Pecan (or walnut) Vegetarian Meatballs

This is a great hearty meal for those with a robust hunger and dinner with a vegetarian.

Meatballs:

4 eggs
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (sharp is good)
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon dried basil (some fresh herbs would be good too)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs (I only had unseasoned so had to add extra)
Sweet and Sour Sauce:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup apricot preserves
1 cup ketchup (try using some non high fructose corn syrup  )
1/4 cup minced onion
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 dash hot pepper sauce (I use the wimpy green stuff, but it need it)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, Cheddar cheese, and cottage cheese until well blended. Mix in 1/2 cup onion, pecans, basil, salt and sage. Stir in bread crumbs. Form the mixture into 2 inch balls (some smaller ones would be since if using as an appetizer), and place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, vinegar, apricot preserves, ketchup, 1/4 cup onion, oregano and hot pepper sauce. Pour over meatballs.
4. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until meatballs are firm, and sauce is thick and bubbly.

Asparagus side:

This is a favorite and is simple.  Put the asparagus in the oven (400 degree) for about 8 min with just a bit of salt and pepper.  In the meantime, melt 2 or 3 T butter till it just starts to brown.  Remove pan from stove and stand back a bit while you add 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 1 t of balsamic vinegar (it splashes).  Whisk a bit and pour over asparagus when it comes out of oven.

Food memories of Thanksgiving 2009

        
Thanksgiving is a great food holiday and I love it so here are a few food memories.  Ok, the pie was before Thanksgiving.  Still.

Darcey's Risotto

So gather round the television and watch a holiday favorite like Home for Holidays with Robert Downey Jr during his coke days and Holly Hunter crazy as usual and directed by Jody Foster.   It was very entertaining and fun to watch "the old days" - no cell phones and email.

Here's the risotto recipe that was the hit of the evening:

4 shallots
1/4 cup butter + 1/4 cup cubed for later
4 T. olive oil
2 cups Arborio rice
2/3 cup dry white wine
6 cups vegetable stock
2 cups finely chopped kale
1 cup parm. cheese
salt and pepper to taste


Melt butter and olive oil in large heavy pan.  Add shallots, saute until translucent (I also used 3 cloves of garlic).  Add rice, stir for 1-2 minutes until it's coated in oil.  Add wine, stir until almost absorbed.  Add stock 1 ladle at a time.  Stir until all liquid is absorbed.  Add kale, parm. cheese, and butter cubes.  Stir until butter is melted and all ingredients are incorporated.

Spinach Lasagna

Finally, it is cool enough to make some fall/wintery foods - soups, chili and lasagna.  I bought some spinach from the farmer's market and was ready to go.  So here is how it all ended up.


Spinach Lasagna


Olive oil
2 c. chopped onion
3 minced garlic 
1 bag of fresh spinach (more if you have it)
1/3 c. flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 jar of tomato sauce (whatever your favorite is, I threw in some garlic, fresh tomatoes and some basil and of course a splash or two of wine and cooked it a bit with a great bay leaf)
12 lasagna noodles (for some reason my Whole Foods did not have the wheat ones that I prefer so I used regular)
2 c. shredded moz


1.  Put the water on for the lasagna noodles and cook them while you are doing the following.


2.  Saute onions until brown for about 8 min.  Add spinach and garlic. Cover and cook for a couple of minutes.

3.  Whisk together flour milk salt and pepper in a pan (I also added a few red pepper flakes).  Bring this mixture to a boil stirring frequently then reduce heat and cook one more minute.  Add 2/3 of the mixture (saving about a cup to put over lasagna later) to the spinach mixture.


4.  Time to put it all together.  Hopefully your noodles are done by now. throw a bit of tomato sauce on the bottom of the greased 13 by 9 pan, then the first layer of noodles.  Next half of spinach mixture, noodles, 1 c. tomato sauce and some moz cheese, noodles, rest of the spinach, then last layer of noodles.  Now the rest of the tomato sauce, the reserved milk mixture, and some more moz.  Bake 375 for 45 to 50 minutes.  Yummy.   


Get a fresh baguette from Rue Cler (after 2pm everyday) and heat it up.  You are set now.  Even better the next day of course.


Also, this takes a lot of pans.  Try to arrange for someone else to do the dishes for sure.

video class - home project - music

check out my class project on home: