turkey meatballs dijonnaise

How was your Thanksgiving?  I was invited to my daughter and family celebration on Friday - oh my, what a groaning table!

I came early to make the pumpkin roll (which I forgot to take a picture of), while Izzie (above) made a giant apple pie and my daughter tended Mr. Turkey - oh, the aromas in the kitchen were making our stomachs rumble.  And when we sat down, it was all just perfect.  What a great dinner - but I forgot to bring home leftovers!  I picked up some ground turkey yesterday and was mulling over what kind of meatball I would make, and wanted a creamy sauce.  Well, how about a dijonnaise sauce?  I found a recipe in one of the Silver Palate books and it was all that I wanted on this cold, rainy day - creamy, mustardy, not too spicy - just right.

It would be nice with some buttered noodles, if you're making it for a family dinner, and a green salad or roasted brussels sprouts, but a small plate of meatballs was just perfect for me.

Turkey meatballs dijonnaise

1 one pound package ground turkey (I always get Jennie-O)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/3 cup prepared dijon mustard (or you can use coarse-ground)

several grindings of black pepper

a few tablespoons dry vermouth or dry white wine

pinch of thyme

1/2 cup (or more) heavy cream

tiny pinch of salt after tasting the cooked meatballs (the mustard has a lot of salt in it)

Roll the ground turkey into medium meatballs.

Melt the butter in a skillet set on medium heat.

Add the mustard, pepper,thyme, and vermouth and heavy cream and whisk, then add the meatballs.  

Cook on medium-low heat, watching the meatballs carefully, and turning them with a spoon as they cook.

Remove meatballs to a serving dish, scraping the sauce over them, or, if the sauce has soaked into the meatballs, just add another 1/3 cup heavy cream to the skillet and heat.

Drizzle the hot sauce over the meatballs and sprinkle with minced parsley.

Enjoy!

I pass this enormous tree on the sidewalk everyday - now that the snow has melted, this little bouquet of green leaves nestled in the roots of the tree is a happy sight -   

Italian turkey meatballs

Settling in finally, though I still look at that tiny gas stove warily.  But yesterday I was so hungry I finally made those turkey meatballs I love so much - perfect for snacks and/or an actual sit down supper.  They're super simple to make, quick to cook, and loaded with freshly chopped herbs.

To make you will need:

1 pound ground turkey
2 tablespoons sliced scallion tops (the green part)
2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
1 extra-large egg (the egg makes the meatballs very tender)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
lots of black pepper (lost my pepper grinder in the move) - I used boxed pepper
1 or 2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil (for the cooking)

First, wash your hands.
Place the turkey, parsley, egg, thyme, salt, pepper, and scallions in a medium bowl.
Stir the mixture until it is well combined.
Pinch off tablespoon sized pieces of the mixture and roll carefully into balls, setting the balls on a platter.  The mixture is quite sticky.

Wash your hands again, then pour the olive oil into a medium sized frying pan and heat on medium.
Using a large spoon, move all the meatballs into the frying pan, cover, and cook for ten minutes.  Uncover the pan, and use the spoon to roll the meatballs over, then cover again.  Cook another ten minutes.  Take a meatball out and cut in half to make sure the ground turkey is cooked and not pink.  Remove from heat and serve - or set aside to cool before placing in the fridge.  I like to serve it with salsa, but you can also use guacamole or hummus as a side.

This usually makes about 25 meatballs, depending on size.

Enjoy!




A year ago : kale salad with breadcrumbs and garlic
2 years ago:  fresh cherry scones with lemon zest

ground turkey and spring greens meatballs

When my son and his wife (and most important:  Baby Max!) visited last week they brought a wonderful salad mix I'd never had - it's organic, from Earthbound Farm, and is a delicious mix of baby spinach, greens, radicchio, and arugula. After they left, I realized we'd barely eaten half the box, so I made up these meatballs.  Not little ones, big, ice-cream scoop size, all this packing is making me hungry!  They were so good I stood at the counter eating them warm from the skillet - so much for good manners:)

While sorting through the freezer I discovered I had five bags of frozen cranberries - 5 bags!  Ever since the year there was a shortage of cranberries, I tend to panic in the Fall and stash extras in the freezer for my cranberry muffins, but five is a little excessive.  So I added a cup of berries to a saucepan and cooked them just until they started popping, then served them as a side. I loved the tang of the berries with the fairly mild turkey mixture, but that leaves me with 4 1/2 bags to go!

Once the meatballs are made, cooking time is short - I cooked them for 18 minutes, covered, until there was no pink when I cut them with the fork.



Ground Turkey and Spring Greens meatballs

1 package of ground turkey , mine was 20 oz.
1/3 teaspoon kosher salt
a few grindings of pepper
1/2 cup finely minced greens (about two handfuls)
2 T. finely minced onion (one small onion)
1/2 teaspoon whole thyme
1 heaping tablespoon Panko crumbs (optional)
dash hot pepper sauce or Worcestershire sauce (or both)

1 cup frozen cranberries

Mince the greens in a food processor, scrape out into a dish, then mince a small onion - no need to wash the container after the greens, since they are dry.

Place turkey into a bowl and break up with a spoon, then add the greens and onion, the thyme, salt, pepper, Panko, and sauce, if wished.  Form into large meatballs with your very clean hands, or use an ice cream scoop.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil in a skillet, add the meatballs, and cook five minutes.  Turn the meatballs then turn the heat to medium-low and cover.   Cook another 13 minutes, then remove from heat and uncover pan. 

In a small saucepan, cover the cranberries with water and bring to a boil, uncovered.  When the cranberries begin to pop, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Serve unsweetened cranberry sauce on the side with the meatballs - and dig in!


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A tiny sprinkle of rain a few minutes ago - we haven't had rain in weeks!  As you see, the front garden is doing well.  And I have 21 boxes packed for the Big Minneapolis Move, now about a month and a half away.

Swedish Meatballs for Christmas

Ahhhh, Swedish meatballs.  I had always heard about them, but it was only this year I suddenly had the urgent desire to make them. 

Freshly ground pork and beef, spiked with spices, lovingly rolled into balls and cooked, then served with a meltingly lovely sauce with a side of lingonberry jam ( or homemade cranberry sauce).  Can you blame me for my romantic passion?

They were as delicious as I thought they would be.  

I first thought I would serve them with noodles, but after one taste, opted for simply presented meatballs in a little bowl, with excellent bread and butter on the side , and a glorious salad- but if you prefer simple buttered noodles, that would work just as well.  They really are delicious!

To make:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 large onion, minced
4 slices soft bread, crusts removed and cubed 
2 large eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 pound freshly ground pork
1 1/2 pounds fresh ground beef
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons cardamom spice, ground
1 teaspoon thyme
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup flour
1 cup beef broth (Noted 12/26/14 - I needed 2 and a half cups of beef broth when I made these today for a party, not sure why, but the sauce should be smooth and creamy enough to spoon over the meatballs.  I would advise adding more broth 1/2 cup at a time and whisking.  If it's still too thick, add more broth until desired consistency.)


In a small skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter.  Add onion and saute for a few minutes until soft.  Remove to a large bowl.  

In a separate bowl, soak bread cubes in 2/3 cup milk until very soft.

Beat bread cubes and milk until thickened, add to onions. then add the pork, beef, eggs. spices and thyme.  Gently mix with hands (which I hope you have washed very well!) until combined, then pinch off teaspoon sized bits and roll into balls - this makes about 70 medium to small meatballs.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.   Sear meatballs until meatballs are browned, then use a slotted spoon to remove balls to a large bowl.  Continue to cook until all the meatballs are seared.

Pour remaining oil out of the skillet, then melt 6 tablespoons butter in the skillet.  Whisk in the flour and whisk until thickened.  Add the beef broth and whisk until thickened. Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook 10 minutes.  Taste for seasoning and serve with sauce alone, or with hot buttered noodles.

Serve with a side of fresh cranberry sauce, or lingonberry jam.

SO good!

Blessings of the season to you all, may you have a happy, delicious Christmas Day!

Frankie's turkey meatballs with herbs

We had a wonderful family and friends lunch yesterday, with a 7 month old baby (Noah) and a 3 year old (Frankie) in attendance as well.  Baby Noah is a hefty armload, but everyone loves a baby, so he got passed around in between spoonfuls of applesauce and soup.  And Frankie?  Knowing he was coming I made him his favorite meatball recipe, but streamlined it  after I looked at a clock and realized I was running late. 

A simple homemade lunch, but perfect for this chilly November day - homemade bread, butternut soup, gingerbread cookies, and these turkey meatballs, and , best of all, some time to catch up with my sister and our friend Dee (who washed ALL the dishes - thank you, Dee!)


Turkey Meatballs

I think this made about 24 smallish meatballs, but I forgot to count them before we started eating them.

• 1 package ground turkey (mine was 1.3 lbs)
• 1 large egg
• 1 large piece soft bread, torn into small pieces
• 1 t. thyme
• half a red onion, finely chopped (optional)
• kosher salt and fresh pepper
• 3 scallions (green onions) thinly sliced
• about 2 T. Italian parsley and fresh dill, chopped
• 2 cups packaged organic greens, loosely packed and briefly whizzed in a food processor until finely chopped.  I used an organic spinach and beet green mixture.

Wash your hands.
Place turkey and egg in a large bowl and mix with a spoon, then add the bread, the minced greens and herbs, the sliced scallions, the onion if using, the thyme, salt and pepper.  Use your hands to toss the mixture well.  

Form into small meatballs and cook in a skillet coated with a few tablespoons of olive oil.  Cook the meatballs, covered, for about 10 minutes , then shake the pan or turn meatballs with a spoon and cook another 10 minutes on medium heat, half covered.  Cut into a meatball to make sure the inside isn't pink before serving, serve with a side of salsa.

ground turkey meatballs with fresh herbs and salsa

Some months ago, I noticed I had completely lost my taste for beef in any form - not burgers, meatballs, steaks, even thinly sliced roast beef.  I do love turkey, probably more than chicken, and I eat a lot of fish, so I don't seem to be missing it, but it is curious.

Now that summer is really here (!), I like to tour my garden patches, picking a few chives here, some rosemary sprigs there, and snipping off some sorrel leaves and turnip greens, celery leaves, and if I have blooming nasturtiums, those will go right in my basket, too.  Sometimes they go into a salad, but often they end up in soup or something like these juicy, plump turkey meatballs.  Sometimes the meatballs are tiny, but today I wanted big beefy diner-sized meatballs, two or three make the perfect lunch or dinner, nestled in a wedge of iceberg lettuce, just to be authentic - and OH! were they good!

I don't fry them up on high heat, but simmer them on middle heat, covered.  They come out tender, juicy, and have enough herby flavor to be tasty, but not overpowering.



How's your weather?  We are having thunderstorms and rain every late afternoon or evening and the plants ( and I) love it - no need to haul out the hoses,  thanks to Mother Nature!


Ground Turkey Meatballs with chopped herbs

This made about 10 large meatballs.

1 one pound package ground turkey
About 3 loosely packed cups of various herbs and greens:  I used:

4 scallions (green onions) trimmed and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled 
1 piece bread, torn up
1 large egg
1 medium red onion, quartered and sliced into chunks
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme ( which I prefer to fresh)
sliced sorrel leaves, stems are ok to use as well
rosemary sprigs
turnip or other greens, torn (spinach, tender kale, etc can be used, too)
nasturtium leaves and flowers
garlic scapes
radish leaves
celery leaves and some of the stalk, sliced
sprigs of oregano
chives
sea salt and pepper
about 4 T. salsa, divided ( I used Green Mountain Gringo hot salsa)

Place ground turkey in a large bowl.
In food processor add the herbs and greens, the red onion, the scallions , the bread, thyme, and 2 T. of the salsa.  Pulse or chop by hand into a coarse mixture.  

Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the turkey, and add the sea salt and the raw egg and mix well.

Pour a few tablespoons mild olive oil into a skillet and heat on medium.

Form the turkey mixture into large balls - a little smaller than a tennis ball.

Cook for 10 minutes on medium, covered, then flip the turkey patties over and cook another 5 minutes, covered.

Serve on iceberg wedges or hearty rolls, top with a little more salsa and serve.  Now I'm thinking a little goat cheese crumbled on top would be fabulous - next time!

Enjoy!