beef and ricotta meatballs.

Last week when I discussed banana bread I mentioned that this blog already had 2 banana bread recipes and that by discussing a 3rd I may over-saturating this blog's banana bread market.  Well today I am back with a meatball recipe and if you are a somewhat regular reader of this blog you will know that I already have 2 meatball recipes on this blog (here and here), and much like the banana bread, I'm not sure I need a third.   

(But! This recipe is really good so I've decided it warrants inclusion.)

Everyone and their mother has a default meatball recipe.  Probably the same one their mother made. Most people don't seek out new recipes for the classic comfort food of their youth (myself included) but this recipe with the inclusion of ricotta instead of milk really caught my eye.  Since I've never shied away from a recipe that allows me to incorporate more cheese then should be allowed, it was only a matter of time before I made these.  

You would think replacing milk with ricotta would make these meat balls absurdly heavy but rather the opposite happens.  They are light.  Incredibly light and flavorful despite the fact that they require only a handful on ingredients.   They also come together in 10 minutes (especially if you can convince your significant other to help you in the kitchen) making these absolutely superb for week night dinners.  And, if you are really smart (and I hope you are), stuffing these into a roll with a shmear of ricotta (more cheese is never a bad thing), some oven-dried tomatoes, a handful of arugula, and a sprinkle of cracked black pepper and Parmesan will result in you consuming the best sandwich ever (seriously the best sandwich ever).  

Beef and Ricotta Meatballs

Recipe adapted from Tasting Table

Yield: 25ish meatballs

This is the time to get the good ricotta.  The ricotta from the Italian market or your neighborhood Whole Food's.  We are looking for minimal ingredients and no additives.  Oh and yes - splurge on the grass-fed beef.  

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley or basil

2 eggs

1½ cups fresh whole milk ricotta

2½ pounds of ground beef, preferably grass-fed

1 cup finely ground fresh breadcrumbs

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Pinch (or two if you are like me) of crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a medium skillet set over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and add the garlic.  Cook for 30 seconds or until the garlic just begins to brown. Add the thyme, oregano and parsley and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, then fold the ricotta cheese into them. Using your hands, mix the cheese-egg mixture with the beef, the reserved onion mixture, breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese until just combined. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.

Using a 1½-inch scoop, scoop the meatballs into rounds; roll each scoop into a 1½-inch ball. In a medium skillet set over medium heat, add the remaining tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the meatballs and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.  Place the meatballs on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of each meatball is 140°. Serve warm. (Alternately you can just bake them.  Increase the cooking time to 20-25 minutes.)

korean marinated beef.

I love taking myself out to lunch.  I think I’ve developed a strong affinity for it because most of my meals are spent sitting in a cubicle alternating each bite of food with the sending of an email.  We live in a world where we are constantly expected to multitask (something I’ve become exceptionally good at) and we forget the simple pleasure of eating and actually focusing on eating and not on the e-mail/Instgram/Twitter/Facebook.  I don’t often get the opportunity to have a leisurely weekday afternoon lunch (truth be told it is super rare) but when the opportunity does arise I always gravitate towards Momofoku Ssam for their duck lunch.  You sit at the counter and catch up on your NYMag reading while you wait for your duck.  Rather quickly, it will arrive.  Several generous pieces of duck along with rice, lettuce leaves, a chive pancake, and three types of sauces.  You will sit and eat a very messy lunch and it will be delicious.  So delicious in fact that when you finish the meal you will spend the rest of the afternoon thinking about how you can recreate the meal.  I finally got around to making my own version of this dish by making Korean marinated beef instead of the duck and going for the traditional scallion pancakes (recipe coming later this week!) over the chive.  The results won a rave review from the boy and an equally rave review from me. 

Korean Marinated Beef

Recipe adapted (barely) from Gourmet

This is basically beef marinated in a homemade version of teriyaki sauce (or that was how it tasted to me).  The combination of sweet and salty is a very traditional Korean pairing (and one that I adore).  I highly suggest the addition of Sriracha at the end because salty, sweet, and spicy is an even better combination. 

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil (hot oil or regular)

1 bunch scallions (white and pale green separated from greens), minced (1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger (or 1 tablespoon grated ginger)

3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

½ pound flank steak, cut across the grain into very thin slices (no more then 1/8 inch thick.  This is easiest when the meet is very cold.  You can also find meet sliced thin like this at Asian supermarkets!)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Accompaniments: Butter lettuce or other soft-leaf lettuce; Sriracha, steamed white rice, scallion pancakes (recipe below), additional sliced scallions

Stir together soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, scallions, garlic, ginger, and 2 tablespoons sesame seeds in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved.  Add steak and toss to coat, then let  marinate 15-30 minutes. 

Heat vegetable oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until just smoking and add steak in 1 layer and sauté, turning over occasionally, until browned and just cooked through, about 3-5 minutes.  Transfer to platter and sprinkle with scallion greens and remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds.  Then serve with accompaniments. 

tex-mex meatballs.

I threw a party in the new apartment this past weekend. 
Logic said this was a crazy idea (for a lot of reasons). 
In actuality it was the best idea I've had in a long time. 

I called the party Christmas in Mexico and I served a lot of tacos and I drank my share of tequila and I danced to Call Me Maybe.  It was the most fun I've had in the longest time. Since then I decided the key to a successful party involves tacos and tequila because everyone loves both of them and because tacos are handheld (which is perfect for a party) and tequila makes everyone dance. Most of the menu items came from the Homesick Texan Cookbook, which if you don't own it I suggest running out to the nearest bookstore and buying it because it's that good - it's filled with the kind of food everyone (and I mean everyone) loves.  I took her recipe for Tex-Mex meatloaf and changed it around a little to make a Tex-Mex meatball because it just seemed cute and because I heart set on a meatball (I have no idea where these ideas come from).  I served it with red rice and beans and a plethora of tortillas and sliced avocado.  Everyone loved it which made me oh so happy.  

Tex-Mex Meatballs
Recipe adapted from The Homesick Texan Cookbook

Serves 12 generously (even more if you have sides)

For the Sauce

1 1/2 cups crushed canned tomatoes (I love fire roasted)
1 - 2 chipotle in adobo (2 if you like some heat), diced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
2 cloves garlic, diced
Salt, to taste

For the Meatballs

1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 pound Mexican chorizo, removed from casing
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 large eggs
1 cup finely ground tortilla chips
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with foil that has been greased. 

Heat the oil in a skillet on medium low heat and add the onion.  Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.  

Slide the cooked onion and garlic into a large bowl.  Add to the bowl the ground beef, the chorizo, cilantro, eggs, ground tortilla chips, oregano, cumin, Worcestershire, black pepper, and salt.  With your hands, gently mix all ingredients until well combined.  

Take the meat and form it into 1 inch diameter balls, and place them on the baking sheet.  Continue until you finish with all the meat.  Bake for 15 minutes until cooked through.

While the meatballs are cooking, prepare the sauce.  In a large saucepan add the crushed tomatoes, chipotle, lime juice, oregano, and garlic.  Cook over low heat so the flavors meld together.  Taste, and add salt as necessary.  When the meatballs are done, peel them off the foil and place them in the saucepan.  Stir to combine.  

tex-mex sloppy joe's.

When I was kid, every Wednesday night during the summer there would be outdoor concerts on the baseball field in our town.  On those Wednesday nights my parents would pack coolers of coldcuts and juice, bags of potato chips, and homemade chocolate chip cookies.  We would camp out on blanket in the field, listening to Doo-Wop cover bands sing old Supreme songs.  We would eat sandwiches for dinner and then my siblings and I would run around until it got dark and we needed a cookie fix.  Ever since then sandwiches remind me of casual summer evenings spent eating under the stars.

While I have yet to find a Doo-Wop cover band to listen to outside since then, I still make it my goal to eat sandwiches for dinner at least once a week.  During the dog days of summer they are so easy to make and they fill my need to feel like a little kid despite the fact that I am now 27.  Some sandwiches are fancy affairs with homemade foccacia bread, roasted vegetables and goat’s milk cheeses and other times they are simple and scream summer like a BLT does (oh how I love those).  Sometimes I desire a messy sandwich where I end up wearing half of it and leave sticky fingerprints all over napkins.  That’s where these Tex-Mex sloppy joe’s come into play.  They are a gloriously messy affair of spicy (extra spicy for me!) and sweet (from the tomatoes and ketchup) beef with some peppers and onions thrown in for textural contrast.  They taste even more amazing with slices of avocado and shredded Monteray Jack (then they taste like a torta!).  I enjoy them most when eaten outside, listening to my Pandora Motown station and drinking a beer.

Tex-Mex Sloppy Joe’s

Recipe from The Homesick Texan 

Serves 6-8

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 chipotle chile en adobo (add 2 if you like it hot!)
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
15 ounces canned tomato sauce
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of cayenne
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
12 ounces beer, such as Mexican lager
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup cilantro, divided
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
4-6 warm buns for serving

Sliced Avocado, Monterey Jack, and jalepenos for serving

In a large skillet, on medium-low heat, while stirring occasionally, cook the meat until browned, about 10 minutes. (If you like, you can drain the extra fat once the meet is browned.) Add the onions and diced bell pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.

Meanwhile, in a blender mix the tomato sauce, chipotle chile, oregano, ground cumin, smoked paprika, allspice, cayenne and Worcestershire sauce. Pour tomato salsa into the skillet along with the beer, ketchup and half of the cilantro. Stir until well combined.

Cook on medium-low heat uncovered for 15 minutes and then stir in the remaining cilantro and lime juice. Adjust seasonings and add salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve on warm buns with avocado, jalapeño slices and Monterey jack cheese.