Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs, they go well with lots of different things. Normally I'd make these with rice, but we've had rice so much lately, I was just not in the mood for it again. Also I normally would add pineapple pieces and green peppers, but the fridge was out of those. So today it was mashed potatoes, meatballs and corn and peas.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef/pork
1/2 onion chopped fine
2 garlic cloves
Salt
Pepper
1/2 - 1 tsp ginger
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg

Mix all the ingredients together and form into meatballs

Set those to the side and get your sauce started

Sauce:

1/2 cup water (the recipe called for 1 cup water and no pineapple juice...do as you please)
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar (the recipe calls for 1 cup brown sugar...I said "no way!!!")
2 Tbsp soy sauce (I put in 3-4)

* I also added some garlic powder and some onion salt...and as I said earlier, normally I'd put chopped green bell peppers and pineapple pieces in as well....none of these are in the original recipe. Experiment!

Combine all together and warm up in a pan on the stove

While that is warming up start frying up the meatballs. Use about 2-3 Tbsp oil. Brown them in batches, so you have enough space for turning, then set them aside on a plate.

Keep the pan on, but turn down your heat to avoid some serious spritzing. Pour some of the sauce into the pan that the meatballs cooked in, in order to deglaze. Stir until all the goodness comes off the bottom of the pan, then add the rest of the sauce and the meatballs.

Let simmer for about 20 minutes. If the sauce doesn't thicken up on it's own, add some cornstarch or flour mixed with a little water. I doubled the sauce recipe ...it was a tad TOO much sauce...I think doing 1 and 1/2 of the recipe is probably your best bet.

Once nicely cooked through, serve over rice or mashed potatoes or noodles...or....whatever else you think sounds good.

Enjoy!

Wienerschnitzel

Weinerschnitzel...the equivelant of the hamburger in America. Eaten at least once a week by ...well a LOT of Austrians, I won't say "all" because that's just never true. You can eat Weinerschnitzel with fries and ketchup or with rice and a mayonaise sauce...or both, the way my hubby likes it. Schnitzel goes great with a cranberry compote to dip it in, think of it as dipping your ham in applesauce (never heard of that?!? Then you've never had a Christmas Ham with the Cowles family!)

Ingredients:

2 pieces chicken, turkey, pork filets or veal
1/2 cup flour
Salt
Pepper
Garlic salt
Paprika
1 egg
Breadcrumbs
Oil for frying

I used Chicken breast, because, well...it will NEVER by chewy...pork on the other hand, could be. I prefer the taste of chicken, turkey or veal over pork.
Pounding a whole chicken breast is not the way to do it, unless you want a HUGE schnitzel, or one that's not very thin. Section the chicken breast into small, thinner pieces.

Then cover with plastic...

Then take the meat tenderizer to it.

Put the flour and spices in a bowl and mix together

Take each piece of chicken and coat well in the flour mixture

Mix an egg in a bowl and put bread crumbs on a plate and get ready to coat the meat.

Dip meat in the egg, then let the egg drip off a little bit and then dip into the breadcrumbs. *You can be heating your oil at this point. You'll need enough in a pan to cover a piece of chicken.

Once the oil is hot, start frying the schnitzel pieces.

Fry until golden brown. You can turn the oven on to about 300°-350° and put them in the oven to keep warm while you fry the others. The downside: They tend to not be AS crispy. I find that if you are just frying enough for 2-4 people...they stay hot enough on a plate with papertowels, as long as you serve them immediately after all of them are fried.

Serve with whatever sides your heart desires.

Schweinsbraten, Gemüse und Semmelknödel - a.k.a Roast Pork, Vegetables and Stuffing Balls.

Schweinsbraten, in Austria, is somewhat of the equivelant of Roast Beef in the U.S. It’s not hard to make, but is oooooh sooooo good! You’ll probably need to locate a butcher to get the right cut of meat (if you live in the u.s). You’ll want a pork butt, with the skin on! That’s the cruchy delishousness on top and oh so bad for you! If possible ask the butcher to cut a crisscross pattern into the skin, just going down to the fat layer. Otherwise, do it at home, but you’ll need a really good sharp knife.

Season the schweinsbraten by spreading fennel seeds, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and whatever else you think sounds good, into the cuts made in the skin.

 You can let it sit over night, or put it right in the oven. Which should be at a nice warm 400°-420°. Pour some pork boullion broth around the meat and leave it uncovered.

Let your meat cook for about an hour, then add your vegetables. I used potatoes, onions and carrots. Pour some more pork broth over the vegetables.

Now the trick to getting the skin to crisp up, is to keep the oven hot. Don't OVER fill the cracks in the skin with seasoning, or it won't get hot enough to bubble up and crisp.

Let it cook for about 2 - 2.5 hours, basting every 20 minutes or so. Then take it out and let it rest for about 10 minutes, before cutting into it.

Semmelknödel:

About 4 cups of cubed bread

1 onion chopped

3 Tbsp butter

Salt

Pepper

1 beaten egg

Seasonings of your choice

i.e - Parsley, sage, nutmeg, basil, garlic etc.

Put the bread cubes in a mixing bowl and get a big pot full of heavily salted water boiling.

Melt the butter in a pot and then add the chopped onion and sautee lightly

Then pour the butter mixture over the bread crumbs

Then mix well and then pour the beaten egg over and mix well - if it's too dry add a little milk.

You don't want it to be too wet, or the balls will fall apart once in the boiling water, Also you don't want it too dry, a stuffing texture it about right. Then take about a soup spoon full of the mix into your hands (wet your hands a little with water before) and form into a ball



Then once the water is boiling go head and put the semmelknödel in gently and cover with a lid. Turn the heat down to a simmer and let them boil for about 15-20 minutes

Once they are done, take them out and put them in a dish and stab with a fork to let the steam out. Serve them with schweinsbraten, vegetables and rice and top off with roast pork gravy. yum yum yum!



Dim Sum - Chinese Pot Stickers

Okay, so I have to be honest. I don't like chinese pot stickers...atleast not what I've tried once or twice at a chinese buffet. So then you ask "why are you making them?" and to answer truthfully "I'm not sure". I wanted to make something new, something with lots of flavor and something a tad challenging. (I also like to try and make things I think I don't like, in order to find out if I can make it taste so I DO like it) These turned out to be all of the above, except the challenging part, I was surprised at how easy they actually are to make, however, time consuming! I found the recipe on http://www.chow.com/ submitted by one of it's members named Andrea Nguyen, so I can't take credit for it :)

Basic Dumpling Dough:

2 Cups flour
3/4 Cup boiling water

Put the two cups of flour into a bowl and make a dip in the middle

and then add the water

Mix with a spoon until the water is mostly absorbed

It looks dry....but I didn't add any additional water. Turn it out onto a clean surface and mix with your hands and then start kneading it...for about 2 minutes...

...until you get a nice springy dough

Put the dough in a ziplock bag and flaten out as much air as you can and let it rest for about 15 minutes

Then lightly flour a surface and roll it out as thin as you can

Then using a cup, but out circles that are about 3.25in. in diameter - mine were a tad smaller, but worked fine

Now they are ready to fill!

Meat and Chinese Chive filling:

2/3 pounds ground beef (I used about 1 pound of ground beef and pork mixed)
2/3 cup chopped Chinese chives or scallions (white and green parts)
1 1/2 - 2 Tablespoons finely minced ginger (I didn't have any fresh ginger, I used 1 Tbsp ground ginger)
1/2 tsp salt (I omitted this because I used a chicken boullion and thought it was salty enough)
1/8 tsp white pepper (I used black)
1/3 cup chicken stock or water
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry (I didn't have either of these, I used a dry white wine)
1 1/12 Tbsp Canola oil
1 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil (I didn't have any, so I just used canola again)

Things I added: a sprinkle of cinnamon, chopped carrots, sliced chinese cabbage

To make the filling, combine the beef, chives and ginger in a bowl (and any other item you are adding). Use a fork or spatula to stir and lightly mash the ingredients so that they start **commingling (**NEVER in my life have I seen this word before!)

In a small bowl, stir together the salt, pepper, chicken stock, soy sauce, rice wine, canola oil and sesame oil. Pour these seasonings over the beef mixture.

Then stirl and fold the ingredients together.

To develop the flavors, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. You should have about 2 cups of filling. (The filling can be prepared 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature before assembling the dumplings.)

Now start assembling your dumplings.

Take 1 dough round in your hand, with a watered finger, circle the edge and then put 1 tbsp filling a little off the middle of the round.

Then fold up and pinch in the center. Then fold/pleat and pinch the sides until it's all sealed.

Place the dumpling on a pan that has baking paper on it.

Once all the dumplings are assembled, they can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for several hours; they can be cooked straight from the fridge. For longer storage, freeze them on their baking sheet until hard (about 1 hour), transfer them to a zip-top freezer bag, pressing out excess air before sealing, and keep them frozen for up to 1 month, partially thaw, using your finger to smooth over any cracks that might have formed during freezing, before cooking.

To pan fry the dumplings, use a medium or large nonstick skillet. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 1/2 Tbsp oil. Place the dumplings 1 at a time, sealed edges up, in a winding circle pattern. The dumplings can touch. fry the dumplings for 1 to 2 minutes, until they are golden or light brown on the bottom.

Holding the lid close to the skillet to lessen the effect of water hitting hot oil, use a kettle or measuring cup to add water to a depth of about 1/4 inch; expect to use about 1/3 cup. The water will immediately sputter and boil vigorously. Cover with a lid, lower the heat to medium, and let the water bubble away for 8-10 minutes, until it is mostly gone.

After 6-8 minutes, move the lid so that it is slightly ajar to allow steam to escape. When you hear sizzling noises, remove the lid.

 Let the dumplings fry for another 1-2 minutes, until the bottoms are brown and crisp. Turn off the heat and wait until the sizzling stops before using a spatula to transfer the dumplings to a serving plate. Display them with their bottoms facing up so they stay crisp. 

Serve with a dipping sauce.

I didn't have what they said to use for a dipping sauce...so I made my own

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce mixed in with about 1/4 cup Sweet Chili Thai Sauce - the combination with the Dim Sum was really yummy!

*** The meat does shrink away from the dough, so please be prepared for some hot liquids to come out when you bite into them...you can help prevent some of the shrinkage by adding bread crumbs to the meat mixture - soak the bread crumbs in milk and then squeeze out as much liquid as you can before adding it-

Enjoy!

Family Recipes and a Tribute!

Today Stefan watched an episode on Caillou and there was chocolate cake involved. He looked at me with his "happy" eyes and said "Stefan auch Chocolate cake!?!" How can a mom say no?!?! Those "Happy" eyes are hard to resist! I thought about it and actually, chocolate cake would be perfect. Family is coming over in the afternoon and chocolate cake goes well with coffee. So I said "Sure!" and Stefan ran to the kitchen to have some cake..."honey, mommy has to go to the store first...we'll make it afterwards" - Now WHAT kind of chocolate cake should I make? I searched the web and was overwhelmed by Brownie, German Chocolate Cake, Devils Food Cake and Fudge recipes. Then I remembered a recipe book my mom made years ago...full of family recipes. That was it! I remembered seeing a recipe for a chocolate sheet cake...and I distinctly remembered REALLY enjoying how moist and chocolately and just absolutely scrumptous this cake was...and I'd never made it before, so why not? This will be the 2nd recipe listed.

My Tribute. I never got to meet my grandpa Cowles, but rumor (and family old recipes) has it he was a pretty darn good cook! He was a Marine, a father, a son, a grandpa, and a man I wish I'd had the chance to meet. I am pretty sure I get to see a little bit of him though, whenever I see and talk to my dad. Unfortunately, now, that's not very often, due to a few states, the Atlantic Ocean, and a few countries laying between us. Now before I go and get all choked up...lets get back to this recipe! Okay American friends, everyone loves a REALLY good Sloppy Joe! Put that Manwhich can down, step away from the shelves of canned goods and run your cart over and get some fresh hamburger meat, green bell peppers and everything else listed on this recipe, because nothing beats it! This is the sloppy joe recipe we always used....granted after a few years ...decades...of using it we stopped reading the recipe and just did it our way. Today I thought, I'd peep inside that "Family Favorites" recipe book and follow that recipe that Grandpa used and have a day of family recipes to enjoy...with my husband and my son. Here's to you Granpa!

Sloppy Joes - Clyde Cowles Style!

Brown:
2 Pounds hamburger meat
3-4 Stalks of celery (optional)
2 Chopped green bell peppers
2 small or 1 large onion - chopped

Season to taste with:
Salt
Pepper
Garlic (powder, salt or chopped)
Chili powder

Add:
3/4 cup sweet pickle relish (I had to chop up pickles, can't get relish here)
1/4 cup brown sugar (to your taste - I used less)
1 cup ketchup
1 cup barbecue sauce (your favorite kind)
1 can tomato puree
1 can crushed or diced tomatoes

Reduce heat and simmer at least 30 minutes.

Serve with hamburger rolls and chips or fresh raw vegetables

Mom's Chocolate Sheet Cake:

Mix in pan and bring to boil:
1 cup of butter or margarine
4 Tbsp Cocoa powder
1 cup water

Take off stove and pour over a mixture of:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar

Add:
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda

Mix all together. Pour into a greased cookie sheet pan and bake at 350° for 20 minutes

Frosting:
While cake is baking, mix in pan and boil:
1/2 cup butter
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk

Remove from heat and add immediately:
1 box of powdered sugar (about 3 1/2 Cups)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (optional - but shouldn't be, cause it's so great with them!!!)

Spread frosting on cake while cake is still hot - you can technically pour this frosting on the cake...it'll set after awhile.