Yesterday I went a little overboard as I spent a great deal of the day in the kitchen whipping up a few things.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were playing the Atlanta Falcons at noon and Dave was pretty much in his "football watching position" for the day.
So, first I baked one of his favorite snacks: Baked Salami. You cover the salami with chili sauce, Gulden mustard, and some brown sugar and slowly cook it in the oven at a low temp. (I'm too much of a health nut to eat it...but it looks delicious as the outside gets a little crusty while the inside stays soft)
Anyway, on to the next snack.
I decided to make filo wrapped asparagus. We had eaten this at his niece's wedding and they were great little appetizers with buttered** filo dough sprinkled with parmesan cheese, wrapped around asparagus and baked until crispy. **Of course for this I use my Smart Choice "magic healthy butter" (!) that is supposed to actually lower your cholesterol. It says so right on the lid. Who am I to argue with that?! : )
I found myself with several sheets of filo left over so I decided to chop up some fresh apples, add some cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg and make some little apple tarts for dessert. After they baked, I sprinkled them with powdered sugar and they were ready to go! Mmmmm
Confidently moving on I decided to make a big pot of soup as the weather is finally going to start getting cooler here. I chopped and diced onions, celery and carrots....added some fresh garlic while I sauteed....and then put in beef broth, tomatoes and water along with the Pasta Fazool mix filled with beans and herbs.
After a trip to Pittsburgh to visit with his brother, Dave raved about his sister-in-law's homemade meatballs. I don't eat red meat (and haven't for over 30 years) so this isn't something that I generally would cook. But, I decided to attempt to make this dish for Dave. Now, this is where things started to get serious.
The meatball challenge was on! : )
I went through a myriad of cookbooks to find the perfect recipe. Unsatisfied, I went online and seached the web for a spaghetti and meatball site. I chopped, diced, blended, and then formed "The Perfect Little Meatballs" and popped them in the oven.
After they simmered in the sauce for an hour, the meal was ready to be served. I coaxed Dave out of his "football watching position". I poured myself a glass of red wine. The moment of truth began.
I watched his every bite and awaited word on how my meatballs stacked up to his sister-in-law's.
Here is how the conversation went:
ME: So, how are the meatballs?
DAVE: Good.
ME: Just GOOD?!??!? Not great? Not as good as Marie's?
DAVE:(sweat now forming on his brow) Well, they are good. Would I be eating them if they weren't good?
At this point, I realized that my meatballs were actually in (gulp) second place. Dejectedly eating my pasta fazool soup, it became very clear to me that:
The "Meatball Wars" had begun.
Any great recipes out there in blogging land for some unbelievable meatballs? : 0
4 comments:
You cooked meatballs for one hour in the oven ??? An Italian would get a nervous brake down ! If you want I can send you a recepee for real Spaghetti Sauce and also for meatballs, usually not eaten with Spaghettis, from my sister in law. Maybe then it tastes better when you can say this are real italian recepees ! Lol !
Like you, I don't eat red meat. Sometimes I get a craving for a good hamburger, and I might take a couple of bites. Good luck finding that perfect meatball recipe! I think I'll try the filo asparagus. So, all you do is butter some filo dough then sprinkle with parmesan? Wrap around aspargus and bake till crisp. Sounds like I could do that. I love finding a new recipe that my family enjoys. Thanks.
Gattina....I would love your sister-in-law's recipe if she doesn't mind sharing it! Thanks....oh, and by the way, the meatballs just browned in the oven for a short period of time before I took them out and let them simmer in the spaghetti sauce for an hour. : )
And, Teresa...the asparagus wrapped in filo are simple...however, depending on the size of the stalks you may want to parboil them for a few minutes first to make sure that they are tender when finished baking. If they are thin stalks there really isn't any need to do anything beforehand. Oh, and make sure and brush butter and sprinkle parmesan cheese on the rolled up pieces before putting them in the oven! Good luck!
Hey Grammie,
Well ya know I don't like to cook, but I love to eat and of course do cook some . I would love the recipe for spaghetti when you get it from Gattina, if ya don't mind sharing with me. I know Paulette will try your asparagus recipe cause she likes stuff like that!
I am weak grammie, but I am back.
Thanks for all you did to encourage Paulette and I really do think she gonna start her a blog soon. Take care hon.
God Bless!
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