Swedish Meatballs ~ A Fall Welcome

In our house, Fall is “where it’s at”.  Pretty sure my husband and I started daydreaming about Fall in mid-June of this year. My hubs, who has always been a huge fan of the Fall-into-Winter Season, has definitely influenced my love of the cooler months, but even more so, the birth of our son in November 2012 really formed my Autumn devotion.  Nowadays, just the mention of warm soups and yellowing leaves sends waves of nostalgia over my body.  

During my entire pregnancy with Noah my afternoons would almost always include a lingering walk . Sometimes I would sing to him, but mainly I would talk about how excited I was to meet him, how things were coming along with his nursery, or just that particular day’s goings-on.  These walks were measured and slow but I was dedicated.  It became my ritual, and on days that I didn’t walk, I felt as if I had missed out on a conversation with my son. 

Our walks became even more languid as my pregnancy rolled on and my belly became considerable, but as the cooler weather signaled the entrance of Autumn, our conversations became more excited.  After all, it was nearing time for Noah and I to meet face to face.  Leaves began to gather in the streets that we had walked the many months before, and pumpkins and other fall décor started to pop up here and there in our neighborhood.  Our conversations turned to Halloweens to come, watching Football games over hot chili, S’mores in the backyard, trips to the mountains, and Thanksgivings with “Our Nation of Three”. This was such a special moment in time for me.  This small bit of time when Noah was all mine and I didn’t have to share him with anyone.  This time during the Fall of 2012 will forever dance upon my heart each and every Autumn for the rest of my life. 

As Fall once again makes her entrance, I start to think about cool weather foods.  I know many minds wander to foods such as pot-roasts or meatloaf, and I love those as well, but one of the first things that comes to my mind when thinking of cold weather meals are Swedish Meatballs.  The fragrant nutmeg and allspice scented meatballs coated in brown gravy over egg noodles are just what’s necessary to finish off a gray sky day full of colored leaves and football games.  With the holidays just peeking right around the corner, it’s time to eat at home, enjoy your loved ones, and worry just a bit less about the waist-line. 

One side-note; this recipe is a take on my mom’s recipe, which I can only assume came down from my Grandmother.  I add a little more allspice and nutmeg than the recipe calls for most times because I love the flavors, and instead of making small ½ inch - 1 inch meatballs which is the norm for Swedish Meatballs, I like to make 1-2 inch meatballs.  Making a larger meatball can make the browning process a bit cumbersome, but it’s just how I prefer them, and its how mom made them.  You can make small meatballs, but make sure to cut down on your baking time so that they are not dry.

 

Ingredients & Instructions:

2 Slices White Bread
¼ C. Milk
8 Tbsp. Butter
½ C. Finely Chopped Onion
¾ Lb. Ground Chuck
¾ Lb. Ground Pork
2 Eggs (lightly beaten)
½ tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Salt
¼ tsp. Allspice (plus extra for sauce)
¼ tsp. Nutmeg (plus extra for sauce)
¼ C. All-Purpose Flour
3-4 C. Beef Broth
¼ C. Heavy Cream
1-2 Tbsp. Ketchup
¼ tsp. Chili Powder

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees.

Tear bread into very small pieces and set aside in a large bowl with the milk to soak.

Melt 1-2 Tbsp. of butter in a sauté pan on medium heat and sauté the onions.  Once they onions become translucent, add to the bowl with the bread and milk.  Add pork, beef, eggs, salt, pepper, allspice and nutmeg to the bowl and gently mix all ingredients together with hands.  Knead, but don’t “squish” the meat or the meatballs may end up being tough.  Form 1-2 Inch meatballs and place on a sheet pan. 

Add 3-4 Tbsp. of butter to the sauté pan and cook meatballs a few batches at a time turning every minute or two until the outsides are browned.  Remove the meatballs from the pan, and place back onto the sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes. 

While the meatballs are baking, add an additional 2-3 Tbsp. of butter to the sauté pan that the meatballs cooked in and then add the flour to make a roux.  Once the roux has turned blonde, add in the beef stock, ketchup, chili powder, and additional nutmeg and allspice, salt and pepper to taste.  When sauce is thickened, add cream.  Remove meatballs from the oven and place in the gravy to coat. Serve family style or on plates over egg noodles.

I have read a few recipes that call for adding sour cream instead of heavy cream at the end.  I have not tried this, but how bad could it possibly be?  I might have to try out this substitute next time, but thought I’d put the suggestion out there in case anyone would like to try it, or maybe has already tried it.

Happy Fall Everyone!

 

 

Beef Stroganoff

The recipe for my mom’s Beef Stroganoff is the perfect introduction to my blog “Bittersweet Cooking”.  The recipe card itself is tattered, the face is splotched with beef stock stains, and when I put the papery cardboard leaf to my nose, I swear it gives an odor of dusty onions.  The most beautiful thing about this recipe card though, even above the recipe that it holds, is my mother’s handwriting.  It’s hurried turns and curves, have faded, but are still legible enough to read, and although I have copied it onto another card for preservation’s sake, I still like to bring her card out when I cook this dish.  It makes me feel like she is by my side.

My mother passed away years ago, when I was 27 and quite honestly at that time, I had not yet discovered the absolute joy that creating the perfect dish can bring.  Thankfully even in my naïveté, I did keep mom’s beautiful Dutch oven, a few of her cookbooks, 2 of her mixing bowls, a hand mixer, her Cuisinart, and of course, her recipe box. 

The recipe box referred to above strangely is not the one that I remember from my childhood.  The one that she used in my younger years was a copper colored tin box.  On it were pictures of little chefs in their chef hats, racing around pots of steaming such and such.  I am not sure what happened to that box, but I have a few pictures of my mother in which that old thing is in the background, and I will never forget it (see below). 

The box that she later adopted is unfortunately made of cardboard.  I say “unfortunately” because it is beginning to come apart at the edges.  It is a white box covered with pictures of green ivy and it is stuffed full of my mom’s recipes, intermingled with my own recipes, and a few of my grandmother’s recipes as well.  I know that in the next couple of years this dilapidated boîte will completely deteriorate, and that I will be forced to dispose of it, but for now, it’s still in one piece.

Ingredients & Instructions 

 

1 lb. Beef Sirloin (cut into bite-sized strips)                                                                                 

3 tblsp. Butter                                                         

3 Cloves Garlic (Minced)

3/4 c. Onion (Minced)

1 c. Button Mushrooms (Sliced)

1 1/4 c. Beef Stock

3 tblsp. Flour

3 tblsp. Ketchup

1 tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Pepper

1 c. Sour Cream

2 tblsp. Cooking Sherry

3 tblsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper (to taste)

Egg Noodles (cooked el dente)

Melt butter in medium skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms to skillet and sweat until just tender.  Remove from skillet, set aside, and turn up heat to medium-high.  Add meat to sear.  Once meat is seared, turn heat back down to medium and add 1/2 of the beef broth along with the ketchup, salt, pepper, and sour cream to skillet.  Shake other half of broth and 3 tblsp flour in a jar to mix and then add to skillet.  Heat until thickened.  Add mushrooms, onions and garlic back into the skillet.  Before removing from heat, add sherry, worcestershire, and cayenne pepper to taste. Serve over egg noodles.