DC Foodie News
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Sweed-ish My Meatball Style
Mar 7th
During one of my infamous family adventures to Europe, I traveled to Greece, and not just the ‘main land.’ The main land, is what I like to call Athens, Greece, a place I just sat 13 hours in an airplane to arrive to and still feel like I am in America. Everyone spoke English better than Americans do, cooked American food, better than us Americans could ever do; in a nutshell I hated everything about Athens (except the ruins.) Anyway, during my Greek travels, I jumped to the island of Mykonos, a place I wish I could’ve traveled to with a handful of my craziest debaucheronious (yup I just made that word up, right clicked and added it to my dictionary) friends, rather than my parents. Me and my sister made the best of it with one another (I was pretty cool for being six years younger than she is at the time.) One night after dining with the parentals, we were able to sneak away to a night club called The Scandinavian Bar. This dish reminds me of that experience. I couldn’t exactly understand why in the middle of Mykonos’ intense nightlife, and infested streets full of italian vacationers, there would exist a two story nightclub called The Scandinavian. Anyways, that’s the only tidbit of my ruckus-causing past you will be informed of especially pertaining to that wild Scandalous Scandinavious night, the crazy gypsy children trying to rip me and my sister off, and the crepery we crashed afterwards, and meeting Kramer (or possibly a look a look alike of him.)
This dish reminds me of my only Scandinavian experience, that just happens to have taken place in Greece (don’t ask.) Now, for most Americans, they relate Ikea, their Swedish meatballs they serve in their cafeteria….and for the record, I just want to say, they are so freaking delicious (but not good for you.) So I took on the Swedish meatballs challenge. Swedish Meatballs are probably one of the best-known Swedish cooking specialties, definitely a necessity on the smörgåsbord. Norway, Denmark and Finland have their own versions, too. Every Scandinavian cookbook has at least one recipe, usually several. The varieties are staggering to think about! Why so many? How should you pick one?
You’re probably thinking, well… why would I take a Persian girls Swedish Recipe…I will tell you why…. because It is AMAZING, and I do not mean to toot my own flute, but it really is.
First, tackle the meatballs. Here is my quick recipe (for 10 meatballs):
- Fresh ground organic turkey (trust me) 1/2 the container
- Diced Poblano pepper (only use half of it)
- Fresh chopped parsley
- 1 Egg (no whites are invited to the bowl)
-Dash of salt/ fresh ground pepper/ Paprika
- drizzle of Orange Juice (tenderizes the meat)
- Bread Crumbs (keep pouring in the bread crumbs till the mixture is an equal balance, not too wet, not too dry) – I suggest Italian Style Bread Crumbs
Note: Remember, using your hand (with a glove) is the best mixing device.
Meatball Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees before you begin making your meatballs
- Once you’ve created your meat ball mixture, begin ballin’ up your balls (haha!) to fit perfectly in your hand
- Place all meatballs on a flat pan (that has been sprayed so they do not stick)
- Let the meatballs cook for 8 minutes.
Le Saucy Sauce:
- Wash and prep your vegetables / red and yellow peppers and white onions, (make sure to thinly slice the white onions)
- Make sure your saucepan is hot (add a bit of e.v.o.o)
- When the sauce pan is hot, drop in your chopped vegetables.
- Once the vegetables have brown a bit, add Swanson Chicken Stock and with a wooden spoon scrape all the deliciousness off the bottom of the pan.
- Add 1 cup of sugar
- Allow the sauce to cook for 10 minutes
- Allow the Meatballs to rest for 5 minutes before adding them into the sauce, where they will finish cooking as they soak up all the deliciousness of the sweet sauce.
There you have it. A Persian girls take on Swedish meatballs, and they are damn good too! Let me know what you foodies think! BOOM
…and just incase my description of my European adventure to Mykonos, Greece and going to The Scandinavian Bar didn’t build your imagination enough, here is quick clip of where I was referring to (for you visual people):
I’m an eggplant lover….said and done
Mar 1st
EGGPLANT ARE NOT DELICIOUS.
To me, eggplants are uber delicious. If you do not think so, then this post is not for you. I can eat eggplant in any way, but a lot of people do not feel the same. Some people do not enjoy the texture of eggplant, nor the super-acidic flavor.
Luckily for me, I am in a relationship with a foodie who shares the same pallet at me. Give us roasted eggplant spread, broiled eggplant japonaise, baba ghanouj, ratatouille.. WHATEVER… it is all good to us. I grew up eating eggplant….although after every eggplant-rich meal…my tongue hurts For those of you who have to sneak bits and pieces of eggplant in various dishes for your “significant other” …. they are not going to miraculously love eggplant. Those people who HATE eggplant, I have found also happen to hate mushrooms, zuchinni and summer squashes as well. If you are determined to find a way to get [ENTER SIGNIFICANT OTHER'S NAME HERE] to enjoy popular farmer produce like eggplant; this cooking technique will do the trick.
First buy regular eggplants at your local grocery or farmer’s market. Make sure the eggplant is not heavily waxed, and not overly huge (big eggplants indicate unnatural fertilizer….and that is just not yummy.)
- Preheat your oven to 345 degrees.
Secondly, cut the egg plants in half, and scoop out the insides (make sure to keep the insides)
- Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on the inside of each eggplant half and then place them on a pan and then into the oven (for 10 minutes)
Now time to make the good stuff!
Buy ground turkey meat (organic preferably) … you will only need half the container.
Warm up that skillet, with a little bit of e.v.o.o
Season the turkey with:
-Basil -Cumin -Salt/Pepper -Fresh Garlic
Chop up:
- Fresh tomatoes
- Celery (2 stalks)
- The inside scoopings of eggplant
- One jalapeño pepper
-Fresh parsley
After you let your eggplant bowls (that’s what I like to call them for the sake of this post) roast for 10 minutes in the oven…
Pull them out, scoop spoonfuls of your turkey filling and fill up each bowls… not too much filling… they are going back into the oven. I sprinkled a handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs on top and placed them back into the oven (for an extra 10 minutes.)
Deliciouso! Let me know what you think!~
The Amateur Gourmet Salad
Feb 23rd
Heirloom. Heirloom. Heirloom.
There is nothing quite like an Heirloom tomato salad… although some will argue it is considered a Summer Salad. At AZFoodieNews, We don’t discriminate salads for seasons, if it is good, it’s good year round. Buy an array of quirkily beautiful heirloom tomatoes (see tips below)–as many colors and shapes as you can find at the farmer’s market, or at your local gormet grocer–cut them into slices or wedges and serve them with caramelized onions, chives, torn-bread croutons, freshly chopped Green Basil and sprinkled mint leaves on top. For the dressing and seasoning, light Salt and fresh Pepper, table spoon of EVOO and Balsamic Vinegar. The finished plate looks something like this.
Why Heirloom?
Take a look to your left, you will find The New York Time’s Resturant Heirloom Ranking (from 0-10) Although considered expensive, since they are usually over $4.50 per pound, Heirloom tomatoes are so tasty and so beautiful. They come in different shapes, sizes, and colors, allowing you so many different ways to present them. In my opinion, the best Heirloom Tomato Salad is just heirloom tomatoes (1-3 varieties), fresh basil, a good coarse salt, and freshly ground pepper. Nothing else. When I serve it just like this, people often ask, what did I do to make these tomatoes so delicious? The secret is restraint and allowing mother nature to shine.
There are close to 6,000 varieties of cultivated tomatoes out there, according to Amy Goldman, author of The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table (Bloomsbury, 2008. ) Cherokee Purples, Green Giants, Brandywines, Great Whites, German Pinks, Banana Legs, Paul Robesons, and Green Zebras, for starters. Sounds like Zoo Animals right? Who thought tomatoes could get so intricate. Heirlooms typically pocsess the highest levels of both acid and sugar, exquisite balance, an inviting mouthfeel, and that certain quality known among love-apple aficionados as tomato-y-ness.
Salt or not to Salt.
I SAY, SALT AWAY! Persians love their salt, there is no way someone could possibly pass a tomato, cucumber (not even going to lie, even an orange) and I do not sprinkle a bit of salt on it. I appreciate the purist, no-salt route, its just not for me. If your up for the purist heirloom challenge and you live in New York, make sure to check out the Greenmarket contenders, Saturdays in the Union Square, and send us your chosen heirloom and we will feature your photo!
Tips
Now, I am not suggesting any Heirloom tomato could possibly satisfy your gourmet palate. If you want to avoid paying close to $4 dollars per Heirloom tomato, here are a few things to keep in mind as you shop:
-Do not rush, finding the right Heirloom is key. Tell all the foodies surrounding the Heirloom display to back off, you will be taking your time. The Heirloom you are looking for should be Ripe. Striped with color. Fleshy. Juicy. and deliciously sweet.
- Will you be making a true ALL Heirloom Salad? The photo displayed is an authentic Heirloom Salad, no lettuce allowed. BUT, if you need your roughage with your tomatoes, I could possible allow Organic Red Leaf Butter Lettuce to accompany the Heirloom. Only butter lettuce has the texture to compliment this salad.
- You will discover the hybrid heirloom… and not all of them are bad. They are typically identifiable by corky tissue (common flaw) and “star cracking” exterior.
- You the chart (displayed on the left) as you shop. All Heirlooms are remarkably delicious, but I guarantee you will find your favorite. Discover the differences in texture and smell as you are at the store, and later taste the differences in acidity and sugar; you will be plesently surprised. Let me know how your Heirloom adventures go!
