Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

Marvelous Meatballs — With A New California Whole Wheat Pasta

Posted on by 11 comments

A plethora of meatballs to dig into.

“I Love Meatballs!”

That’s the fun title of the newest cookbook (Andrews McMeel) by the ever prolific New York cooking instructor, Rick Rogers, of which I recently received a review copy.

But it might also very well be a mantra we would all shout happily from the rafters.

Come on, say it with me now: I. LOVE. Meatballs.

If that doesn’t put a big smile on your face, I don’t know what will.

Rogers circles the globe with is recipes for meatballs in this book. You’ll find everything from “Beef Meatballs in Pho” to “Persian Meatballs in Pomegranate and Walnut Sauce” to “Chinese Rice-Crusted Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Dip.”

I gravitated to the “Ziti with Sausage Meatballs and Broccolini.” The meatballs are actually made from ground pork and sweet Italian sausages that have been removed from their casings. Mix in shredded onion, egg, and milk-soaked bread crumbs for added moisture.  The results are juicy, fluffy meatballs perfect for nestling in pasta.

Read more

A Dish When There’s No Time

Posted on by 12 comments

Scallops with a creamy, spicy sauce.

Roasting often conjures up images of low, slow cooking in the oven for hours on end.

But this particular recipe for roasting is quick, quick, quick.

“Quick-Roasted Scallops with Sriracha and Lime” is for times when you want dinner on the table fast, fast, fast. It’s from “All About Roasting” (W.W. Norton & Company) by award-winning cookbook author Molly Stevens.

The book, of which I received a review copy, is full of recipes sure to keep your oven busy. Large scallops get baked, then quickly broiled with a simple topping of mayo, lime juice, sugar and Sriracha. They remind me of the baked or broiled mayo-topped scallops at Japanese restaurants.

Read more

Stewing Over Time

Posted on by 10 comments

Stew that is the epitome of spring.

Admittedly, I sometimes stew about how time flies these days, about how in a blink of an eye a third of a year is somehow already gone. What gives?

But then again, why stew when you can eat it instead, right?

Especially when it’s a stew that’s made for the bright arrival of spring.

That’s just what “Green-As-Spring Veal Stew” is. It’s a recipe from “Around My French Table”(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) by everyone’s favorite culinary guru, Dorie Greenspan. The cookbook, of which I received a review copy, is filled with French comfort food for every season.

Cubes of veal simmer in broth with garlic, onion, carrots, celery and thyme until tender. Fish them out, then add a plethora of herbs and greens to the braising liquid. We’re talking bountiful handfuls of arugula, spinach, dill fronds, parsley and tarragon. Blend them all until you get a vibrant green sauce. Although the recipe says you can use a blender, food processor or hand blender, don’t opt for the latter, as the leaves may end up clogging it. Better to let your food processor or blender make easy, efficient work of it all instead.

Read more

Make Room For Smoked Meat Loaf

Posted on by 27 comments

Getting ready to smoke the meatloaf with plenty of hickory.

Sure, you’ve baked many a meat loaf. But have you ever smoked one — over hickory chips no less?

It may spoil you for any other version.

A beguiling smoky, woodsy flavor permeates this very moist “Slow-Smoked Barbecued Meat Loaf” from “Cooking My Way Back Home” (Ten Speed Press) cookbook, of which I received a review copy late last year. The cookbook is by Mitchell Rosenthal, co-owner and executive chef of three San Francisco restaurants: Town Hall, Salt House, and Anchor and Hope. The book features more than 100 hearty, Southern-inspired dishes from those restaurants.

This is one flavorful meatloaf, as the mixture of ground beef, pork and veal is suffused with your favorite barbecue sauce, Dijon mustard, grated Parmesan and a spice mixture that includes cayenne, paprika, cumin, coriander, oregano, celery salt and dry mustard.

Meat loaf that's as good as it gets.

The meat loaf can be cooked either inside a loaf pan or on top of a sheet pan. The latter will expose it to more of that lovely smoke, so that’s the method I chose.

Read more

Blathering about Bouillabaisse Balls

Posted on by 17 comments

Fish is the main ingredient in these meatballs. But where, oh where, is the sauce?

This is a case of: Do as I say; don’t do as I do.

What I mean by that is if you make this recipe for “Bouillabaisse Balls” found in “The Meatball Shop Cookbook” (Ballantine Books) exactly as printed — as I did — you may find it lacking. Just as I did.

First, it looks nothing like the photo in the book by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow, founders of New York City’s The Meatball Shop, of which I received a review copy. The photo in the book shows a frying pan filled to the brim with meatballs bobbing in a thick tomato sauce. Only problem? The meatballs in the recipe are cooked in a rectangular baking dish, not a frying pan. And there’s no sauce anywhere to be found in the recipe. Uh, hello?

OK, fine, I thought. I’ll just try making the recipe as is, thinking the fish balls, seasoned to mimic the famous Provencal seafood stew, will be flavorful enough all on their own.

Not quite.

Read more

« Older Entries Recent Entries »