The Swedish Chef

Swedish meatballs (kottbullar) are a traditional dish consisting of seasoned beef, pork, and/or veal meatballs covered in a brown gravy and are one of the best-known and loved Swedish dishes. The first recipe appeared in print in Cajsa Warg's Swedish cookbook in 1754. Before the invention of meatgrinders in 1845 by German Baron Karl Drais, Swedish meatballs were truly a labor of love and considered a luxury item served at traditional smorgasbords and other special occasions. Swedish meatballs also have deep roots in America's upper Midwest, brought by Scandinavian immigrants with the peak of their migration between 1870-1900. They were also featured at the 1939 New York World's Fair at the Swedish Pavilion's Three Crowns Restaurant, explaining their popularity in the early 20th century with a resurgence in the 1950s and 60s. Swedish meatballs are traditionally served with brown gravy, mashed or boiled potatoes, lingonberry jam or sauce, and pickled (or pressed) cucumbers. 

This recipe, that I found at The Spice Garden, is adapted from Irma Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking and is the best I've ever tasted! The meatballs are exceedingly tender and moist, and the creamy sauce has just the right tang thanks to the addition of sour cream. One tip to remember when incorporating sour cream to a warm sauce is to stir in 1/2 cup of the gravy, 1/4 cup at a time, into the sour cream, whisking very well until incorporated before adding it to the gravy. If you don't do this, more than likely the sour cream will curdle and leave clumps in your gravy. Eek! I like to serve my Swedish meatballs with buttered egg noodles and if you can't find lingonberry jam, cranberry jam makes a decent substitute. So stop buying them at IKEA and make them yourself! They are way better, "bork, bork, bork!"

Swedish Meatballs

Serves 4-6 as an entree.

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs

1, 1" thick slice of bread

Milk to soak the bread

1 1/2 lb ground meat (1/2 lb beef, 1/2 lb pork, 1/2 lb veal, or a combination) (I used 3/4 lb beef and 3/4 lb pork)

2 eggs

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon allspice

2 cups beef stock

For the Gravy

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons dry Sherry

Salt and white pepper, to taste

Chopped parsley, for garnish

Directions:

For the Meatballs

Soak the bread in enough milk to saturate it and let it soak a few minutes. While the bread soaks, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.

Wring the liquid from the bread (discard the milk) and add it along with the remaining meatball ingredients (except for the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the 2 cups beef stock) in a large bowl or stand mixer and mix with your hands or mixer until the ingredients are well incorporated. Shape the meatballs into approximately 1" balls, and place on a large plate or baking sheet. (The meatballs can be made ahead and refrigerated until ready to cook.) 

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a deep saute pan over medium/medium-high heat. Drop the meatballs into the bubbling butter and brown them on all sides. (Do not overcrowd! You should brown them in batches, setting them aside on a plate until all the meatballs are browned.) When all the meatballs are browned, return them to the pan and add the 2 cups beef stock, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. When done, remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and place them on a warm baking sheet and hold in a warm oven.

For the Gravy

Mix the sour cream, flour, dill, and Sherry in a medium bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the stock, 1/4 cup at a time, until fully incorporated. Make sure there are no lumps! Mix the sour cream mixture into the stock and continue to stir until thickened, just a few minutes. Taste and season with salt (if needed) and white pepper, to taste.

To serve, add the meatballs to the gravy and transfer to a platter or serving bowl. Garnish with the chopped parsley.

Don't Be A Devil!

Halloween is almost here, and my kids are already embracing their inner devils! Next to Christmas, Halloween is their most anticipated holiday. Perhaps it's the chill in the air, or maybe the costumes, but I'm absolutely sure it's the treats! To turn my devils into saints, I always make these awesome cupcakes by Giada De Laurentiis. They use store-bought chocolate cake mix, enhanced with orange juice and chocolate chips, then frosted with a delicious limoncello frosting (lemon juice for my kids). These are so good, you'd be a devil not to make them!

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes with Limoncello Frosting

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 box chocolate cake mix

Orange juice (instead of water in cake mix)

1 cup chocolate chips

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1 cup diced candied orange peel (optional)

Frosting:

2 cups powdered sugar

4 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons limoncello (or lemon juice for kids)*

2 tablespoons orange juice*

1 orange, zested

1/4 cup finely diced candied orange peel, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

To make the cupcakes: mix the chocolate cake mix according to package instructions, substituting orange juice for the water. Toss the chocolate chips with the flour. Fold the chocolate chips and the candied orange peel into the chocolate mixture. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Fill and bake the cupcakes according to package instructions. Let the cupcakes cool for 1 hour on a wire rack before frosting.

To make the frosting: combine all the ingredients except the candied orange peel in a medium bowl. Using a mixer, beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Using a small spatula, place about 1 tablespoon of frosting on top of each cupcake. Top with a small sprinkle of candied orange peel.

*I find that the frosting is a bit runny, so be careful! Start by only adding 1 tablespoon limoncello (or lemon juice) and 1 tablespoon orange juice and see how that goes.

Cloudy with a Chance of Roquefort

Few things in the culinary world are as ethereal as the elusive souffle. Souffles were created in the late 18th century by Antoine Beauvilliers, author of L'Art du Cuisinier (aka., The Art of French Cookery) and owner of the famous Beauvilliers, which was the most famous and elegant restaurant in Paris at that time. Souffles, as well as other egg dishes, are very popular in French cuisine. Souffles are served as a course during a meal and are positively breathtaking to look at! So, why don't more people in America make souffles? Possibly because of the rumors that they are difficult, fall without warning, or have never even tasted one!

I've made many souffles over the years, and I yet to have one collapse. The most important thing to remember is to separate your eggs very carefully. There must not be any trace of shell. When cracking eggs, always whack them on a flat surface as opposed to the side of a bowl. It produces less shell shatter. The other and most important thing is to make sure there is absolutely NO yolk in the egg whites. The fat in the yolks will not allow your egg whites to hold their loft. As long as you separate your eggs properly, you too can make a perfect souffle! 

This recipe, from French Classics Made Easy by Richard Grausman, for "Roquefort Souffle" is my absolute favorite cheese souffle! It's like a Roquefort cloud and in my opinion the best souffle I've ever tasted! If you love Roquefort as much as I do, you can add an extra ounce of cheese, it will still turn out perfect and even more delicious! I would recommend starting the meal with a bowl of soup, like Cream of Asparagus or the like, then serve this fabulous souffle along with a baguette, mixed green salad adorned with pear slices and toasted walnuts and dressed in a nice French vinaigrette (recipe follows), and finishing with homemade chocolate truffles and a glass of champagne! It's a classic menu and not one you'll soon forget!

Roquefort Souffle

Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as an entree.

Ingredients:

4-cup souffle mold

Butter and all-purpose flour, for souffle mold

1 cup milk

3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon water

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt (not in the original recipe)

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

2 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled (about 2/3 cup) (plus another ounce, or any other quality leftover cheese scraps you have, if you like)

4 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees with the rack set in the lowest position. Liberally butter a 4-cup souffle mold and lightly dust with flour, tapping out any excess.

In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil over medium heat. While the milk is heating, whisk the egg yolks and water together in a small bowl. Add the 3 tablespoons flour to the yolks and blend until smooth.

Before the milk boils, stir about 1/4 cup of it into the egg yolk mixture to thin it. When the remaining milk boils, add it and stir well.

Return the egg-milk mixture to the saucepan and whisk rapidly over medium-high heat, whisking the bottom and sides of the pan until the mixture thickens and boils, about 30 seconds. (Turning the pan as you whisk helps you easily reach all areas of the pan.) Continue to whisk vigorously for 1 minute while the souffle base gently boils. It will become shiny and easier to stir.

Reduce the heat to medium and allow the souffle base to simmer while you stir in the mustard, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the cheese and mix well until it melts completely and the mixture comes to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and cover.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.

Pour the warm souffle base into a large bowl. With a whisk, fold in one-third of the beaten egg whites to lighten it. With a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the remaining egg whites. Stop folding as soon as the mixture is blended: a little egg white may still be visible.

Pour the souffle mixture into the prepared mold, leveling the surface with your spatula. If any of the batter touches the rim of the mold, (mine didn't even come close) run your thumb around the rim to clean it off.

Bake for 5 minutes. Lower the temperature to 425 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes. (You can test for doneness by inserting a skewer or cake tester.) The souffle should rise 1 1/2 to 2 inches above the mold and brown on the top. Serve immediately!

French Vinaigrette

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

3 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, to taste

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

*Additional ingredients that can be added are 1 garlic clove (halved and removed when the dressing has acquired the desired garlic flavor), chopped fresh herbs, chopped shallots, and chopped hard-cooked egg. To accompany the Roquefort souffle, I kept it simple and did not include any additional ingredients.

Directions:

In a small bowl or jar, mix the first five ingredients together. Add the oil and mix until all the ingredients are well blended and smooth. Blend well again just before using. Any leftover vinaigrette can be stored in the refrigerator for another delicately flavored green salad.

***You may also be interested in Giandua Souffles, a fabulous dessert and can be made ahead!