It works out well enough but I wanted to try something more “authentic” or traditional.  As usual my search turned to Epicurious where I found this recipe from Gourmet (RIP) circa 2003.

I knew right away that there would be some work involved.  Well I guess the recipe clearly states that there’s 1 3/4 hours of active time and 6 hours total time required.  But i was up for  task.  It wasn’t so much the heat aspect of the chili that I found interesting as the use of cubed stewing beef instead of ground beef, the use of multiple pepper varieties and the lack of veggies.  I also like recipes that require me to head to Kensington Market to source ingredients (Toronto doesn’t make it easy to find a variety of peppers just anywhere).

I made the mistake of starting this chili at around 9PM on a Sunday night.  I figured I’d cook it while watching Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters and then go to bed at a decent time.  Of course I miscalculated and I ended up having to stay awake until 1AM tended the chili… NOT FUN.  If I had started this at 9AM it would have been a lot more pleasant.

The final product was meatier than I would have liked.  I even added extra beans but it was just too meaty for me.  Delicious, yes, but meaty.  I’d consider making this again with less meat and more beans.  OR maybe I’d taking the idea of making a sauce with the peppers et. al and incorporate it into my usual chili mix.  We’ll see…

2 oz dried ancho chiles (4 large), stemmed and seeded
6 large garlic cloves, 3 of them finely chopped
1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder (not pure chile)
4 lb well-marbled beef brisket or boneless chuck, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (28- to 32-oz) can whole tomatoes in juice
1/4 cup canned chipotle chiles in adobo
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 lb white onions, chopped (4 cups)
1 tablespoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican), crumbled
1 to 4 fresh serrano or other small green chiles, finely chopped, including seeds (1 is fine for most tastes; 4 is the eight-alarm version)
1 (12-oz) bottle beer (not dark)
2 cups water
2 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans (optional; 30 oz), rinsed if canned

Accompaniments: cubed avocado; chopped white onion; shredded Cheddar; chopped fresh cilantro; sour cream

Soak ancho chiles in hot water to cover until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain well.

While chiles soak, mince 1 whole garlic clove and mash to a paste with 1/2 tablespoon salt, 1/2 tablespoon cumin, and 1/2 tablespoon chili powder. Pat beef dry and toss with spice mixture in a large bowl until coated.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wide 6- to 7-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown beef in 3 or 4 batches, without crowding, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes per batch (lower heat as needed; spice mixture burns easily). Transfer beef as browned to another bowl. (Do not clean pot.)

Purée anchos in a blender along with tomatoes (including juice), chipotles in adobo, cilantro, remaining 2 whole garlic cloves, and remaining 1/2 tablespoon salt until smooth.

Add enough oil to fat in pot to total 3 tablespoons, then cook onions and chopped garlic over moderate heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits from beef, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add oregano, remaining tablespoon cumin, and remaining tablespoon chili powder and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add chile purée and 1 chopped serrano and simmer, stirring, 5 minutes. Stir in beer, water, and beef along with any juices accumulated in bowl and gently simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally and checking often to make sure chili is not scorching, 2 hours.

Taste sauce, then add more serrano if desired and continue to simmer, partially covered, until beef is very tender and sauce is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 hours more. (If chili becomes very thick before meat is tender, thin with water as needed.)

Coarsely shred meat (still in pot) with 2 forks and cool chili completely, uncovered, then chill, covered, 1 to 2 days to allow flavors to develop.

Reheat over low heat, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until hot, about 30 minutes. Add beans (if using) and simmer, stirring, 5 minutes.

Gourmet
September 2003

On the Town: Burger Shoppe Quality Meats (BQM – Ossington)

Burger Shoppe Quality Meats
210 Ossington Avenue
Toronto, ON
416-850-1919

My girls and I were having our monthly book club meeting and decided to do “Restaurant Edition”.  Normally we do it at someone’s house but we figured we’d switch it up.  I compiled a shortlist of restaurants (including Delux and Czehoski’s) and we settled on BQM.  I remember hearing about it when it first opened and every time I’m in the Ossington hood I remind myself to check it out.

I arrived before the rest of my party and immediately got a not-so-great impression of the place.  I entered and stood awkwardly in the door for a few minutes.  Do I just sit down?  Is someone going to seat me? HOW DOES THIS WORK? After a few minutes of looking around nervously someone came over to me.  I told him that I needed a table for 4 but that I was waiting on the rest of my party.  He said the big table was reserved and walked away.  Ummmm if the big table is reserved does that mean no parties of 4?  What about moving some of the two tops together? SO MANY QUESTIONS.

I took a seat by the door and figured the situation would resolve itself.  About 15 minutes later I asked the same guy how long a wait it would be, his response, “I don’t like to commit to waiting times”.  WTF?? It’s a RESTAURANT that’s part of what you do? So again I went back to my perch not knowing if I was in for a 15 minute wait or a 2-hour wait.  I probably would have left but my friends had not yet arrived.  Oh! A highlight of waiting was this poor woman who sat down and waited for a menu or to be acknowledged.  She sat in one spot for at least 15-20 minutes and no one acknowledged her.  She then moved to another table, waited some more and got acknowledged. WOW.

So after waiting for 45 minutes another guy comes up to me and asks to put my name on a list.  Okay.  I ask him how long and he says probably a while since there’s a group of 5 ahead of you.  Um, you mean the group of 5 that I watched walk in? That group?  He looked like he didn’t quite believe me and went over to some other staffers.  After much whispering the truth was revealed that I in fact had been there first.  PHEW!  There were apologies and we moved on.  Although, at one point I was ready to storm out.

After a solid hour and fifteen minute wait we were seated at a table that was arranged to be a two-top that they turned on an angle to make it a four-top.  At this point we were hungry, kind of irritated and wanted beer so we took it.

BQM has a solid list of burgers all available with either regular, Angus or Sirloin beef at various price points.  Toppings run the gamut from the ordinary (bacon) to outside the box (eggs) and all burgers have names like The Ossington, The Riverside, The B&B etc.  You also have the option of paying more for additional toppings.  I chose a burger with Brie, bacon and some other goodness.

The burger was good.  I wasn’t blown away but it was enjoyable.  I found the meat a bit on the dry side but was won over by the brie and bacon combination.  We also ordered poutine and sweet potato fries.  The poutine was just ok.  The curds didn’t seem super fresh and the poutine itself was lukewarm.  The sweet potato fries were pretty yummy though!

Prices are on the high side but you’re getting naturally-raised beef, so what would you expect?  Burgers range from about $7-$11 (depending on what meat you choose) and fries are around $5 or $6 (they serve multiple).  If one friends wants regular fries and the other wants sweet potato fries you are each looking at about a $12 tab and you haven’t had anything to drink yet.

Would I go back? I’m not sure.  I was really put off by the way the seating was handled initially and also frustrated by how they divvy up the service.  It seems that no one really has assigned roles.  No one seemed responsible for acting as host for the majority of the time (although towards the end one woman did step up) and it was one of those meals where multiple people stopped by to take our drink orders.  I also saw one server walk right past another group that entered the restaurant without acknowleging them and in fact averted his eyes!  It was appalling. I’d like to chalk this up to opening pains but this place opened back in 2008 so excuses are few and far between.

Here is what others have to say about BQM:
Taste T.O.
Martini Boys

Pumpkin-Pecan Pie with Whiskey Butter Sauce

I don’t think you guys are ready for this one.  I didn’t realize I wasn’t ready until I tasted it.  I had a frozen pie crust in my freezer that had been taking up space for weeks.  I finally decided to get my act together and figure out what to fill the pie crust with. I also had a jar of Lyle’s Golden Syrup that I bought about a year ago with the intention of making pecan pie.  It never happened.  So I logged onto Epicurious to find a pecan pie recipe when I stumbled upon this recipe and I knew I had found my calling.

The recipe combines the best of both worlds when it comes to harvest time pies.  It has pumpkin pie on the bottom and pecan pie on the top!  Literally a dream come true.  And if that wasn’t enough there’s a whiskey butter sauce to go with it.  Yes, a sauce with butter and alcohol AND cream.  Seriously, heaven.

The photo above doesn’t show the sauce.  It was late in the evening by the time the pie was ready and I wanted to consume it immediately.  I made the sauce the next night and it was like a whole other dessert.  The sauce isn’t necessary but definitely puts the pie over the edge.

For the record, I didn’t make my own pie crust as noted above.  I’m just not in a place in my life where I want to make pie crusts.  That place could be 2010 though.  I followed the recipes nearly to the letter with the exception of subbing the Lyle’s Golden Syrup in for the dark corn syrup in the pecan pie portion of the pie.  I didn’t use a deep dish pie crust so I had some leftover pecan filling.  The sauce was a bit on the runny side but I’m sure one could troubleshoot and make that better.

This might be a great pie solution for any upcoming Thanksgiving or holiday feasts.  I’m seriously in love with this pie.

Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Pumpkin Filling
1 cup cooked pumpkin purée
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg, beaten until frothy
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground allspice
Pinch of ground nutmeg

Pecan Syrup
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
2 small eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground cinnamon
3/4 cup pecan pieces

Whiskey Butter Sauce
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon very hot water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup bourbon whiskey

Pie Crust
Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and incorporate with your fingertips until the mixture resembles very coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle the water over the flour mixture in tablespoon increments, stirring continuously with a fork. Form the dough into a ball and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Pumpkin Filling
Combine all the ingredients thoroughly in a medium bowl; set aside.

Pecan Syrup
Combine all the ingredients thoroughly in a medium bowl; set aside.

Assembly
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease an 8-inch springform cake pan.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to 3/16 inch. Very lightly flour the top of the dough and fold it into quarters. Carefully place the dough in the greased cake pan. Press firmly in place and trim the edges. Chill for 15 minutes.

Spoon the Pumpkin Filling into the pan, spreading evenly to distribute. Gently pour the Pecan Syrup on top. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Cool and serve with Whiskey Butter Sauce.

Whiskey Butter Sauce
Melt the butter in the top of a double boiler set over gently simmering water.

Beat the sugar and egg in a small bowl until blended. Stir the egg mixture into the butter. Add the hot water and stir until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 7 minutes. Remove from the double boiler and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the cream and whiskey.

New Tastes from Texas
April 1993
by Stephan Pyles

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

Me and this recipe go waaaay back.  I found it in Bon Appetit back in 2005 and have loved it ever since.  Prior to seeing this in Bon App I had never even thought about the idea of Sweet Potato Gnocchi but when I read the recipe it sounded oh so right.

Now you’re probably thinking that this a pretty intense project.  It’s not that crazy, trust me.  I even made this over the course of two weeknights.  If you divide the work over two days this is a fairly quick weeknight dinner.    The first night I made the dough and the second night I formed the individual gnocchi.  The gnocchi forming is the most tedious part but it’s really not that bad.  I think it took me about 45 minutes to an hour to get the job done.  Totally worth it.  PLUS I have a ton of gnocchi leftover which promptly got put into the freezer.

The gnocchi are served in a simple brown butter and sage sauce.  The sweetness of the gnocchi combines perfectly with spicy sage and toasted butter.  I’m thinking there might be an opportunity to do something with hazelnuts and bacon with this recipe.  I can kind of taste it already.

I served this with some steamed broccoli for a light dinner but in the past have served it alongside a protein.

Add this to your to-do list.

Ingredients

2 1-pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), rinsed, patted dry, pierced all over with fork

1 12-ounce container fresh ricotta cheese, drained in sieve 2 hours 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 3/4 cups (about) all purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 tablespoons chopped fresh sage plus whole leaves for garnish

Directions

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place sweet potatoes on plate; microwave on high until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Cut in half and cool. Scrape sweet potato flesh into medium bowl and mash; transfer 3 cups to large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well. Add Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet.

Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Preheat oven to 300°F. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Add chopped sage (mixture will bubble up). Turn off heat. Season sage butter generously with salt and pepper.

Transfer half of sage butter to large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add half of gnocchi. Sauté until gnocchi are heated through, about 6 minutes. Empty skillet onto rimmed baking sheet; place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining sage butter and gnocchi.

Divide gnocchi and sauce among shallow bowls. Garnish with sage leaves.

(Bon Appétit | December 2005)

 

Barefoot Bloggers: Creme Brulee

Another month, another Barefoot Bloggers recipe!  I was totally pumped when I saw the recipe for Creme Brulee.  I LOVE that stuff!  So much in fact that YEARS ago I ordered a kitchen blowtorch for the sole purpose of making  creme brulee.  Truth be told the contraption has probably been used 2 or 3 times at MOST. Creme brulee tends to be one of those things that I eat while out, particularly when I’m out with my friend Jaime who is a big of the CB.

This recipe comes from Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten/Barefoot Contessa (of course! This is Barefoot Bloggers).  Like most recipes it is super simple.  The fun part though is that I learned that my hand mixer was broken as I went to make this.  But alas people were making creme brulee before there were hand mixers so I used my whisk to make this happen.  I also did the extra step of straining the mixture before filing the ramekins.  Straining ensures that there are no lumps and makes the whole thing extra creamy and silky.

Oh, and it was!

Creamy, custardy goodness.  I didn’t follow the recipe exactly since I omitted the orange liquer but I don’t usually like orange flavoured things so no love lost there.

With this recipe you end up with 4 egg whites with no home.  I was on David Lebovitz’ site and came across this post that gives ideas (and recipes!) for using leftover egg whites… brilliant!  Let’s just say look out for a post on homemade marshmallows sometime soon.

Enjoy!

Creme Brulee

Ingredients

• 1 extra-large egg
• 4 extra-large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together on low speed until just combined. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a small saucepan until it’s very hot to the touch but not boiled. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cream to the eggs. Add the vanilla and orange liqueur and pour into 6 to 8-ounce ramekins until almost full.

Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set when gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm.

To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a kitchen blowtorch until the sugar carmelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.

(From Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten)

Babycakes Vegan Brownies

So I’ve blogged about the bakery Babycakes NYC a few times like here and here. I love the bakery and was thrilled when the cookbook came out.  I don’t need vegan or gluten-free treats but I like the idea of experimenting with alternative forms of baking.  I recently bought a mini-muffin tin in order to bake mini cupcakes for a work party and  of course have been looking for opportunities to use it again.

Finding the ingredients wasn’t difficult.  My local health food store had everything. But alas I like to buy things in bulk so I headed to my beloved Bulk Barn to secure the various types of flours. I like buying in bulk because it makes these types of recipes more accessible.  A lot of these ingredients can cost about $8 per bag but if I buy in bulk I can buy just what I need for maybe $2.

I was pretty strict about following this recipe because I figured the slightest deviations could really screw things up.  The bulk store didn’t have the garbanzo/fava flour but they did have garbanzo flour and romano bean flour.  So I bought a bit of each and mixed them together!  This was before I remembered that I could have subbed in rice flour in the recipe.  I also used brewed coffee instead of water in the recipe.

The verdict: not bad!

Were these the best brownies ever? No, I really think a brownie benefits from butter like this recipe from the always buttery Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa.  They were definitely as good as your average good brownie though!  They were pretty reminiscent of those two-bite brownies everyone makes just less gooey.  Would I make them again? If I had the ingredients to use up, sure.  They are definitely a good substitute for traditional brownies if you’re avoiding gluten, dairy etc.

Babycakes Brownies

Ingredients

Makes about 5 dozen mini brownies.

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted, plus more for pans
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons garbanzo and fava bean flour
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot
• 1 cup unrefined sugar or 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons agave nectar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup store-bought unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee or hot water
• 2 cups vegan gluten-free chocolate chips, such as Tropical Source

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush 3 dozen mini-muffin pans with oil; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, potato starch, arrowroot, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, and unsweetened cocoa powder; set aside. In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, 1/2 cup coconut oil, and vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture, stirring to combine. Stir in coffee until it forms a batter. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Place 1 tablespoon batter into each prepared muffin cup. Transfer muffin pans to oven, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before unmolding.

(Recipe from BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery by Erin McKenna)

Product Review: Das Lolli – Maple Bacon Lollipop

(Photo from ZOMG, Candy!)

It’s no secret that I love all things bacon.  If it contains bacon I’m usually sold.  So I was walking through Whole Foods the other day when I stumbled upon DAS Lollis. They had about 4 flavours of the lollipops on hand in really bright coloured packaging so my eyes were immediately drawn to them.  I scanned the flavours and were intrigued I mean salty caramel, orange pomegranate, lemon ginger and maple bacon…

MAPLE BACON? In a lollipop? Yuppers!  I grabbed one maple bacon (actually named MAN BAIT) and a lemon ginger (called Naughty Ginger).

First and foremost the mpale bacon tasted like maple.  That works.  I’m Canadian, I love maple syrup! But then the smokiness of the bacon kicks in and then you realize that there are actual pieces of bacon in the lollipop. HEAVEN.

Turns out the lollipops are “all natural” which is generally nice to see (whatever “all natural”) means.

I did some quick digging and DAS Foods sounds like a neat company.  It was started by Katie Das in Chicago in 2006.  The original idea was that the company would sell salts from around the world.  She then began making caramels and now also makes lollipops.  10% of the profits goes to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.  Not bad.  To find out more about the company click here.

I have yet to try the Naughty Ginger but will do so soon.  I’m also curious to see if Whole Foods carries the caramels as well… I’m a sucker for salted caramel.

But seriously, if you love bacon these lollipops will let you easily carry the taste that you love so much without leaving grease stains on your pants.

Coconut Rice Pudding (Vegan)

The other day I was home sick and needed something to eat for lunch.  My original plan was to venture downtown to get corn soup but as the morning progressed I started to get lazy.  I began rummaging through my fridge in hopes of finding something to consume when I found leftover brown rice.  My first thought was “OMG I want coconut rice pudding!”.  Seriously, that’s how my mind works.

For a few weeks I’ve been craving rice pudding, really since I returned from Paris after our fab dinner at Au Gout Dujor where my mom had rice pudding for dessert.  Plus I’ve always had the intention of making a brown rice pudding using coconut milk instead of regular milk since my stomach does not love large quantities of milk…making this recipe vegan which is always a bonus.

I didn’t really have a master recipe to work from but I did a lot of searching so I could see a few different recipes to get an idea of what happens when and how much of various things to add.  The closest I could come to the type of rice pudding I was after was this recipe.

I do not eat raisins so I chose dried apricots as my mixed in fruit and also mixed in some shredded coconut to give it an extra coconutty taste.  To sweeten I used a combination of evaporated cane sugar and agave nectar.  And since I had pomegranates in the fridge I figured why not add some to the pudding as a topping too.  Rice pudding is great because you can really customize it to make it your own using different mix-ins.

This was pretty much one of the most delicious things EVER. It was so warm, so creamy and just the epitome of comfort food.  If I had a fireplace I would have been curled up in front of it eating this pudding.

Vegan Coconut Rice Pudding

Ingredients

2 cups water
1 cup brown rice
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup dried apricots
Evaporated cane sugar and/or Agave nectar (to taste)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup shredded coconut
pomegranate seeds

Directions

Bring water to a boil, add rice and cook for about 30 minutes or until rice has lost moisture towards the bottom
add coconut milk, apricots, sweeteners, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and half the coconut and continue cooking and stirring until rice is super thick and creamy
Serve in bowls and top with remaining coconut and pomegranate seeds

My Swedish Feast: Swedish Meatballs

Truth be told one of my fave meals is the meatball plate at IKEA.  Yes, the quality of the food has fallen off in recent years but whenever I’m at IKEA (which happens quite often since I work within walking distance of one) I just HAVE to have the meatballs.  I think it’s because I rarely, if ever have Swedish food.  Who doesn’t want a plate of meatballs covered in craving with ligonberry jam to dip them in and potatoes to make it all right?  No one, that’s who.

I’ve had this recipe for Swedish meatballs in Cook’s Illustrated bookmarked for months.  I kind of forgot about it until I was flipping through the issue.  Of course I started CRAVING meatballs and just had to make it.

Believe it or not I made this on a weekday after work.  I thought it was going to be kind of masochistic of me but in the end it wasn’t.  The meatballs were pretty straightforward to make, the sauce was easy enough and I even made a cranberry relish to serve with the meatballs in place of ligonberry jam!  I know, ambitious!  As per the IKEA standard I served the meatballs with boiled potatoes too.

I want to eat this everyday.  I’m not even kidding.  It was that good.  And the sauce? DELICIOUS! It’s on the sweet side but oh so good.  The meatballs themselves were really moist thanks to the bread tip.  The one thing that I omitted (accidentally) was allspice.
Apparently the meatballs can be served over egg noodles.  I’m intrigued.  That will be for next time.

Swedish Meatballs

For the Meatballs

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 slice white bread, crusts removed and bread torn into 1-inch pieces
• 8 ounces ground pork
• 1 small onion, grated on large holes of box grater (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 8 ounces 85% lean ground beef
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

For the Sauce

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth 
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed from 1 lemon
• salt & fresh ground pepper

1. For the Meatballs: Whisk egg and cream together in medium bowl. Stir in bread and set aside. Meanwhile, in stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat pork, onion, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder on high speed until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl as necessary. Using fork, mash bread mixture until no large dry bread chunks remain; add mixture to mixer bowl and beat on high speed until smooth and homogeneous, about 1 minute, scraping bowl as necessary. Add beef and mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl as necessary. Using moistened hands, form generous tablespoon of meat mixture into 1-inch round meatball; repeat with remaining mixture to form 25 to 30 meatballs.
2. Heat oil in 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat until edge of meatball dipped in oil sizzles (oil should register 350 degrees on instant-read thermometer), 3 to 5 minutes. Add meatballs in single layer and fry, flipping once halfway through cooking, until lightly browned all over and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. (Adjust heat as needed to keep oil sizzling but not smoking.) Using slotted spoon, transfer browned meatballs to paper towel-lined plate.
3. For the Sauce: Pour off and discard oil in pan, leaving any fond (browned bits) behind. Return pan to medium-high heat and add butter. When foaming subsides, add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is light brown, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in broth, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits. Add brown sugar and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and return to simmer.
4. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer, turning occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

(Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, January 2009)

On The Town: The Macallan Scotch Tasting

Last week I had the opportunity to attend my first Matchstick event which was a scotch tasting for the brand The Macallan.  Truth be told, I’m not a scotch drinker.  I’ve likely had it in some mixed drinks over the years but I’ve never been a scotch kind of gal.  But when I got the invite for this event I figured why not?

The event was held at ONE at the Hazelton Hotel in Yorkville.  I hadn’t been there before but was curious to check out the space and taste some scotch.  When I arrived with my two buddies we were immediately offered some scotch.  I’ll admit my first sip stunned me. It was too big and too quick!  But I was not deterred.

We had a great host named Mark who took us through an interesting PowerPoint presentation that taught us about the history of the brand, how the scotch is made and then… tasting!

We were given four different years of The Macallan scotches to taste, a 12-year, a 15-year, an 18-year and a 21-year.   Two of them were aged in fine oak casks and two were aged in sherry oak casks from Spain, which accounts for the differences in colour (the darker ones are from sherry casks).  Perhaps my favourite part of the evening were the montages set to music corresponding to the year that the scotch was first aged.  Seriously, it may have been the highlight of my life.  I believe Sting and Rod Stewart were played.  Kind of amazing.

To me, alcohol is usually just alcohol but this tasting really taught me how to taste the different notes.  For example, toffee.  Yes, there are toffee notes!  I also learned that there is nothing wrong with adding a bit of water and/or ice to your scotch.  In fact, we saw a really cool demonstration where Mark made round ice cubes!

I really enjoyed the scotch tasting and thought it was a great experience.  My favourite ended up being the 18-year scotch which I later learned costs about $290.  What can I say, I have expensive tastes.  I definitely have a new appreciation for sctoch and totally look forward to being in a group of guys at a bar and ordering me some scotch.

At the end of the evening we even got our own little ambassador kits that contained small bottles of the 10 and 12-year varieties.  not bad!  I’m not sure when I’ll crack them open… waiting for a special day or perhaps a really crappy day… we’ll see!

For more information about The Macallan click here.

Also, here’s a quick survey that you can take!