Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Well, I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but here in Calgary it has been getting chilly! Know what that means? Time to use the oven again! But whether you're hot or cold, who couldn't use a ball o' meat?!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs
You can use this sauce on other meats, such as pork or chicken. Alternatively, you can make the meatballs with a regular beef gravy and serve with mashed potatoes.

Meatball Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs ground beef
• 1 med onion, finely diced
• ¼ cup milk
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper
  

**if you are making these meatballs to go with beef gravy, try adding a tsp of allspice - my dad calls these “Swedish” meatballs, and they’re really good.**

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 large can crushed pineapple
• 2 cans mandarins (or two fresh mandarins), chopped small
• ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
• ⅓ cup ketchup
• ⅓ cup white vinegar
• 2 tsp yellow mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ cup cornstarch, with a little water

Preheat oven to 375º.
Combine all meatball ingredients in large bowl, take off your rings, and squish it all together.
Roll out meatballs and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet with sides. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until browned.

In large saucepan on stovetop over medium-high heat, add all sauce ingredients, except for the cornstarch and water. Let bubble away for a few minutes to let everything melt and meld.
Put the cornstarch into a jar or glass and dissolve it in a little water (to prevent lumps). Add this to the sauce, stir, and watch it thicken. Remove from heat.

Pour meatballs and sauce into a lidded casserole dish (use a cake pan if you don't have one) and replace in oven set at 350º.

Bake, covered (use foil if you have to) for a half an hour. Remove lid and stir gently (don’t bust up those meatballs!) and bake uncovered for another half an hour. Check periodically to make sure it doesn’t need to be stirred again.

Enjoy!

Mini Fajitas

mmmm....Mexican food! Tomorrow night my best friend Jen and her husband Garry are having their post-wedding party. They married in Mexico a few months ago and are having a party here in Calgary. So, what a great opportunity to make some Mexican food (and of course, drink some rum!) Since the party is in the evening appetizers will be served rather than dinner. We have a really fun menu (which I can't wait to eat!):

• Tomato based salsa, and pineapple salsa with chips
• Chicken Mole with Kahlua and Pistachio (this is a neat dish: the chicken is cooked in Kahlua and the sauce is a savoury, spicy, chocolate sauce. The chicken will be skewered with the sauce on the side)
• Layered bean dip
• Veggies and dip - with a Mexican twist - colourful bell peppers, tomatoes, zucchinis, and mushrooms. A dip comprised of sour cream, mayo, cilantro, garlic, diced jalapeno, diced green onions - - and maybe more, this will be a dish with whatever looks fresh and whatever inspires.
• And my favourite - Mini Fajitas:

• Get a hunk of cheap beef, like chuck, and cook it in a crock pot until it is tender enough to fall apart, with some Mexican inspired flavours: you could use beef stock with store-bought taco seasoning, some people like to use things like Coke (which helps break down the connective tissues in the meat, making it tender), jalapenos or other chilies, chili powder, garlic, cilantro, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, cumin, lime juice, the list goes on. You could do this the day before, that way you can give it a chance to cool and it will be easier to work with and also because it takes awhile to cook this, about 8 hours. The beef should shred easily when you take a fork to it.
  
• Buy those "Scoops" chips, or cut out rounds or squares from tortillas and bake until they are toasted (you just want to give them some support to hold the beef, and also to not allow the beef to make your chips soggy), at 350º for about 5-6 mins, make sure to keep an eye on them.
• Place a small pile of shreeded beef on the chip
• Thinly slice onion and place a little on top of the beef
• Thinly slice bell peppers and place on top
• Shred some cheese and pile a little on top (whatever you like - there is a nice Mexican cheese called "Asadero". This is a smooth, yellow cheese with more "tang" than other milder melting cheeses. This cheese is ideal for baking because its stronger flavor adds to the appeal of a baked dish. http://www.specialcheese.com/queso.htm)
• Bake in a 350° oven for about 8 mins, or until cheese is melted and meat is heated through.
• Serve with salsa and/or hot sauce on the side.

For those of you in Calgary visit Boca Loca, located at 1512 - 11th Ave SW, they sell fine Mexican Foods. I'm not sure if they sell Asadero, put they do carry Manchego, a very popular Spanish cheese made with goat's milk. They also carry all sorts of fantastic chilies that are hard to find elsewhere and fresh tortillas. If anyone happens to know of another store or source for these ingredients, please share!

Sobey's also carries a great variety of chiles - I found Anaheim, Serrano and Poblano chiles there.

Enjoy! And have a great weekend - it's Willie Nelson tonight for me!!

Rice Vermicelli with Beef and Tomatoes

"What is a good first post?" This is what I have been thinking all morning. I have pages of ideas, but none of them seemed fit for this debut! So, what I want to know is, what do you want? What do you love to eat? What do you hate to cook? Any questions, I'll answer them, any suggestions, please share them.

Lately it's been all about tomatoes for me - they are, after all, my favourite food (you might have gleaned a hint of this from my blog picture!) They are so good for you too - they are high in antioxidants, they have been found to ward off certain types of cancer, and can apparently help maintain mental function as we age. Tomatoes taste fabulous when they are in season -- I like them straight up -- no salt and pepper, no balsamic, no salad dressing -- why mess with a good thing? Simple perfection is refreshing, just like a juicy tomato! Although there's nothing wrong with adding a little kick if you're in the mood. Last night we had my version of Bunh (Vietnamese dish with rice vermicelli) with tomatoes, beef and onions, let me share it with you:

Rice Vermicelli with Beef and Tomatoes

For 2 people:

• 2 portions of beef (I used 2 eye of round steaks, very affordable), slice as thin as you can against the grain (so the meat is tender) -- if your knives are dull get yourself a sharpener, the wand type, it makes life much easier
• 2 medium sized tomatoes, sliced thinly
• 1 medium-large onion (I used yellow), cut in half, then sliced thinly
• 2 tbsp olive oil (you can use canola, I just prefer olive)
• Rice vermicelli
  
  Condiments:
• Hoisin sauce (Available at supermarkets, I know Safeway has it, although you'll find it much cheaper at asian markets)
• Hot sauce (Huy Fong Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce -- this is the stuff you see at most Vietnamese take out counters, they sell it at Superstore and other asian markets)
  
  Optional -- to make it pretty (spinkle on top):
• chopped green onion
• chopped peanuts
  
• Heat olive oil in pan over med-high heat (make sure it's not too high - if you use olive oil you'll know it's too high when it smokes!)
• Meanwhile, put water on to boil for the vermicelli
• Add the beef and cook until it is almost done, then add the onions and a good dollop of hoisin.
• Once the beef is cooked and the onions are tender, remove beef and onions from the pan and set aside
• Add vermicelli to boiling water - I generally add the noodles, bring the water back up to a low boil, stir up the noodles and then turn the heat off, they just need to soak (or, just follow the directions on the package!). Drain in a colander when done.
• Turn your pan to down to low
• Lay the tomatoes in the pan, try not to let them overlap too much
• After about a minute or less (you just want them to cook slightly) turn them quickly and remove the pan from the heat
• Put the noodles in big bowls if you have them (like pasta bowls) and arrange the beef and onions, and the tomato on top.
• Sprinkle the green onion and peanuts on top, if you have them
• Serve with hoisin and hot sauce and people can add as they like.
  
  Enjoy!!