Thanksgiving Recipes Across the United States – NYTimes.com.
The New York Times used their Food section of the newspaper and online today to post a particular recipe related to Thanksgiving for each of the 50 states and Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. This gives you a chance to try a lot of new things for your Thanksgiving this year or try something from your home state that you may never have thought of before. Check it out!
I am a big fan of Swedish meatballs. I have been making them for several years with different variations, most commonly one recipe that my grandmother had passed on to me years ago and one from chef Marcus Samuelsson that he uses at his restaurant, Red Rooster, in Harlem here in New York. I like both recipes but the one from chef Samuelsson seems much more authentic to me so that is the one I have used, still use, and is basically the same as the one in this recipe, but this recipe also has the addition of carrot-apple mashed potatoes to go with the meatballs to make it more of a meal and less of an appetizer. This is the way you will find it on the menu at Red Rooster and the flavor is fantastic. I did tweak the recipe just a bit from the original. I decided to bake my meatballs instead of grilling them, as is called for in the original recipe to get more of a char on the meatballs. It just seemed easier to bake them, though doing them in a skillet would work pretty well too. Other than that, I followed the recipe, right down to the lingonberry preserves. This particular version is from the Serious Eats website.
Helga’s Meatballs and Gravy with Carrot-Apple Mashed Potatoes
For the Meatballs:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 pound ground chuck or sirloin
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Gravy:
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup lingonberry preserves
2 tablespoons pickle juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Carrot-Apple Mashed Potatoes:
3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon horseradish, preferably freshly grated
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
To make the meatballs, heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the red onion and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Remove the onions from the heat and allow them to cool.
Combine the bread crumbs and the heavy cream in a large bowl, stirring the mixture with a fork until all of the bread crumbs are moistened. Add the sautéed onions, ground beef, ground veal, ground pork, honey, egg, and salt and pepper to the bread crumbs and mix the ingredients well. Wet your hands to keep the meatballs from sticking and shape the mixture into meatballs the size of golf balls, placing them on a plate lightly moistened with some water. You should end up with about 24 to 30 meatballs.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet with a rack inserted, place the meatballs on the rack and bake them in the oven until they are golden brown all over and cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes.
To make the gravy, bring the chicken broth, heavy cream, lingonberry preserves and pickle juice to a simmer in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs to the gravy, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the gravy thickens slightly and the meatballs are heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and keep the meatballs and gravy warm.
To make the carrot-apple mashed potatoes, place the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with salted cold water by at least one inch and cook the potatoes until they are tender, about 20 minutes. Put the carrots and apples in a separate saucepan covered with salted cold water by at least one inch and cook until the carrots and apples are tender, about 15 minutes.
While the potatoes, apples and carrots cook, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion, garlic, shallots, balsamic vinegar and honey. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until the onions and shallots are tender, about 10 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and the apples and carrots and return all of them to one of the cooking pots. Mash the mixture coarsely with a fork or a potato masher. Stir in the buttermilk, horseradish and onion mixture. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the carrot-apple mashed potatoes onto dinner plates and top them with the meatballs and gravy.
The meatballs have fantastic flavor and the gravy makes them even better. If you can get the lingonberry preserves it makes a big difference in the overall taste, adding that hint of flavor that makes them distinctly Swedish meatballs. I really liked the apple-carrot mashed potatoes as well as it was a great mix of flavors with the apple and carrot along with the onions, horseradish and garlic. I actually made the meatballs a little bit smaller so we had a bunch leftover that I could freeze and use for appetizers for the holidays coming up. It is definitely a recipe worth giving a try.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
Leave it took Cook’s Country Magazine to keep supplying me with easy to make, quick weeknight meals. Finding something that uses just a few ingredients but comes together really nicely to taste great and can all be done in less than 30 minutes is my idea of the perfect weeknight meal. We have been so busy around out house lately with work and all of the other family things going on and it is only going to get crazier as we get further into November and December with birthdays, holidays, parties, travel and more. This means finding fast and easy meals that we can do without a lot of effort. This one for bourbon butter steak tips with maple mashed sweet potatoes is great because you can get the sweet potatoes softened in the microwave, get your steak tips going and have everything ready in about 20 minutes. Add a green vegetable and you are good to go.
Bourbon-Butter Steak Tips with Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak tips, trimmed and cut into 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup bourbon
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Combine the sweet potatoes, 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper in a large bowl. Cover and microwave until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes, stirring the potatoes halfway through the cooking process. Add the heavy cream and 3 tablespoons of the maple syrup and mash the potatoes until they are smooth; cover the potatoes and set them aside.
Meanwhile, pat the steak tips dry with paper towels and season the steak with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat until the oil is just smoking. Add the steak tips and cook them until they are well browned all over and the meat registers 125 degrees (for medium-rare), about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the steak tips to a platter and tent them loosely with foil to keep them warm.
Off the heat, add the bourbon, apple cider vinegar and the remaining 1 tablespoon of maple syrup to the skillet. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Off the heat, whisk in the butter and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Return the steak and any accumulated juices to the pan and toss the steak to coat it well with the sauce. Sprinkle the steak with chives and serve it with the mashed sweet potatoes.
This was a very delicious meal with a nice hint of the maple syrup permeating the potatoes and the steak. Throw in the taste that the bourbon adds to the sauce and it really makes the steak out of this world. I really think you could make this with any cut of beef if you did not have steak tips to use; you could use a London broil, sirloin or any other cut of beef that you really prefer or even use a whole steak like a rib eye or strip steak and it would be great. It’s so easy to make and you get wonderful layers of flavor.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
Fall Soups and Stews – Photo Gallery | SAVEUR.
It is definitely that time of year when my attention (and perhaps yours) turns to warm, comforting meals like soups and stews. These make great tasting, nourishing meals that are perfect for you to make any time, like on the weekend to get ready to have for lunches or dinner during the week. Saveur Magazine has put together 60 soup and stew recipes so you can try just about anything that you like. Check it out!
Sean has been asking me for months now to try my hand at making some homemade tater tots. Tater tots are pretty much a religious experience around my home and Michelle and Sean absolutely love them. When we have burgers, it’s always with tater tots. I have looked at recipes for homemade tots before and they always seemed very involved and difficult and didn’t look like they would really turn out all that great so I stayed away from them. A few days ago I saw this recipe from Bon Appetit and read through it and could not believe how easy it would be, so I knew this was going to be the time I would try it out.
Homemade Tater Tots with Spicy Mayonnaise
For the Spicy Mayonnaise:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon adobo sauce from canned chipotles in adobo
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
¼ teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 medium russet potatoes (about 2 pounds), scrubbed
2 scallions, chopped
½ cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon granulated garlic
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
Vegetable oil, for frying
For the spicy mayonnaise, combine the mayonnaise, adobo sauce, hot pepper sauce, and paprika, if using, in a small bowl; season the mayonnaise with salt and pepper to taste.
I’ve been working pretty hard the last few days and I haven’t had much time to blog so I will try to get to it early today so I can get a recipe up. I have made a bunch of different things over the last few weeks that I hope to get up here, including some different chicken dishes that give you a little something different to do with a tasty and more inexpensive option for your meal. To me chicken thighs are the best part of the chicken and even more versatile than the famous boneless chicken breast. You get much more flavor from the thighs and you can buy them boneless and skinless if you choose, though you get even more flavor from the boned version and you can easily remove the skin and bones on your own if you life and chicken thighs are very affordable. Most of the time I get them for about 99 cents a pound so you can do really well with them. This particular recipe I tried, from Williams-Sonoma. is a simple herbed chicken thigh recipe that you can do in the slow cooker with a warm zesty potato salad as a nice side dish.
Herbed Chicken with Zesty Potato Salad
3 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 fresh oregano sprigs
3 bay leaves
1/3 cup white wine
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/3 cup chicken broth
For the Zesty Potato Salad:
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 shallot, minced
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
20 small red potatoes
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
For the chicken, pat the chicken thighs dry and season them generously all over with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. When the oil is hot, working in batches to avoid crowding in the pan, add the chicken, skin side down, and sear until the chicken pieces are a golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Do not turn the chicken. Transfer the chicken to paper towels briefly to drain then transfer the chicken thighs to the slow cooker.
Add the onion, garlic, thyme and oregano and bay leaves to the same frying pan used for the chicken and saute everything over medium-high heat until the vegetables are just beginning to color, about 5 minutes. Pour in the wine and the white wine vinegar and stir the pan to scrape up and browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the chicken broth, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and several grinds of black pepper, then pour the contents of the frying pan over the chicken in the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and cook in the low setting for 4 hours until the chicken is very tender.
About 30 minutes before the chicken is done, make the potato salad. In a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, shallot, red wine vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Whisk in the olive oil until it has emulsified. Set the dressing aside.
Quarter the red potatoes and place them in a large saucepan with salted water to cover. Bring the potatoes to a gentle boil over medium-high heat and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are just tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl, drizzle the potatoes with about 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette and toss to coat the potatoes. Taste the potato salad and more of the remaining vinaigrette if desired. Let the potato salad cool slightly, then add the cherry tomatoes and oregano. Toss the salad to combine everything.
When the chicken is done, transfer the chicken to a plate and keep it warm. Remove and discard the bay leaves and the thyme and oregano sprigs. Let the braising liquid stand for a few minutes then skim off the fat with a large spoon. Divide the chicken thighs among warm individual plates and drizzle the chicken with some of the braising liquid. Mound the potato salad alongside the chicken and serve.
It is a very easy meal to put together thanks to the slow cooker and you end up with very tender chicken that has great flavor from the braising liquid. It pairs very nicely with the zesty potato salad, which has some nice zing from the mustard and red wine vinegar and the tomatoes add a nice touch to the salad. The chicken was even better the next day as a leftover for lunch when the flavors had a chance to meld even more.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
31 Great Labor Day Grilling Recipes | Kitchen Daily.
Planning on doing some grilling on Labor Day but what to go beyond the usual hamburgers and hot dogs? Kitchen Daily has put together 31 great grilling recipes for you that cover everything from your appetizers and main courses to side dishes and dessert so you can grill every part of your meal and make the most of that last unofficial day of summer. Check out the recipes and find one to try this weekend!
Finding fast and easy recipes for potatoes can make cooking up a side dish simple for nearly any type of meal. Sure you could make some simple boiled potatoes easy enough, but you want to try to add a little something to them so you can get some great flavor out of the dish. Potatoes by themselves don’t have a tremendous amount of flavor so if you can add something to them you can really liven them up. I found this simple dish at the Cooking Channel website for State Fair salt potatoes that you can make in about 15 minutes and with just a few simple ingredients that you likely have on hand all of the time.
State Fair Salt Potatoes
2 pounds baby red or Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and halved
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup mixed chopped herbs, such as oregano, dill, thyme and parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover them with cold water. Heavily salt the water, adding 1 tablespoon of salt per 1 cup of cold water used. Place the pot over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Cook the potatoes until they are fork tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes well in a colander. Return the potatoes to the pot and toss them with the butter and the chopped herbs of your choice. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
These are very easy to make and you get great taste from the salt and the herbs that you use. I chose to use oregano and dill and loved the flavor that came out of the mix. I served these as a side dish with the roasted chicken I made, but I think they would go really well with any pork, beef or chicken dish that you wanted to make. These are perfect for the small red potatoes, but I think you could really use any type of potato that you prefer for this one.
Just a quick recipe for today, but check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
So after I made the lamb the other night for dinner, we naturally had some leftover. Finding something to do with leftover lamb can seem a little daunting as it is not something that always reheats well without some help. I have found that the best solution for using leftover lamb is to grind it up and use it for shepherd’s pie. Cold, leftover lamb lends itself well to being ground up in the food processor or you could simply dice it up small and use it that way. In either case, it is very easy to make and makes a great one pot meal. I have tried a few different shepherd’s pie recipes over the years, but I came across this one from Alton Brown on the Food Network website that seemed very easy to make and would give you some great flavors.
Alton Brown’s Shepherd’s Pie
For the potatoes:
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
1/4 cup half-and-half
2 ounces butter
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
For the meat filling:
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 carrots, peeled and diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup fresh or frozen English peas
Peel the potatoes and cut them into a 1/2-inch dice. Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover them with cold water. Set the saucepan over high heat, cover and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, uncover the pot, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return them to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash the potatoes until they are smooth. Stir in the yolk until it is well combined.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the canola or vegetable oil into a 12-inch saute pan and set it over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the lamb, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer slowly for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.
Add the corn and peas to the lamb mixture and spread the mixture evenly into an 11 by 7-inch baking dish. Top the lamb mixture with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Place the baking dish on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake the pie for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove the pie to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.
This is a very simple and tasty way to make use of leftover lamb or to just use some ground lamb that you may have. You get a nice mix of vegetables, meat and sauce with a great mashed potato topping. if you don’t want to use lamb, you could always used ground beef, turkey or chicken, but for me to really call it shepherd’s pie you need the lamb and that particular lamb flavor that you get. All you need to do is cut yourself a slice and enjoy your meal with a simple cleanup after dinner.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
Fun, unusual and forgotten designations on our calendar.
Happily Ever After Lives Here
a little bit naughty a little bit nice
Letting Life Lead
Simple and delicious dinner inspiration
onedadskitchen 