Home together meatballs trump home alone meatballs

Last week when Cobe was away I made meatballs. I was very proud of myself and was all set to write a post about home alone meatballs and how when I'm home alone, I take care of myself, I make meatballs.

Not like Cobe who buys avocados and eats dinner standing up.

But you know, they weren't that great. They had all this potential, made with ground pork and adorned with pine nuts and currants. They just came out a bit heavy.

Then this week rolled around and I flipped open my Mexican Everyday cookbook to find "Chipotle Meatballs."

Time for meatball trial #2.

I dashed home at 6:15 for a 6:30 dinner and was throwing bacon in the food processor when Cobe walked in the door. I had these on the table in one hour. No joke.

And they are perfect, soft and yet meaty, subtly flavored with mint, and swimming in a beefy smokey chipotle sauce. They go well with mashed sweet potatoes and watercress salad, or at least that's what I served them with and they tasted mighty fine.

Rick Bayless, you are my main man.

.............

Chipotle Meatballs
(adapted from Rick Bayless, Mexican Everyday)

for the meatballs:
3 slices bacon, diced
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 large eggs
3/4 cup bread crumbs (use that old stale bread, toast it if it's not completely stale, then throw it in the blender)
1 1/4 # ground pork
1/2 cup chopped mint
1 teaspoon salt

for the sauce:
28 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
2 canned chipotle chiles en adobo with 2 T. sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups beef broth.

Preheat oven to 450. Combine bacon and 1 garlic clove in food processor, pulse a few times till finely chopped. Add eggs, bread crumbs and 1 teaspoon salt, pulse another few times, then add pork and mint. Pulse a few more times til well combined but not all pastey.

Wet your hands and form the meat into little balls. Place in a greased 9x12 inch baking pan and bake 15 minutes, turning once. Will be lightly browned.

While those are baking, clean out food processor, and put tomatoes, chipotles and sauce, oregano, 2 cloves garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt and process till smooth.

When meatballs are ready, blot up excess fat (or pour off if a lot). Then pour sauce over meatballs. Cook another 15-20 minutes. Then add beef broth (heated up before adding so it doesn't cool everything down) and swirl around.

Mashed sweet potatoes

4 sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons butter
1/2-1 cup 2% milk
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into reasonable pieces (~2 inches each). Cook in boiling salted water until soft, ~10-15 minutes (should be able to mash easily with a fork). Drain. Place in big bowl. Add butter and mash. Heat up milk in microwave, then add a little bit at a time until right consistency. Taste. Add more butter if needs a little creaminess. Add honey if needs a little sweetness (usually it does). Add salt and pepper to taste.

p.s. you can mash these with one of those stick blenders and it comes out yummy but don't ever ever put them in the food processor or you get paste.

The sum of its parts

My favorite recipes are those that feel like magic.

A few onions, roasted peppers and beef broth go into the pot. You simmer for a while and then...poof! Rich beautiful flavor.

This recipe is like that. And believe me Rick Bayless has gone way up in my book.

But sadly this is a meal I ate alone.

I had big plans when I decided to make this. I've been a lazy cook lately, so last tuesday I decided I would cook after our 6:30 puppy class. I bought all the stuff, pork loin, poblanos, tomatoes. The class schedule said 1.5-2 hours.

"They just say that to scare you," Cobe said. "I'm sure it'll be like 45 minutes."

Two and a half hours later we were finally walking back to our car glassy-eyed. Cobe was like a hungry animal, his sentences short. At that point there is no cooking, just Subway.

But I had that pork loin. And I can't bear to waste food.

I decided to cook it up, even if it was like 10 pm. And lo and behold it was magic. The spiciness of the roasted peppers with the sweetness of the onions and tomatoes and the rich meatiness of the pork loin. It washed over you with each bite.

Did I mention it took like 45 minutes? And that is not just what I wrote on the schedule.

Pork Tenderloin ala Mexicana
(adapted from Rick Bayless, Mexican Everyday)

2 poblano chiles
2 jalapeno chiles
1.25 lbs pork tenderloin
2 T olive oil
vidalia sweet onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
28 oz can whole tomatoes, drained
3/4 c beef broth
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Turn on broiler, place rack as close as possible, and roast poblanos and jalapenos. Turn every few minutes. They should be black on the outside (like completely). Put in paper bag to steam and forget about them for a bit.

Wash and dry tenderloin. Salt generously. Heat oil in pan over medium heat, brown pork on all sides. Remove from pan. Add onions and saute until brown and wilted (4-5 minutes). In the meantime, pull skin off chiles (should come off easily) and remove seeds. Cut into 1/4" strips. Add chile and garlic to onions and stir x 30 seconds. Then add tomatoes, crush with spoon. Add broth. Bring to boil and cook until slightly thickened (5 minutes). Add whole pork loin back with chopped cilantro. Turn heat down to medium, cover and cook until pork is just cooked. I usually go for 140 degrees which is just a tad rosy because I can't stand tough pork, but you maybe should cut it and see what you like.

When cooked, take out of pan and slice into 1/4-1/2" slices. Sprinkle with more cilantro. Serve with rice or tortillas.

Enjoy!

Ham and peas, if you please

The weather has been frustrating in Seattle of late. One minute the sun is out, the birds are singing and I think, "finally! Summer." Then 2 hours later the clouds appear and the temperature drops 20 degrees.

It's like a tease.

I've stopped hoping for summer. Instead I've retreated to comfort food. The other night I was rummaging around in the fridge and remembered the coppa I had bought at da Pino and all of a sudden knew the perfect meal: pasta with ham, onions, cream and peas.

My roomate in college (Martina) was italian and used to make this when we had leftover ham. All pasta is comfort food in my world, but this was the ultimate. Creamy and rich with pork flavor from the ham, but with the punch of peas to accent it. Luckily it's also easy and fast (like 20 minutes, no lie).

Just one note....don't be tempted to use cheap ham. Most of the flavor in this dish comes from the ham. Make this when you have leftover ham from easter, not when you're trying to use up that stuff from the deli. You could, of course, always use prosciutto. ;)

Pasta with Ham, Cream and Peas
(adapted from Epicuruios 2002)
makes 2 hungry-man-size servings

4 ounces ham, cut into slivers (~1inch x 1/4 inch)
1/2 bag frozen peas
1 sweet onion, fine dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bag pasta (something meaty, like penne or orecchiette)
1/2 cup half and half
2 Tbls butter
1 tsp olive oil
salt
pepper
parmigiano reggiano

Place pot of water on stove, add good amount of salt (like a tablespoon). When boiling, add in pasta. Cook until al dente (depends on your pasta).

In the meantime, melt butter in a medium size saute pan over medium high heat and add olive oil. When hot, add in chopped onion. Saute until translucent and soft. Then add garlic, saute ~30 seconds more. Add frozen peas and 2 tbs of water. Cook a few minutes. Add ham. Cook a few minutes. Add half and half and cook ~5 minutes until it all comes together. Season with salt and pepper. Mix with pasta and top with grated reggiano.

Crock Pot Chronicles, Part III

Okay this is much closer. Maybe even a rousing success. I finally sucked it up and bought a cookbook, "Slow cooker gourmet." And discovered the issue:

Always cook on low heat.

This changes everything. I was worried that cooking on low heat would be dangerous, all that "incubating bacteria" riff raff you read about in the textbooks. But not so. Bacterial risk is for <140 degrees (and probably much much less than 140 degrees). Low heat on a crock pot (at least on my itty bitty crock pot) is 160. Can't guarantee that it's steady. But it's better than boiling the heck out of everything which is what high heat does.

Anyway. I decided on pork spareribs with prunes. I know. I can hear the skeptics. But prunes are so misunderstood. They're amazingly sweet and when cooked they fall apart like overripe fruit. Pork thrives on that sweetness.

It came out wonderfully, better than I'd imagined even. The spareribs were fall apart tender and the sauce was rich with pork flavor but deepened by the prunes and onions.

The main key to this whole crock pot experiment is to accept two facts:

1. everything is better if you brown it first
2. expect to adjust the sauce after the long cooking

And that's it! I also think it might be a tad better if your crock pot didn't hold like a quart. Just might have to make a new purchase. Twist my arm.

Pork Sparerips with Prunes
(adapted from The Gourmet Slow Cooker)
1.5# pork spareribs or pork shoulder
1 Tbs peanut or vegetable oil
2 med sweet onions
3 cloves garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup riesling
1 cup prunes (pitted)
thyme sprig
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper

Sprinkle spareribs with salt and pepper, then brown on all sides (5-10 minutes). Place sliced onions in pan, saute x 5 minutes or so, until wilted. Add garlic, saute a few minutes more. Remove from pan. Add chicken broth to pan with 1/2 cup riesling, cook down until reduced by half, scraping bottom of pan. Put ribs, onions, garlic in crock pot (try to have ribs on the bottom, not sticking out). Pour over liquids. Nestle prunes in between ribs. Put in thyme and bay leaves. Cook 8-10 hours on low heat (her recipe said 6-8, mine was barely done at 8, might depend on your cooker). Then take out pork and set aside. Put pan juices, including onions garlic and prunes into a pan. Add 1/2 cup riesling. Cook down until thickened, squishing the prunes to add their flavor. Add back pork and cook 5 minutes for flavors to marry. Serve.

Rescue browning

Cooking is a crap shoot. You think something will work and it just doesn't.

"I'll throw it in the oven," you say, "it'll get a nice crisp crust."

But no. Sadly that crust requires a bit more planning. We've all been there. It's done, or almost done, but it's just not BROWN.

What to do? Jack up the broiler?

Always an option, but there's the risk of overcooking.

I discovered a few months ago that you have the option of browning on the stove AFTER you've cooked in the oven. In fact, it almost works better. Anything hot and covered in grease is made to brown.

I was making salmon when I made the discovery. This wonderful recipe from Jerry Traunfeld where you slow cook it for half an hour at 250. It comes out amazing. The texture of sushi, but cooked.

Unless you're my father-in-law. He couldn't deal with the texture. No problem, I thought. I'll brown it on the stove.

And unlike many of my cooking experiments, it worked perfectly. It browned like a champ, maybe better than if I'd tried to brown it first. Cold salmon sticks to the pan, this searing hot salmon almost bounced off. Developed a perfect crust in minutes.

The other night I was cooking for myself and I ran into the same problem. This time with pork loin.

I had plopped it in a pan at 400 degrees thinking it would just brown on its own at that temp, but after 30 minutes it was far from brown. It was about 130 degrees at that point (just shy of the beautiful 140 degrees that renders pork edible) so I pulled it from the oven and plopped it in a hot skillet, scraping off as much of the garlic and ginger as I could so they wouldn't burn.

A few minutes on each side and I had a nice golden crust. Then I pulled it out of the pan, splashed in some red wine, put back in the garlic and ginger and cooked that down a bit till I had a nice sauce. Poured it over the pork loin.

Amazing. Can't even describe. As luck would have it, this would happen on a night Cobe was away so I had no one to congratulate me.

But I thought I should tell you about it. Because in cooking as in life, you're going to make mistakes. You just have to know how to fix them.

Pork loin with soy sauce and ginger

1 pork loin (~1.5 lbs)
peanut oil (~2/3 cup)
soy sauce (~2tbs)
rice vinegar (~1 tsp)
sesame oil (a few drops)
honey (~1tsp)
ginger (~1 T)
garlic (~1 T)
black pepper
green onions (2-3) sliced
red wine (a splash)

Okay a warning, I did not measure (thus, the parentheses, which you should read as guesses).
So why should you measure? Mix it all together. Taste it. See what it needs. More vinegar? More soy?

Into medium size bowl pour some peanut oil until it more than covers the bottom (~1/4 cup). Then pour in some soy sauce until it seems about 2/3 as much as the oil. Next rice vinegar, a smaller amount (~1tsp). Then a blob of honey also ~1 tsp. A few drops of dark sesame oil. Around 1 Tbs each of minced ginger and garlic. A few grinds of black pepper. Taste the marinade and see if it needs something for balance. Experiment. You'll get the hang of it.

Put the pork loin in the marinade and let sit ~30-60 minutes. Prehead oven to 400 degrees. Put pork loin in 9x9 pan lined with foil and cook ~20-30 minutes or until thermometer reads 130 degrees.

Heat up cast iron skillet over medium heat. Put in small amount of peanut oil and drop in pork loin (after scraping off as much marinade as possible). Brown a few minutes on a side until golden. Ensure pork loin has now come up to 140 degrees.

Place on platter. Pour drippings from 9x9 pan into skillet and add a splash of red wine (1/4-1/2 cup). Cook down until slightly thick and good tasting. Pour over pork. Sprinkle with sliced green onions. Serve.

Smoky ancho chili pork stew

This last sunday we went out shopping to southcenter. We were halfway there when I realized I hadn't brought the recipe for the lentil chili I wanted to make.

"Lentil?"said Cobe, "no meat?"

I relented. We were out anyway. "Let's stop by Trader Joes."

I stared at the packages of beef but they just looked so blah. The pork shoulder was calling me. A few peppers, some cilantro. I could make it the same way as Jerry Traunfeld's pork stew, but with mexican spices.

At home I dug out my ancho chilis. I discovered ground ancho chilis this summer when making carne asada. Real chili powder, not that tasteless stuff from the grocery store. I pulled the stems and seeds out of a few and threw them in a coffee grinder, adding some whole cumin and coriander.

"Taste this!" I brought it into Cobe who was just stepping into the shower. Slightly smoky and sweet with this beautiful rich red color. His eyes widened.

I took out the pork and rubbed it with the mix, adding a bit of kosher salt. Then I threw a couple of sweet red peppers under the broiler to char them, letting the skin get black all over. They smelled incredible and at some point they seemed to deflate, giving a little audible sigh. Then I put them in a bag to rest, so the skins would slip off.

I pulled out some fresh tomatoes and dunked them in boiling water so their skins would slip off, then deseeded them as well.

Then I heated up some oil and browned the meat. A bit more complicated with all the spices as it's hard to see it browning. Might have been easier to add the chili after the meat, but then the flavor might change. Hard to say.

When the meat was browned I pulled it out and put in some onions and garlic, letting them cook down, then the peppers and tomatoes. And a little wine. And a can of tomatoes. Then I turned it way down and let the whole thing cook at barely a simmer for 2 hours. At that point the pork was falling-apart-good so I pulled it out and cooked down the sauce for about 5 minutes until it was nice and thick, then added some chopped cilantro.

Beautiful. Usually I feel like chili needs cheese or sour cream to balance it, but this was nice on it's own. Smoky sweet and a little spicy with the freshness of cilantro.

We had the leftover sauce over pasta the next night with a little grated cheese and it tasted perfect....still the flavor of pork and just the essence of chili. It's not too spicy. You might think it was italian. Very dark italian.


Slow cooked pork with ancho chilis and cilantro
(2 people)

1.5 pounds pork shoulder cut into big slabs
tomatoes, either fresh peeled and seeded or canned or both, chopped
(I used 5 fresh and a small can--to peel them dunk in boiling water for ~1minute, then the skins will slip off. Cut them in half to deseed them, pull seeds out with finger or spoon).
2-3 red peppers, charred under broiler and then peeled, seeded and chopped (see above)
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup minced cilantro
1/2 cup red wine
2 dried ancho chilis, pull off stems and deseed
1/2 tsp whole cumin
1/4 tsp whole coriander

Grind ancho chilis in coffee grinder with cumin and coriander. Coat all sides pork. Salt all sides as well (kosher salt). Brown in hot oil a few minutes on each side. Pull out pork, add onions and garlic to pan, cook until limp. Add fresh tomatoes if using and cook a few minutes, then add roasted red peppers, canned tomatoes and wine. Put pork back in pan and turn temperature down to lowest setting, simmer x 2 hours or until pork very tender. Pull out pork. Cook sauce down 5-10 minutes until thick (medium high). Add cilantro and pork, serve.

Pork Stew with Pears and Vanilla

The holiday season is kind of a wild ride.

We had Cobe's family over this year. No big deal we thought. Twenty people. We did that for thanksgiving last year.

It turns out, it's kind of a big deal.

Cobe's family always does potluck, and since it's our house we had the main course. Cobe wanted salmon. I had a plan...long slow cooked salmon over very low heat a la Jerry Traunfeld. But with a teriyaki marinade. Or maybe not teriyaki, a pineapple soy.

We tried it. But with pre-frozen salmon. And it sucked.

Then I started to get nervous. Cooking for us and having it flop was one thing, I couldn't do that for the family. I couldn't make salmon. I would be too nervous. I needed something I could make the day before so I decided to make pork. Cobe could make the damn salmon if he wanted to (which he did and it was wonderful....butter and brown sugar).

This is possibly my favorite stew recipe ever, and it's also from Jerry Traunfeld. It is blessed by simplicity. You brown the meat, then sautee onions and garlic in the same pan. Next add some liquid (broth and wine). Then throw in some pears, vanilla bean and thyme and simmer the whole deal for 2 hours. When it's done, you take out the meat and cook down the sauce, addding in more fresh herbs and a little lemon. You will find you have created a new flavor...a mix of pork, pear and vanilla that is so perfect, you wonder why you never thought of it before.


Braised Pork Shoulder with Pears and Thyme
10 servings

5 # boneless pork shoulder (boston butt) cut into 10 rectangular pieces, or 5# shoulder blade chops
salt and fresh ground pepper
1/4 c olive oil
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c white wine
2 c chicken broth
4 pears, bosc or bartett, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1/2 inch dice
1 small bunch (1 ounce) thyme
4 bay leaves, fresh or dry
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 T coarsely chopped thyme
1/2 c coarsely chopped fresh parsley
1 T fresh lemon

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat large heavy pot (8qt) over medium high heat x a few minutes, then add olive oil. Using tongs, lower in pork and cook ~3minutes on a side (till deep caramel in color). Do not try to cram more than one layer, will likely need to do a few batches. Turn heat to medium-low and pour off most of fat (leave thin layer). Add in onions and garlic. Cook till softened. Add in broth and wine and scrape bottom of pan with wooden spoon to get up all the caramelized bits. Add pears, then add back in pork. Tie thyme together with bay and vanilla using kitchen twine and nestle between pieces of pork. Cover and cook at a gentle simmer over very low heat until meat is tender, about 2 hours.

Take out pork and cover loosely. Discard herbs (bouquet garni). Add chopped thyme to pot, increase the heat, and boil off liquid until thick enough to coat a spoon (5-10 minutes). Add in parsley and lemon and adjust to taste. Return pork to pan and serve. Very good reheated.