Sunday, November 21, 2010

Having a (meat) Ball!

There's nothing like a classic italian-style meatball...  Unfortunately many a restaurant just lump some ground beef together.  The proper meatball should be a mix of meaty and spiced flavors.

You can make a meatball with pretty much any ground meat you have..  I've seen chicken, turkey, and lamb.  But to get the perfect classic taste, I used 2 parts ground beef to 1 part pork sausage. (I used 1lb of ground beef for this recipe)  And that's just where the goodness begins!

Meatballs are fairly easy to make.  It isn't actually that much different from making a meatloaf.. just in a different shape with a few slightly different ingredients.

On that note, grab a half-cup of bran flakes (or your favorite grainy cereal) and grind them up in a food processor (or with your fists!) until they're nearly powdered.  And preheat your oven to 375*

Take your mix of ground beef and sausage and mix thoroughly in a large bowl.  Then, knead in an egg.  Spread evenly inside the bowl.  Cover with a thin coat of tomato sauce and grated Parmesan Cheese, and knead once more.

Then add in the brancrumbs and sprinkle on a layer of each of your favorite spices.  I used Oregano, Basil, Chili Powder, and Pepper.  The amateur chef may not have Fennel lying around, but if you do, throw some in also!  You can also dice in some pepper and onion if you would like.  I skipped the onion this time around, but threw in one finely diced Serrano pepper for some heat.  Mix together rigorously until everything is evenly distributed.

Now for a little Edible Rex secret...  how to keep the meatballs in shape.  Cooking them in a pan can cause them to fall apart...  So I used a...

Muffin Tray!

I actually thought of using the muffin tray as a way to make six even-sized meatballs.  But the tray kept the meatballs together and maintained their rotund shape.


So prepare to get messy and ball up a handful of meat.  You should get 6 baseball-sized clumps to fill the tray.  Pop it into the oven for 20 minutes.  Put a larger tray or sheet of tin foil under the tray to catch any oil that may drip

You can use this time to walk the dog, play a round of Wii Golf, or put up some spaghetti...  I did the latter.

            

After 20 minutes, make sure the meatballs are cooked fully through.  Take the tray out of the oven and let sit for a minute or two.  Scoop them out and place on a paper towel.  Wipe the gristle off the sides of the meat and you will see the round goodness.

Serve classically with pasta and tomato sauce.  Or place on a hero roll with sauce and mozzarella cheese for Meatball Parmesan!  These look so good, I wanna put one on top of a waffle cone!








Enjoy!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Eggs Vindaloo

So as a bachelor chef, I like to find fun and creative uses for leftovers.  Why eat the same old thing when you can awesome them up a bit?!?

I was out the other day at Bombay Palace in Nashville, and had some left over Vindaloo and rice.  Not enough for a whole meal, but enough to have fun.

The best way I can describe Vindaloo is like a spicy, thick, curried pot roast, but with Lamb or Chicken instead of Beef.  With potatoes, and served over rice.  It is supposed to be insanely hot, but most restaurants in the US tone it down.

So you know me and my lust for the perfect breakfast...  why not give eggs an exotic kick?!?

I started off by scrambling two eggs with peppers, onion, and broccoli.  Indian dishes are chock full of veggies, so should be my breakfast.

Then I topped it off with the spicy rice and gravy mixture.


The combination of the Vindaloo kick with the egg was amazing!  I typically put hot sauce on my eggs, so this was a nice change-up on the hot flavor.  And the rice served as a starchy side in place of my typical hash browns.  
 
In retrospect, I should have scrambled the sauce directly into the egg for a uniform distribution.  I had thought the sauce would be too thick, but cooked as a two-egg scramble it would have mixed fine.  Also considered doing it omelet style, but figured it would be messy with no cheese holding it together.  For next time...


So the lesson of the day is, play with your food!  Have fun with leftovers and try to reuse them in unique ways.  Don't settle for the 'same old thing' when for minimal effort you can have a different meal every day of the week!


Josh

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Scramblurger!

Well, maybe I should work on the name a bit, but check out this awesome breakfast:

Here's another Sunday special...  It was breakfast time, and honestly, a good cheeseburger goes great in the morning with some coffee... and football!  Had a few leftover hamburgers from the night before, so wanted a creative way to use them. So I decided to make a breakfast sandwich that combines the two.

Use your favorite leftover fast-food chain burger for this.  I used a double cheeseburger with the fixins.  In addition to eggs, I added some spinach and peppers.  Gotta get in those vitamins with a man meal like this.  Oh, and I also added some BACON!!!


Take the bun off the burger and put it aside.  Put the contents in a skillet on medium heat.  Chop it up and add in any bonus ingredients... veggies, bacon, etc...

 

Throw on two eggs and mix together, scrambling the eggs as you go.  As it cooks, try to fold it to about the size of the bun.


And speaking of the bun, toss it burger side down, on the skillet for 1-2 minutes.  When the egg is fully cooked, scoop everything up and put it back on the bun.  And you are good to go!  



Awesome breakfast for a football-packed Sunday!  Try it with combinations of your favorite fast-food burgers and toppings!


Enjoy!